Lucerne, Switzerland

Lucerne, or Luzern, depending on where you’re reading this is absolutely gorgeous

Lucerne Tips: 

• Switzerland is insanely expensive. I’m sure you’ve heard how expensive it is before, but truly it is the most expensive place I have ever been. Be prepared.

  • Also on the money front, Switzerland does not use Euros like most of the continent, they use Swiss Francs. Personally I did not need cash for anything, so it was not an issue

• I stayed at Hotel Bellevue which was just outside of the main city center via an easy bus ride. The views of the lake and mountains were really great!

  • Most hotels come with a Lucerne Visitor Card that gets you free access to public transportation and discounts on various attractions

• Overall the city is tiny, you can see it all in 24 hours!

• The city is quite touristy overall which is not my favorite vibe, but it was nice that English was everywhere as a result

• If you’re on a Swiss adventure, check out my guide to Zurich here!

Adventures & Ales Top Lucerne Recommendations: ​

• Relax by the water and soak in the gorgeous views of Lake Lucerne and the Alps!

• Rathaus Brauerei: Brewery on the water lots of outdoor seating. Get. The. Soup. It is basically a mixture of beer cheese and potato soup and truly incredible!

  • All of the other breweries in town had really weird hours so I wasn’t able to visit them but as a heads up there are a couple others

• Bierliebre & Friends: Craft beer bar also on the water right next to Rathaus Brauerei

• Pastarazzi: Super fresh pasta restaurant where you build your own dish

Rathaus Brauerei

Top Touristy Spots in Lucerne Actually Worth Visiting: ​

• Wander the town! Lucerne is really small and you can walk everywhere very easily. Here are some highlights to see:

  • Chapel Bridge: A historic covered bridge—be sure to actually walk across it to see the inside

  • Spreuer Bridge: A second, smaller covered bridge

  • Museggmauer: The old city wall. It is a relatively steep climb up but absolutely worth it for the views of the city

  • Weinmarkt: One of the main squares

  • Rathaus Stadt Luzern: Old town hall building

  • Kornmarkt: Another large city square

  • Jesuit Church: A pretty church overall but nothing overly impressive

  • St Peter’s Chapel: Another historic church, right next to the covered bridge

Mount Rigi Views

Go up a mountain!

• I chose Rigi and Pilatus is another popular option.

  • There are several different ways you can choose to go up Mount Rigi—there’s a combination of trains, cogwheel, boat, cable car, or if you’re extremely ambitious—hiking!

    • For my route up I took the Voralpen Express for a short but gorgeous ride to the Arth-Goldau stop to switch to the Rigi Cogwheel that leads you directly up to the summit. This process takes around two hours to get to the top of Rigi from Lucerne.

      • The signage to the cogwheel is not great at Arth-Goldau as a forewarning, it is up above the rest of the normal trains.

  • The views from the top of Rigi are stupendous. They are absolutely breathtaking in each direction! It is freezing at the top of the mountain, as is the case with most mountains, so be sure to dress in layers

  • There is a restaurant at the summit that you can grab a hot chocolate, beer, snacks, or a full meal at. I would recommend planning for an hour at the summit, as the cogwheel runs on the hour

  • For my journey down I took the cogwheel to the Vitznau station then took the boat from Vitznau back to Lucerne. The cogwheel ride down provided gorgeous views—I would recommend sitting on the right side for the best vantage points

    • The boat ride was pretty, though not as “epic” as I thought it might be. When you buy your ticket you choose first class (upper deck) or second class (lower deck), the views are not drastically different from either

  • Overall the round trip journey was really quite expensive (almost $150) which is way more than I would’ve liked to pay but as I said above, Switzerland is really expensive so it was to be expected. It was my favorite thing I did in Switzerland—getting into the Alps was worth it for me, but just be aware of what you’re getting yourself into

Zurich, Switzerland

Zurich is a cosmopolitan city nestled on Lake Zurich with distinct neighborhoods to explore

Zurich Tips: 

• Switzerland is very expensive. I am a hustler and usually am able to do trips pretty cheaply (even in Australia), but Switzerland was shockingly expensive, so be prepared

• A lot of places have limited hours in Zurich. Sundays are extremely quiet in the city and a lot of places are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays as well

• If you are flying in or out of Zurich it is a very easy train ride to/from the airport that takes 10 minutes and costs ~$7

  • Trainline is my favorite website to book European train tickets through. They also have an app so you can quickly and easily buy tickets while on the go abroad

• Zurich is quite small. There are some distinct neighborhoods to check out but overall a day or two is sufficient time to see it all

• Personally I did not love Zurich as much as some other European cities. It lacked character to me and felt a little blah overall—if you’re only making one stop in Switzerland I would recommend Lucerne! Check out my Lucerne recommendations here!

Adventures & Ales Top Zurich Recommendations: ​

• The International Beer Bar: A very fun spot with 8 taps and a plethora of bottles. The beer selection is fantastic, the staff is super nice, and they have a little outside patio as well. My favorite spot in Zurich!

• Frau Gerolds Garden: A fun beer garden in a shipping container development. As a heads up the beer garden closes based on weather

• Eldorado Craft Beer Bar: A chill spot with 101 beers, four of which are on tap. Occasionally they have live music as well

• Vineria Centrale: A cozy Italian bar with tasty food and a lively atmosphere

• Wander Zurich-West: An industrial neighborhood with lots of cool bars and restaurants to pop into

Top Touristy Spots in Zurich Actually Worth Visiting: ​

• Wander District 1, the center part of Zurich with winding cobblestone streets

  • Across the river the Niederdorf area has more bars and restaurants than District 1

• Lindenhof Hill: A nice spot for views of the city

• Zurich has lots of nice clock towers. The Church of Saint Peter and Fraumünster Church both have nice ones to see!

• Hang out at Lake Zurich. Get out on the water or sit along the banks

• Grossmünster Church: Pay 5 Euros or Swiss Francs (cash only) to go up the tower. It is quite a lot of steps to get to the top but provides the best views of the city and lake

  • Be sure to check out the colorful status men out front at the church as well

• Swiss National Museum: It has high reviews but was closed while I was in town

The International Beer Bar

Other Things to do in Zurich: ​​

• Spend a morning at Rhinefall: A waterfall about an hour north of the city. There are two sides to the falls, Neuhausen and Schloss Laufen, I chose to visit the Neuhausen side, but you can do either and there is also a long bridge connecting the two sides that you can cross to visit both if you want. The falls are pretty but it was touristy overall

  • There is a castle on the Schloss Laufen side so I chose Neuhausen so I could see the castle alongside the falls. There are also lots of benches, a restaurant at the falls, and boat tours on the Neuhausen side. The town of Neuhausen itself is slightly larger as well.

  • A round trip train ticket from Zurich is ~$50. It is about a 15 minute walk to the falls from Neuhausen station with clear signs to guide you

    • While here you can hop on a quick bus to the neighboring town of Schaffhausen, ten minutes away. It is a little bit bigger and has some spots for lunch, but it’s nothing too special

• Ambrosi: A slightly more affordable Italian restaurant with tasty food

• Andorra: Another beer bar with a solid selection

• Sasu Juice Bar: A good spot for a healthy lunch or smoothie

• Brauerei Steinfels: A very swanky brewery with six house beers and a list of Brlo beers from neighboring Germany. They have a food menu, but as a heads up the kitchen has limited hours. There are fun neon lights all around the space and the beers were solid, but the service I received was sub-par

• Bauschanzli Beer Garden: It looks like a cool spot on the water but it was closed while they were setting up for Oktoberfest while I was visiting unfortunately