Switzerland for three generations: Lucerne, the Jungfrau and Zermatt

1. Day 1: Arrive in Zurich, on to Lucerne

   Zurich Airport to Zurich's old town, then by road to Lucerne

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Lunch in Zurich and an early welcome dinner
   • Stay in Lucerne
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Zurich Airport (ZRH). The group meets in the arrivals hall in an arrival window sent with your final itinerary, planned around late morning, and our vehicle takes everyone and every suitcase from there; nobody lifts a case onto a train today. After about 20 minutes we stop in Zurich for a short, flat stroll along the Limmat river and up to the Lindenhof, a tree-shaded terrace on the site of a Roman fort with benches and a view over the old town, then sit down to lunch nearby. Early in the afternoon we drive on to Lucerne, about 50 minutes, and check in at a central hotel where we have asked for family or connecting rooms. The rest of the afternoon is for naps, the lakefront or the hotel. At about 5:30 pm your guide meets the group for a short briefing, then we walk across the Chapel Bridge to an early welcome dinner at about 6 pm, so the youngest and the oldest are in bed in good time. If you land after the window, we send directions for the hourly train to Lucerne, covered by your pass.

   Included

   • Meeting at Zurich Airport (ZRH) in the arrival window, with our vehicle and driver
   • Short walk to Zurich's Lindenhof terrace and lunch in the old town
   • Transfer to Lucerne
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Early welcome dinner, about 6 pm

   Free time: Afternoon free to rest before the briefing

   Activity: About an hour of easy, flat walking in all today.

   

2. Day 2: Lake Lucerne and Mount Rigi

   Lucerne by boat to Vitznau, the cogwheel train to Rigi Kulm, down to Weggis and back by boat

   • By boat
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Lucerne
   Day 2 details

   Today joins the lake and the mountain, all on your Swiss Travel Pass, and children under 16 travelling with a parent ride free with the Swiss Family Card. Mid-morning we board a lake boat opposite Lucerne station and cruise about an hour to Vitznau, past lakeside villas and the cliffs of the Bürgenstock. In Vitznau we change to the red cogwheel train of the Vitznau-Rigi railway, opened in 1871 as the first mountain railway in Europe, and climb to Rigi Kulm at 1,798 metres, with Lake Lucerne and Lake Zug below and a long line of Alps on a clear day. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the mountain. Afterwards the train takes everyone down to Rigi Kaltbad, where there is a playground and a short level path, and the cable car drops to Weggis for the boat back. We are in Lucerne by mid-afternoon. On a warm summer day the Lido Luzern lake beach, next to the Swiss Museum of Transport, is a short boat or bus ride away for a swim.

   Included

   • Lake Lucerne boat to Vitznau and back from Weggis
   • Vitznau-Rigi cogwheel railway to Rigi Kulm
   • Sit-down lunch on Rigi
   • Train to Rigi Kaltbad and the cable car to Weggis

   Optional experiences

   • Swiss Museum of Transport (trains, planes, ships and a planetarium) or the Lido Luzern lake beach in summer, at your own cost

   Easier option: Stay on the train all the way and sit on the terrace at Rigi Kaltbad while others walk.

   More active option: Walk down from Rigi Kulm to Rigi Kaltbad, about an hour and a quarter on a wide gravel path that loses about 360 m, and meet the group for the cable car.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Lucerne

   Activity: Mostly sitting on boats and trains, with short walks at the top and at Rigi Kaltbad.

3. Day 3: Over the Brünig Pass to Interlaken

   Lucerne to Brienz by road over the Brünig Pass, then the Lake Brienz boat to Interlaken

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Interlaken
   Day 3 details

   A slow morning: breakfast, a ten-minute walk to the Lion Monument, the dying lion carved into the rock in 1820 and 1821 for the Swiss Guards killed in Paris in 1792, and time to pack. At about 10:30 our vehicle loads the suitcases and drives us over the Brünig Pass, past Lake Sarnen and the green water of Lake Lungern, to Brienz, about an hour. Brienz is a lakeside village known for woodcarving, and lunch is your choice by the water. From spring to autumn we board the lake boat to Interlaken Ost, about an hour and a quarter between steep wooded shores, while the vehicle takes the bags straight to the hotel; outside the boat season we stay in the vehicle. Interlaken sits on the flat ground between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun, so it is easy walking for grandparents and has trains to every mountain. We stay three nights, in a central hotel where we have asked for family or connecting rooms and, where we can, a pool. The afternoon is free.

   Included

   • Short visit to the Lion Monument in Lucerne
   • Transfer over the Brünig Pass to Brienz, with your suitcases in our vehicle
   • Lake Brienz boat from Brienz to Interlaken Ost (spring to autumn)

   Optional experiences

   • Harder Kulm funicular above Interlaken in the late afternoon, at your own cost (the Swiss Travel Pass gives a discount)

   Free time: Lunch in Brienz and the afternoon free in Interlaken

   Activity: No suitcase to carry today: it travels in our vehicle from hotel to hotel.

