Switzerland Travel

Luzern, Lauterbrunnen, Lausanne, Zurich

Switzerland shares its borders with France, Germany, Italy, and Austria. Depending upon the location, French and German languages are commonplace to hear. Travel by train… it’s so convenient!


Luzern (Lucerne)

Our first stop in Switzerland was Luzern, and it doesn’t take long to stroll this charming city. In the center of Luzern, spanning the river Reuss, is the Kapellbrucke. This chapel footbridge has a companion octagonal shaped tower. And when walking across this medieval 14th century bridge, we could see the faintly painted historical scene in the rafters.

Quaint old walking bridge over the Luzern lake in Switzerland

But it’s the surrounding mountains and lakes that really captured our attention. There were two nearby mountain options to explore, Mt Pilatus (7,000 feet) or Mt Rigi (5,900 feet). They’re different style mountains and we chose Mt Rigi because it was the best choice for hiking. Both provided panoramic views of Luzern as well as Lake Luzern.

To reach Mt Rigi we took a scenic boat ride across the lake which gave us the opportunity to enjoy the visual beauty of this region.

View from Mt Rigi Switzerland of Luzern with lake and surrounding green scenery

At our destination we took an old cogwheel train up to the Mt Rigi summit. The the morning fog was slowly disappearing, and once clear, the surrounding views were stunning. On top of the large mountain plateau were walking paths amid few homes and farmland.

It was a comfortable location to spend hours and enjoy the landscape.

After leaving Luzern, we visited an Swiss open-air museum. Afterward, we took a Lake Brienz boat ride on our way to Lauterbrunnen.

Boat ride on Lake Brienz with view of beautiful lake, countryside with castle in Switzerland

Lauterbrunnen

Lauterbrunnen is a valley surrounded by towering mountains (Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau); one of the prettiest and peaceful locations we visited while in Switzerland.

Initially, it was cloudy, so we hiked along the river through the valley, and visited the iconic Staubbach Falls. For the Trummelbach Falls, we went through the mountain interior and caves that provided walking planks and railings to see the rushing waterfalls.

Houses on top of mountains with Lauterbrunnen valley in the background in Switzerland
Snowcapped mountains within the white billowy clouds in Lauterbrunnen Switzerland

The next day we took a train up to Wengen. This pleasant mountain top village was great for casual strolling and included restaurants for a bit to eat as well as souvenir shops. Then we rode the gondola from Wengen to Mannlichen, where we saw spectacular views of Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau during our two hour hike.

The Mountain View Trail, another option for hiking, was accessible from the opposing side of Lauterbrunnen; again by taking a train to Murren and a funicular to Allmendubel.

Back in the valley, the morning clouds had dispersed and we were amazed to see the snowcapped tops of the towering rugged mountains and the daring base jumpers.


Bern


Lausanne

Onto Lausanne, a town bordered by Lake Geneva. The city is hilly, and we took advantage of a funicular which traveled back and forth between the new town and the old town.

Seeing the Cathedral, strolling the waterfront, and visiting the Olympic Museum filled our day. The museum was craftily designed, depicting the origin of the Olympics as well as exhibits covering decades of events and selected personal articles from various participants.

The next day, we took the train to the medieval Chateau de Chillon situated on Lake Geneva near Montreux. This 800-year-old castle, once held by the Savoy family, is complete with courtyards, prison, cellar, dining hall, and private rooms. A waterside location with a wooden drawbridge and exhibits throughout the castle reflect a castle once well defended and lived in.

Since the weather was so nice, we headed to Lausanne on foot through the vineyards and finally caught a short train ride back.

Path through a wine vineyard showcasing leaves and lush greens in Montreux Switzerland

Zurich