Switzerland
Switzerland
When I Went:
September 2018, May 2017, & May 2013
Itinerary:
Lugano, Zürich, Bern, Lauterbrunnen, Lucerne, Zermatt
How long:
9 days
Notes:
1) Switzerland is beautiful and expensive! They use Swiss francs, but also take Euros.
2) There are different parts of Switzerland - Italian, German, and French parts. I've been to the Italian and German part. My first trip was one day in Lugano, near the Italian border, in 2013, and my second and third time was in the German part in 2017 & 2018.
3) Läderach chocolate - there are several locations in the bigger cities. How can you go to Switzerland and not get chocolate? This chocolate was delicious and I highly recommend!
Lugano
How I got there:
My sister and I took the train from Lake Como to Lugano. It was less than 40 minutes.
Accommodations:
I don't remember since my sister booked it.
Activities:
Lugano was very beautiful and the day we visited had perfect weather. This was the last stop on our trip which started in Venice, Cinque Terre, and Lake Como in Italy. It still felt like I was in Italy since it was so close to the border.
We walked to the funicular to go up to Monte San Salvatore. The view up there was stunning and you could see Lake Lugano very clearly.
Afterward we came back down, we walked to Parco Civico. There were beautiful flowers in bloom and it was a really nice walk. We went paddle boating on the lake which was very peaceful minus a close encounter with a ferry. Beware! Haha.
Enough time?
We didn't spend a full day there, but one full day would've been nice to be able to see more things. There's another mountain overlook as well as more beaches and museums.
Note: We had tickets to fly out of the small Lugano airport. We were on this tiny plane when they told us we had to get off because of technical difficulties with the plane. We were shuttled to Milan a couple hours away. Then I flew into Munich where I had to run to the gate. I made it, but It was a hectic day!
Zürich (1 day)
How I got there:
I flew directly from LAX to Zürich on Swiss Air.
Accommodations:
We stayed at Hotel Rothaus. It was close to the train station and a 10-15 minute walk to the main part of the city.
Activities:
We had less than a day here since we arrived mid-afternoon. I was told we didn't need a lot of time here, but also we didn't have a lot of time in Switzerland in general. This city strikes me as a city that is good if you live and work here, but not exactly a hot tourist city compared to some of the other cities.
I don't have a ton to write for this. We walked around Altstadt (old town) and there was some fun architecture to look at. We stumbled upon Lindenhof, a nice lookout onto the river.
We walked around trying to find food. We walked to Frau Gerolds Garten and Gerold Cuchi Umbrellas. It was a cool display and we ended up eating at the restaurant there. I remember the food being pretty good too. This was in more of an isolated area behind the train station.
Enough time?
We didn't spend a full day there, but 1-1.5 full days would've been good. If we had more time, I would've gone to Rhine Falls, Botanical Gardens, Luftselbahm Adliswil Felsenegg, and maybe a river cruise on the Limmat.
Bern (1 day)
How I got there:
We took the train which was a little less than 1.5 hours away.
Accommodations:
We stayed at Hotel-Pension Marthahaus. It was a 1 km walk to the center. The lady at the front desk was kind enough to give us a Bern city card and that gave us free train transportation around the city.
Activities:
Much like Zürich, we just walked around the city. We walked around Altstadt von Bern where you can see Zytglogge, Rathaus, Cathedral of Bern, etc.
We stopped by Münsterplattform and got a snack at Einstein au Jardin. It has a nice overlook of the Aare river. We took the elevator down, but there didn't seem to be much down there.
We made our way across Nydeggbrücke which gives you a really pretty vantage point. Right across the bridge is Bärengraben. We were lucky enough to see some of the bears! You can go down to the river and take in the view. This is a good spot to relax or eat and stick your feet in the water.
Enough time?
One day seemed liked enough to see things. If I had more time, I would've tried to visit Gurten and Rosengarten.
Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen/Mürren (2 days)
How I got there:
We took the train to Interlaken Ost, made a little stop in Interlaken then took a 20 minute train ride to Lautenbrunnen.
Accommodations:
We stayed at Valley Hostel in Lautenbrunnen. It was clean, had a couple of kitchens, and plenty of bathrooms.
Activities:
Interlaken - I don't remember which bus we took, but it dropped us off right in front of Hightide Kayak School. We kayaked Lake Brienz for a couple of hours and it was really beautiful. The weather was perfect.
Lauterbrunnen - This is a really cute small town that is nestled in a valley. The main part of town is really small and you can walk down it in 5-10 minutes. If you walk down, you'll reach the Staubbach Waterfall. There isn't actually much to do here, but if you can't find a place to stay in Mürren, then this is a good choice.