4. Day 4: The Jungfraujoch, then Wengen and Lauterbrunnen

   Interlaken to Grindelwald Terminal by train, the Eiger Express and the Jungfrau railway to the Jungfraujoch, back via Kleine Scheidegg, Wengen and Lauterbrunnen

   • By train
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Interlaken
   Day 4 details

   We leave the hotel at about 7:30 (the exact time is confirmed at booking) for the train to Grindelwald Terminal and one of the first Eiger Express gondolas, before the later trains fill the top. Your guide checks the summit webcams first: if the Jungfraujoch is in cloud all day, we go to a lower viewpoint such as Männlichen and tell you at breakfast. The gondola takes about 15 minutes to Eigergletscher, and the Jungfrau railway runs on through a tunnel inside the Eiger and the Mönch, completed in 1912, to the Jungfraujoch at 3,454 metres, the highest railway station in Europe. Children usually head straight for the Ice Palace, a set of tunnels carved in the glacier, and the snow plateau outside; from the Sphinx terrace the Aletsch Glacier runs south at the heart of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO site. After a sit-down lunch we ride down to Kleine Scheidegg and through car-free Wengen to Lauterbrunnen, where the Staubbach Falls drop nearly 300 metres from the cliff, and are back in Interlaken by mid-afternoon to rest.

   Included

   • Train to Grindelwald Terminal and the Eiger Express gondola to Eigergletscher
   • Jungfrau railway to the Jungfraujoch: the Sphinx terrace, the Ice Palace and the snow plateau
   • Sit-down lunch on the mountain
   • Train down via Kleine Scheidegg, Wengen and Lauterbrunnen

   Easier option: If altitude worries you, stop at Kleine Scheidegg (2,061 m) for a slow lunch beneath the Eiger while the group goes up, and rejoin them on the way down.

   More active option: Walk from Wengen down to Lauterbrunnen on a quiet lane, about an hour and a half, and meet the group at the Staubbach Falls.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free in Interlaken

   Activity: The Jungfraujoch is at 3,454 m: walk slowly, drink water, dress warmly even in summer. Ask your doctor first if anyone in the family has a heart or lung condition.

5. Day 5: Grindelwald First and a lake afternoon

   Interlaken to Grindelwald by train, the gondola to First and the walk toward the Bachalpsee, then back to Interlaken

   • By train
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Interlaken
   Day 5 details

   An easier mountain day at a lower height. We take the train to Grindelwald, a village at about 1,000 metres beneath the north face of the Eiger, and ride the gondola up to First at about 2,170 metres. Right by the top station, the First Cliff Walk is a metal walkway pinned to the rock with a viewing platform over the drop, short and flat enough for most grandparents and children. Then, at whatever pace the family chooses, we walk a broad gravel path toward the Bachalpsee, a mountain lake with the Schreckhorn and the Wetterhorn behind it, about an hour each way with little climbing. Lunch is a sit-down meal at First. We are back down in Interlaken by about 3 pm, and on a summer day the afternoon is for swimming: your guide points the way to the outdoor pool in town or a lake beach on Lake Brienz or Lake Thun, or you stay at the hotel. Dinner is your own, at your own hour.

   Included

   • Train to Grindelwald and the gondola to First
   • First Cliff Walk
   • Guided walk toward the Bachalpsee
   • Sit-down lunch at First

   Optional experiences

   • The First Flyer zip line, the First Glider or the mountain carts and trottibikes on the way down, at your own cost and age and height rules

   Easier option: Stay at First for the Cliff Walk, the terrace and lunch while the walkers go to the lake.

   More active option: Walk the whole way to the Bachalpsee and on along the lake shore, then down to Bort for the gondola, about 3 hours in all.

   Free time: Afternoon free for a swim or a rest; evening free

   Activity: About 2 hours on foot to the lake and back, on a wide path at about 2,200 m with roughly 100 m of up and down each way; about 3 hours on the active option down to Bort.

   

6. Day 6: Bern's bears and the car train to Zermatt

   Interlaken to Bern by road, then to Kandersteg, the Lötschberg car train to Goppenstein, Täsch and the shuttle train to Zermatt

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Zermatt
   Day 6 details

   Today is a long road day, about 2.5 hours of driving split into three short legs, so it has two real stops. We leave Interlaken after breakfast with the bags in our vehicle and drive along Lake Thun to Bern, about 45 minutes. Bern's old town sits in a loop of the green Aare river and is listed by UNESCO for its medieval street plan, its arcades and its painted fountains. Your guide walks you down the Kramgasse to the Zytglogge, whose clock figures move a few minutes before each hour, and across the Nydegg bridge to the BärenPark, the city's riverside bear park. After a sit-down lunch we drive about an hour to Kandersteg and roll the vehicle onto the Lötschberg car train, about 15 minutes through the mountain with everyone inside the vehicle. From Goppenstein it is about 45 minutes to Täsch, where we park, because Zermatt has no petrol cars: the shuttle train takes 12 minutes, and electric taxis take the bags to the hotel.

