Lucerne, a historic and charming city in Switzerland known for its preserved medieval architecture, is located amid snowcapped mountains on Lake Lucerne. Just an hour drive from Zurich Airport, the city boasts popular attractions such as the colorful Altstadt (Old Town), the 14-century rampart Museggmauer (Musegg Wall) and the covered Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge), built in 1333. The close proximity to both large city like Zurich and the mountains and lakes of Jungfrau Region makes this city an ideal base to explore the Swiss Alps.
One trip idea is to rent a car from Zurich Airport and stay in Lucerne, taking multiple day trips to the nearby Alps region. It is also possible to explore the key mountain attractions on a day trip while staying overnight in Lucerne. The key areas we recommend to explore are as follows.
- Interlaken – A popular and charming Swiss town located between two lakes with breathtaking view of the Alps.
- Grindelwald – A charming mountainside resort town with connection to the 3 famous mountains and glaciers of Jungfrau region.
- Lauterbrunnen – A beautiful village on the other side of Eiger with amazing waterfalls. Also offers hiking trail to other scenic villages on the mountainside.
A drive route from Lucerne to Interlaken, Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen takes little over 3 hours. The trip can be done in one day but given the many attractions of these locations, a multi-day plan is recommended. The route map is shown below.
Notice that the mountain roads starting from Interlaken are scenic, but also takes longer to cover. The 3 famous mountains to explore are Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. The connection to these mountains via train and cable cars start at Grindelwald. The highest train station in Europe sits on Jungfrau. The ‘Eiger Express’ can take visitors to Eiger Glacier in 15 mins which had connection to Jungfrau. The below map shows a closer look at the attractions.
After all the hiking and exploring in the Swiss Alps, a rest day or two is highly recommended in Lucerne. Watch the video below for some visual treat of beautiful Lucerne, Switzerland!
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