Two things I checked off of my bucket list: a train ride in Switzerland and visiting the Lauterbrunnen village \o/ \o/

I spent only three days in Switzerland. I know it is not enough time but I was able to get a taste of this beautiful country. In this trip I visited: Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, and Montreux. My main goal was to do the Golden Pass train ride. It starts in Lucerne and goes all the way to Montreux. This is not a direct train so you have to switch trains once in Interlaken and a second time in Zweisimmen. The entire route takes almost 5.5 hours.

At the Zurich airport I took a train directly to Lucerne. It is only one hour away and it is very easy to find all the information on the digital displays around the train station. I bought all my train tickets in advance because I did not know if it was more expensive to buy on the same day. I used the official website for the Swiss public transportation SBB.

TIP: There is a “trick” here in case you want to do the Golden Pass train ride, you have to buy your tickets at the SBB website and then book your seat at the Golden Pass website. Also, make sure you buy the train ticket for the same class in both websites. For example: if you buy a economy (standard) ticket in the SBB website make sure you book a seat for second class in the Golden Pass website. I am writing this because I made the mistake of buying different classes, these websites are very confusing so for me it was a lesson learned.

I spent a few hours in Lucerne before starting my train ride. This city is very charming and one of my favorite things was the nice paintings on the buildings located in the old town. One of the main spots to visit in the city is the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke), the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe. You can take some nice pictures here. I also enjoyed visiting the Musegg Wall, a big wall built in the 14th century to protect the town of Lucerne with a total of nine towers. Some of the towers are open for visitors. Unfortunately, they are only open during warmer weather and I visited the city in February (cold). Still, it was worth to just walk around the wall to see some nice views of the city.

Lucerne to Interlaken is the first part of the Golden Pass route. On this leg try to sit on the right side of the train for the best view of the lake. That is when booking a seat in the Golden Pass website comes handy. For me this was the most beautiful leg of the route. The green waters and the mountains are breathtaking. You don`t want to stop taking pictures.

I decided to stay one night in Interlaken before continuing my journey. Here, one of the biggest attractions is the Harder Kulma, a viewpoint at 1,321 metres overlooking the towns of Interlaken and Untersee. Unfortunately, this attraction is only open during warmer weather. There is also a lot of paragliding in the city as well, just make sure to book a slot in advance. In my case, Interlaken was the easiest way to make a quick detour to the Lauterbrunnen village, a place I`ve always wanted to visit. There are hourly trains that depart from Interlaken East Train Station taking you straight to the Lauterbrunnen Railway Station in 1.20 hour.

Lauterbrunnen was a lovely place. I visited the village in one February morning so it was not crowded. Here you can see the Staubbach Falls. I felt at peace walking around this village and during my walk I found a nice little cafe called Airtime Cafe with delicious hot chocolate and cake. I would go back to Lauterbrunnen just to spend a relaxing weekend hiking in the hills.

Tip: After taking some photos of the falls from the village, follow the road down until you reach the base of Staubbach Falls. You can walk up the stairs to get into a “man-made” grotto that leads behind the falls. 

After visiting Lauterbrunnen I had to go back to Interlaken to continue my Golden Pass train ride: next stop Zweisimmen. I just switched trains in Zweisimmen to get to Montreux. On this leg you will see more of the mountains and less of the lake. Also, the train was more crowded so if you want a nice relaxing ride I would recommend the first class cabin (I made a mistake here as I mentioned earlier in the post).

Final stop of my train ride: Montreux, a town located on Lake Geneva. I highly recommend to take a walk around the waterfront. I saw a beautiful sunset there and walked around the city. It is a very charming place and I would go back, specially in July when they have a famous Jazz festival.

I took the train all the way back to Zurich to catch my flight, but first I had the chance to explore some of the corners of the old town. I visited the Limmat Waterfront and the famous chocolate store Sprüngli. Attached to the store there is cafe where you can eat some chocolate cake and drink hot chocolate. You “gotta” have some chocolate when visiting Switzerland.

A perfect way to end a visit to Switzerland – chocolate cake! I loved this trip and there is so much left to see. I can`t wait to go back 🙂