We saved some money on food by going to a local grocery store and cooking at the hostel. Later that night we got some drinks at Hotel Hornerpub down the road. They had some outdoor seating and live music inside.
Mürren - I freaking love this little town. We took the Grutchalp cablecar up from Lauterbrunnen and went through the mountains. There are a couple stops, but we took this to Mürren. You are completely surrounded by mountains and old alpine houses. It might be a little touristy, but it's one of the prettiest towns I've been to.
I took the cable car up to Schilthorn. It wasn't cheap, but I was definitely going since I was here and not going to Jungfrau. Schilthorn is famous for being in one of the James Bond movies. I would say Mürren had some better views, but it was cool to be so high up in the mountains at Schilthorn and to see everything coming back down.
After I came back down, we had lunch on the patio at Restaurant StägerStübli. We walked around the town which is a lot bigger than Lauterbrunnen. We stopped by Hotel Eiger across from the train station for some dessert on the patio. Rain was in the forecast so we didn't want to stay too late.
Enough time?
I wish I had a couple more days in the area for Mürren, Gimmelwald, and Jungfrau. I don't think you need a ton of time in Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken itself, but more time for the area in general.
Lucerne (1 day)
How I got there:
We took the train from Lauterbrunnen to Lucerne, a 2 hour trip.
Accommodations:
We stayed at Hotel Alpha. It was about a 10 minute walk to the main part of the city.
Activities:
The city was pretty and clean. We walked from our hotel to the famous Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrucke). I walked by Inseli Park to get to the dock to catch the ferry to Mount Pilatus. I was able to buy a ticket at one of the stands near the docks.
The boat ride on Lake Lucerne was great and so was the weather. The were a couple stops, but I think it took 40 minutes to get to the Pilatus stop.
At first when I got to the top of Pilatus, it was very cloudy and you couldn't see anything. I waited and it eventually cleared. If you go to the right and find the rocky staircase, go up it to see a great view of the city.
I took a cable car back down the opposite way I came to Kriens. Unfortunately I didn't have time to do Fräkigaudi, the toboggan ride. After arriving to Kriens, I caught the bus back to the city center. We had lunch at Zunfthausrestaurant Pfistern right along the river.
The next day before catching our train to Como, we walked to Zeitturm, a medieval clock tower. You can climb up the tower to see a view of the city.
Enough time?
I felt like one more day would've been good.
Zermatt (3 days)
Home of the famous Matterhorn mountain! If you’ve been to Disneyland or had Toblerone chocolate, you know it. Zermatt is a carless town and unlike any other town I’ve visited. The mountain is very distinct in the distance and the town is surrounded by mountains.
How I got there:
We had a rental car and we drove from Montreux to Visp which was around 70 minutes. The train ride from Visp to Zermatt was around an hour. In the actual town, we used the trains to go up the mountain, but otherwise it’s small enough to walk.
Accommodations:
We stayed at an Airbnb that was a bit further up the hill and had a view of Matterhorn. If you are staying at a hotel, there are some electric luggage carts that look like they transport guests bags for them. However, we did not and we had to lug our bags uphill.
Activities:
Gornergrat - we took the beautiful train ride up. Once you get up there, you can walk around as much as you like. We went down to Riffelsee where we had a lovely view of the Matterhorn.
Gorner Gorge - I don’t remember how much we spent, but it wasn’t free. It was nice, but pales in comparison to going to the mountains and seeing the Matterhorn.
Ricola Herb Garden Zermatt - we stumbled upon this by accident while walking to a lunch stop, but it was very nice.
Food & Drinks:
Restaurant Zum See - I believe this was recommended to us from someone, but it was a nice walk up around a lot of plants and flowers from the Ricola Herb Garden. We sat on the patio and shared a bunch of food.
Buffet & Bar Riffelberg - we walked down here from the top of Gornergrat. It was pretty empty and not necessarily gourmet food, but we found a nice table outside on the patio and enjoyed the incredible view.
Madre Nostra by CERVO - very cozy Italian restaurant and was close to our hotel.
Chalet Hotel Schönegg - this was very close to our Airbnb and it was pretty quiet. The food was good and we sat outside on the patio. It was a little chilly but we were by a nice fire
Le Gitan Grill - another cozy restaurant closer to the main road. We shared a bunch of dishes and they had a wood fire grill.
Läderach Chocolate Store - one of my favorite chocolate stores. Now there are stores around the world, but I have gone every time I’ve been in Switzerland
Enough time?
There were other mountains that would’ve been nice to visit so a couple more days would’ve been nice. If you only have 3 days though, then that’s still a good amount of time.
