Zurich & Lucerne Itinerary
How long was your stay?
2.5 days
How did you travel?
With Friends
Tell us why you traveled to this destination.
I visited my friend studying there over a long weekend while I myself was studying abroad.
What was your itinerary?
Day 1: Arrived in Zurich
Day 2: Went to St. Peter Old Church, Uetliberg
Day 3: Visited Lucerne, Took a gondola up Mt. Pilatus
Give us all the details! Tell us where you went and what you did on your trip.
Day 1: We arrived in the later afternoon and didn’t have much time to do anything but walk to town from our hostel, explore a bit, and get a nice dinner. Switzerland is EXPENSIVE – even Mcdonald’s is wildly expensive compared to what we are used to, so just be ready for that. Zurich is an extremely well-kept city, and we spent the evening roaming the beautiful streets and stopped for a nightcap at an outdoor cafe before heading home.
Day 2: In the morning, we had (free) breakfast at our hostel, and then headed back to the city center to join a free walking tour of the city. Local guides conduct tours, and it’s nice because it’s low cost or free and you get to learn about all kinds of things to see and do in Zurich along with a lot of its history. We saw the lake, a palace, famous landmarks, and more. When we were done, we went back to the places that intrigued us, whether it was a shop, a food vendor, or somewhere to get a tour or explore. We found a cool tower in an old church, St. Peter’s, to go up and get rooftop views of the city.
After lunch, we made our way to Zurich’s own little mountain – Uetliberg. You can actually take the metro/train all the way there and then walk up to the summit of it where they have lookouts and vista points. On a clear day, you might even catch a view of the Alps as well as the lake and city below. It truly was gorgeous! For dinner, we planned to splurge on a traditional Swiss Fondue place. It was a phenomenal experience. For starters, you get a cheese fondue with various dipping instruments, and of course for dessert, a chocolate one of your choice. Highly recommended, but very pricey. Worth it!
Day 3: We took a small day trip to Lucerne (only 1.5 hours by train), and it ended up being our favorite part of the trip! Lucerne is tiny and quaint but has a lot of character. We met up with other friends there, and toured all the landmarks and chocolate stores (they are famous in Lucerne for them). We saw the Sleeping Lion Statue, the famous floral bridge, and more. Towards sunset, we went up the gondola to Mount Pilatus, overlooking all of Lucerne and into the Alps. At the top, they have a hotel/bar, and we got traditional White Russians to sip during the winter sunset. This was in November, so it was cold, and the mountains were snow-capped. It was such a serene experience, and not crazy expensive. After dinner down in the town center, near the river, we headed back on the train to Zurich before catching our flight the next day.
Would you recommend this trip to a friend?
Yes
What was the highlight of your trip?
Lucerne!
Gondola ride at sunset
Chocolate (it really is amazing)
If you were to take this trip again, is there anything you would add or do differently?
I would spend less time in Zurich and more time in the smaller mountain towns like Lucerne. It was more of a local experience and more fun in our opinion.
Come ready to spend a lot.
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