   Included

   • Guided walk in Bern's old town: the Kramgasse, the Zytglogge and the BärenPark
   • Sit-down lunch in Bern
   • Lötschberg car train from Kandersteg to Goppenstein
   • Shuttle train from Täsch to Zermatt and electric taxis for the bags

   Optional experiences

   • Einstein House museum in Bern, at your own cost, if there is time before lunch

   Easier option: Wait in a café on the Kramgasse while the group walks down to the bears and back up the hill.

   Free time: Evening free in Zermatt

   Activity: About an hour and a half on foot in Bern, with a short steep lane down to the bear park; the vehicle can collect anyone at the bottom.

   

7. Day 7: Gornergrat and the Matterhorn

   Zermatt to the Gornergrat by cogwheel train, the Riffelsee, then back to the village

   • By train
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Zermatt
   Day 7 details

   We leave the hotel at about 8 am (confirmed at booking) for an early Gornergrat train, when the Matterhorn is more often clear of cloud and before the day visitors arrive. The cogwheel railway, running since 1898, climbs for about 33 minutes from opposite Zermatt's main station to the Gornergrat at 3,089 metres. On one side stands the Matterhorn, 4,478 metres; on the other the Gorner Glacier curls below Monte Rosa, whose Dufourspitze, at 4,634 metres, is the highest summit in Switzerland. After time on the terraces we ride one stop down to Rotenboden. From early summer, when the path is clear of snow, walkers take about an hour down past the Riffelsee, a small lake that holds the Matterhorn's reflection on a still morning, to Riffelberg, where everyone meets for lunch at your own cost, on a terrace or at the hotel there. The train brings us back by early afternoon, free for the Matterhorn Museum, a hotel pool where there is one, or a rest. The farewell dinner of raclette or fondue starts at about 6 pm.

   Included

   • Gornergrat railway, early train
   • Riffelsee walk from Rotenboden to Riffelberg (early summer to autumn)
   • Matterhorn Museum entry
   • Early farewell raclette or fondue dinner, about 6 pm

   Optional experiences

   • Cable cars to the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise at 3,883 m, at your own cost (the Swiss Travel Pass gives a discount)

   Easier option: Skip the walk and ride the train from the Gornergrat straight to Riffelberg to meet the walkers.

   More active option: Walk on from Riffelberg to Riffelalp, about an hour more through larch woods, and take the train from there.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Zermatt

   Activity: The Gornergrat is at 3,089 m. The Riffelsee walk drops about 230 m on a mountain path; snow can close it outside summer, and then we ride the train.

8. Day 8: Chillon Castle and Lake Geneva to Geneva

   Zermatt by shuttle train to Täsch, by road to Chillon Castle and Montreux, then Geneva's old town and Geneva Airport

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   Day 8 details

   After breakfast the electric taxis take the bags to the station and the shuttle train takes us to Täsch, where our vehicle is waiting at about 9 am. We drive down the Rhône valley to Lake Geneva, about an hour and 50 minutes, and stop at Chillon Castle, a medieval castle on a rock in the lake near Montreux, with towers, dungeons and wall walks that children can explore for an hour. Lunch is a sit-down meal by the lake in Montreux. Then it is about an hour to Geneva, where the vehicle drops us at the top of the old town for a short walk around St Pierre Cathedral and the Place du Bourg-de-Four, and the group says goodbye at Geneva Airport (GVA) at about 3:45 pm, so book a flight from Geneva leaving after about 6 pm. Flying home from Zurich instead? We drop you at Visp station on the way down the valley for a train to Zurich Airport, covered by your pass, arriving early in the afternoon, so book a flight after about 4 pm.

   Included

   • Shuttle train from Zermatt to Täsch
   • Transfer along the Rhône valley and Lake Geneva to Geneva Airport (GVA)
   • Chillon Castle entry
   • Sit-down lunch in Montreux
   • Short walk in Geneva's old town

   Easier option: Stay with the vehicle at the foot of Geneva's old town or go straight to the airport; your guide arranges it at lunch.

   Activity: Book a flight from Geneva leaving after about 6 pm, or from Zurich Airport after about 4 pm. Pack the night before; your bags travel in our vehicle.

   

Wildlife and weather: Mountain weather changes fast and summit views need a clear sky, so we start early on the two high days and keep the order flexible. July and August are warmest, with lake water often around 20°C; June and September are quieter and cooler, with fewer swimming days, and snow can linger on the high paths at First and the Riffelsee into June.

• Lucerne2 nights
• Interlaken3 nights
• Zermatt2 nights