switzerland
Itinerary
My fiancés parents moved to Switzerland 3 years ago. So we planned a 7 day trip to Europe stopping in Switzerland for 4 days and Paris for 3. We took a ~6 hour train ride between each.
While in Switzerland, we stayed in Lucerne but did day trips to Mount Rigi and Zurich to visit the Christmas markets. If you have more time in Switzerland, I’d suggest adding Zermatt and Interlaken your itinerary.
Day 1: Lucerne Downtown & Chateau Gutsch
Our 4 day trip to Switzerland was paired with a 3 day trip to Paris (see the separate post on Paris). We spent the first day in Lucerne exploring the downtown area. The north side of the bridge is considered to be 'Old Town' while south of the bridge is much more residential. Old town has the shops, restaurants and charm. We walked the famous 'Luzern-chapel Bridge', had cheese fondu, and schnitzel.
The Chateau Gutsch is on the south side of the bridge. To get there you can take a 10min hike up or take the hotel's gondola up. The Gutsch has a restaurant and terrace with an incredible view of the city. If you don't have time to visit one of the local mountains, this will give you the similar view of the city and Suisse alps.
Day 2: Day trip to Mount Rigi
Day 3: Day trip to Zurich
It took us about an hour by train to get to downtown Zurich - really easy day trip. Zurich was a classic European city - had a lot of charm but had all the marquee shops and restuarants. It was probably the cleanest city I've ever been to! We visited during the holidays so we were lucky enough to be there for the Christmas markets.