I have been to Switzerland last week and my stay was in
Lucerne. The reason I choose to stay in Lucerne was its
location in Switzerland. It is centrally located and if
you are in Switzerland for only a few days and want to
cover most of the places then Lucerne is the best place
to stay.
It is a beautiful city especially with lots n lots of
mountains surrounding it. It has got a big lake right
in from of the Lucerne Railway station. There is a lot
to walk in the old town of Lucerne.
Attractions:
Main attractions here are Mt. Pilatus and Mt. Titlis,
which are very near from the town. If you have time, then
the best way to go to Mt. Pilatus is by a ship, which
starts right in front of the Lucerne railway station and
takes you up to a place called Alpnachstad (90 minutes),
from where you can take a rail, which is the steepest cog
rail in the world. Its gradient is 48 degrees (max).
It’s a great experience sitting in that. The rail takes
you to the top of Mt. Pilatus (40 minutes), from where you
can see a beautiful view of the whole of Lucerne city.
You can also climb the stairs to the top of Pilatus.
Same route need not be taken while coming down, as there
is different route that can be taken by boarding Cable
cars and Gondolas (small cable cars). Also in between
there are a few adventurous sports that can be experienced.
It will take about ½ an hour to come down. So, if you want
to go to Mt. Pilatus by ship, then overall it will take
approximately 3 hours of journey time.
Other tourist attraction is Mount Titlis, having the
world’s only rotating cable car. While going up it rotates
full 360 degrees, so that you can get a beautiful view.
If you are interested in shopping, then better do that
in morning, as most of the shops get closed by 6:00 PM.
Walking by the lake in evening is a great thing to do,
especially if you are in a couple.
Other place that can be visited in Lucerne is the
Glacier Garden and the Lion Park. I didn’t visit these;
so do not have any idea!!
Modes of transportation:
Apart from rails, the most common mode of transport in
Lucerne is electrically operated buses (not trams).
Lucerne is a beautiful city, but very expensive, which
is true with whole of the Switzerland, but still it is
cheaper than most of the other Swiss cities.
Currency:
Currency of Lucerne/Switzerland is Swiss Francs.
1 SFC = Rs. 38.
Hotels:
Rates of Hotels vary from time to time. In the months
of May-June, average cost of a double room in a 3 star
hotel can be about 150-200 swiss Francs per night or more.
Eating Options:
If you are looking for an Indian meal in Lucerne,
there is no problem at all. There is a restaurant called
Kanchi, BUT it is very expensive. We ate Sambhar Wada
there, as it was the cheapest dish. It cost us Rs 450
per plate. Vegetable dishes cost about Rs. 800 each.
So it is better to take lots and lots of food stock
(Noodles etc.) with you.
Web Sites:
You can search almost anything in Google, but the
official web site for trains timetable in Switzerland
is https://rail.ch.
General tips:
If you are having any mobiles/camcorders etc. then do
not forget to take an adapter, as the plugs are different
from what are in India/UK. If you are on a trip of Europe,
then it is better to take a Universal adapter.
If you are having any Swiss Francs with you, then do not
forget to get rid of all the change in Switzerland only
as you cant get any exchange money for the change.
Enjoy your trip to Lucerne…………..Gaurav