Switzerland itinerary, day by day

From Lucerne to the Jungfrau, then the Matterhorn at Zermatt and Geneva on its lake: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: June to September (skiing: December to March)

Lucerne · Photo Robert Hrovat / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Switzerland in 3 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · ≈ 70 km

1Lucerne

Days 1-2

A town on the lake under Mount Pilatus, with a covered wooden bridge from 1333 that burned in 1993 and was rebuilt within a year.

🎟️ Worth booking

Mount Pilatus by cogwheel railwayHalf day · from €72
The steepest rack railway in the world at 48% gradient, climbing to 2,128 metres. It runs from May to November only.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Lake Lucerne cruise1h · from €30
An hour on the water, part of the fleet being paddle steamers that have been working since the 1900s.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Kapellbrücke, the chapel bridge · The old town · The Lion Monument · The lakeside walk

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Backpackers Lucerne (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel des Balances (€210 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Schweizerhof (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Osteria Valle di Zerz ↗ ★ 4.9 · 256 reviews
Restaurant Wey ↗ ★ 4.9 · 255 reviews
Restaurant Scala ↗ ★ 4.8 · 873 reviews
Restaurant Gleis 1 - Luzern Bahnhof ↗ ★ 4.8 · 151 reviews
Grottino 1313 ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1097 reviews · €€€

Photo Adrien Olichon / Pexels

🚆 GoldenPass · 1h50 · 70 km

2Interlaken & Jungfrau

Day 3

Wedged between two lakes, and the way up to the Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe at 3,454 metres.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Jungfraujoch railway, Top of EuropeFull day · from €220
A tunnel drilled through the Eiger between 1896 and 1912, ending at a station cut into the ice at 3,454 metres.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Paragliding over the lakes30 min · from €170
Thirty minutes off the slope above Interlaken, with both lakes in sight at once.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Lake Thun and Lake Brienz · The Harder Kulm path · Lauterbrunnen village · The Trümmelbach falls

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Backpackers Villa (€60 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Interlaken (€170 a night) · Luxury: Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel (€450 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Tandoori Restaurant Interlaken ↗ ★ 4.9 · 6251 reviews
Afghan Central Restaurant Interlaken | افغان سنترال رستورانت ↗ ★ 4.9 · 194 reviews
Fondue Villa & Garden ↗ ★ 4.8 · 2313 reviews
Hopplá Bistro ↗ ★ 4.8 · 680 reviews · €€
Oakberry Interlaken ↗ ★ 4.8 · 166 reviews

Photo Gotta Be Worth It / Pexels

Switzerland in 7 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · ≈ 410 km

1Lucerne

Days 1-2

A town on the lake under Mount Pilatus, with a covered wooden bridge from 1333 that burned in 1993 and was rebuilt within a year.

🎟️ Worth booking

Mount Pilatus by cogwheel railwayHalf day · from €72
The steepest rack railway in the world at 48% gradient, climbing to 2,128 metres. It runs from May to November only.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Lake Lucerne cruise1h · from €30
An hour on the water, part of the fleet being paddle steamers that have been working since the 1900s.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Kapellbrücke, the chapel bridge · The old town · The Lion Monument · The lakeside walk

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Backpackers Lucerne (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel des Balances (€210 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Schweizerhof (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Adrien Olichon / Pexels

🚆 GoldenPass · 1h50 · 68 km

2Interlaken & Jungfrau

Days 3-4

Wedged between two lakes, and the way up to the Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe at 3,454 metres.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Jungfraujoch railway, Top of EuropeFull day · from €220
A tunnel drilled through the Eiger between 1896 and 1912, ending at a station cut into the ice at 3,454 metres.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Paragliding over the lakes30 min · from €170
Thirty minutes off the slope above Interlaken, with both lakes in sight at once.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Lake Thun and Lake Brienz · The Harder Kulm path · Lauterbrunnen village · The Trümmelbach falls

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Backpackers Villa (€60 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Interlaken (€170 a night) · Luxury: Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel (€450 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Gotta Be Worth It / Pexels

🚆 Train · 2h10 · 110 km

3Zermatt and the Matterhorn

Days 5-6

A car-free village under the 4,478 metre Matterhorn, first climbed in 1865 by a party that lost four men on the way down.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gornergrat railway and the Matterhorn viewHalf day · from €66
A cog railway open since 1898, climbing to 3,089 metres facing the mountain and the Gorner glacier.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Glacier Paradise cable carHalf day · from €95
Up to 3,883 metres, the highest cable car station in Europe, with snow on the ground every month of the year.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The car-free village · The Riffelsee path, where the Matterhorn doubles in the water · The Furi suspension bridge

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Zermatt Youth Hostel (€65 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Bristol Zermatt (€190 a night) · Luxury: The Omnia (€490 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Petit Royal Café ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1025 reviews · €€
Restaurant Spycher ↗ ★ 4.8 · 664 reviews · €€
Restaurant Z'Mutt ↗ ★ 4.8 · 214 reviews · €€
Golden India Zermatt ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1721 reviews
Adler Hitta ↗ ★ 4.7 · 709 reviews · €€€

Photo Jean-Paul Wettstein / Pexels

🚆 Train · 3h40 · 230 km

4Geneva and Lake Geneva

Day 7

A diplomatic city at the narrow end of the lake, where the water jet throws 500 litres a second 140 metres into the air.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lake Geneva cruise1h · from €25
An hour out from the quay, with the terraced vineyards of Lavaux rising on the far shore.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Montreux and Chillon day tripFull day · from €45
The lakeside town Freddie Mercury recorded in, and the island castle Byron wrote a poem about in 1816.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The water jet · The old town and cathedral · The Jardin Anglais and its flower clock · Bains des Pâquis

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Geneva Hostel (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel N'vY (€180 a night) · Luxury: Beau-Rivage Genève (€420 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

L'Art Doiz ↗ ★ 4.9 · 110 reviews
Restaurant Le Mélange - Cuisine du Monde ↗ ★ 4.9 · 109 reviews
Visitaly ↗ ★ 4.8 · 941 reviews
GOODWIN The Steak House ↗ ★ 4.8 · 758 reviews
Restaurant-tapas Hanae ↗ ★ 4.8 · 684 reviews

Photo Christopher Politano / Pexels

Switzerland in 14 days

5 stops · 29 things to do · ≈ 700 km

1Lucerne

Days 1-3

A town on the lake under Mount Pilatus, with a covered wooden bridge from 1333 that burned in 1993 and was rebuilt within a year.

🎟️ Worth booking

Mount Pilatus by cogwheel railwayHalf day · from €72
The steepest rack railway in the world at 48% gradient, climbing to 2,128 metres. It runs from May to November only.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Lake Lucerne cruise1h · from €30
An hour on the water, part of the fleet being paddle steamers that have been working since the 1900s.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Kapellbrücke, the chapel bridge · The old town · The Lion Monument · The lakeside walk

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Backpackers Lucerne (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel des Balances (€210 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Schweizerhof (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Adrien Olichon / Pexels

🚆 GoldenPass · 1h50 · 68 km

2Interlaken & Jungfrau

Days 4-6

Wedged between two lakes, and the way up to the Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe at 3,454 metres.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Jungfraujoch railway, Top of EuropeFull day · from €220
A tunnel drilled through the Eiger between 1896 and 1912, ending at a station cut into the ice at 3,454 metres.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Paragliding over the lakes30 min · from €170
Thirty minutes off the slope above Interlaken, with both lakes in sight at once.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Lake Thun and Lake Brienz · The Harder Kulm path · Lauterbrunnen village · The Trümmelbach falls

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Backpackers Villa (€60 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Interlaken (€170 a night) · Luxury: Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel (€450 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Gotta Be Worth It / Pexels

🚆 Train · 2h10 · 110 km

3Zermatt and the Matterhorn

Days 7-9

A car-free village under the 4,478 metre Matterhorn, first climbed in 1865 by a party that lost four men on the way down.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gornergrat railway and the Matterhorn viewHalf day · from €66
A cog railway open since 1898, climbing to 3,089 metres facing the mountain and the Gorner glacier.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Glacier Paradise cable carHalf day · from €95
Up to 3,883 metres, the highest cable car station in Europe, with snow on the ground every month of the year.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The car-free village · The Riffelsee path, where the Matterhorn doubles in the water · The Furi suspension bridge

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Zermatt Youth Hostel (€65 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Bristol Zermatt (€190 a night) · Luxury: The Omnia (€490 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jean-Paul Wettstein / Pexels

🚆 Train · 3h40 · 230 km

4Geneva and Lake Geneva

Days 10-12

A diplomatic city at the narrow end of the lake, where the water jet throws 500 litres a second 140 metres into the air.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lake Geneva cruise1h · from €25
An hour out from the quay, with the terraced vineyards of Lavaux rising on the far shore.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Montreux and Chillon day tripFull day · from €45
The lakeside town Freddie Mercury recorded in, and the island castle Byron wrote a poem about in 1816.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The water jet · The old town and cathedral · The Jardin Anglais and its flower clock · Bains des Pâquis

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Geneva Hostel (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel N'vY (€180 a night) · Luxury: Beau-Rivage Genève (€420 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Christopher Politano / Pexels

🚆 Train · 3h · 260 km (return)

5Lucerne

Days 13-14

A town on the lake under Mount Pilatus, with a covered wooden bridge from 1333 that burned in 1993 and was rebuilt within a year.

🎟️ Worth booking

Mount Pilatus by cogwheel railwayHalf day · from €72
The steepest rack railway in the world at 48% gradient, climbing to 2,128 metres. It runs from May to November only.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Lake Lucerne cruise1h · from €30
An hour on the water, part of the fleet being paddle steamers that have been working since the 1900s.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Kapellbrücke, the chapel bridge · The old town · The Lion Monument · The lakeside walk

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Backpackers Lucerne (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel des Balances (€210 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Schweizerhof (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Adrien Olichon / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Fondue: melted cheese in a pot, shared and stirred.
Raclette: cheese melted off the wheel over potatoes.
Rösti: grated potato fried into a golden cake.
Swiss chocolate, sold by weight in every town.
Birchermüesli, devised by a doctor around 1900 and still the standard breakfast.

⚠️ What to avoid

Everything costs: buy lunch at a Coop or Migros and eat it outside.
Validate your Swiss Travel Pass before the first journey if you are chaining trains.
Trains leave at the stated minute, not a moment after. Be early.
Take mountain weather and mountain kit seriously, even in July.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Switzerland guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Switzerland, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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