Practical Cozy Travel

Tag: Switzerland

  • A Summer Grand Tour of Belgium, Luxembourg, Alsace & Switzerland: Our Day-by-Day Itinerary

    Last summer we looped through Belgium, Luxembourg, a slice of Germany, the Alsace region of France, and into Switzerland — mostly by train, with a private driver for the longer country-to-country legs. It packed in a lot without ever feeling rushed, and it’s very repeatable whether you’re traveling solo or wrangling a group of five like we were. Here’s the full day-by-day, with links to everything I wrote up in detail.

    The route at a glance

    Illustrated map of a 12-day cozy Europe itinerary with home bases in Brussels, Luxembourg City, Strasbourg and Zurich, plus day trips to Bruges, Ghent, Dinant, Durbuy, Trier, Colmar, Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, Lucerne and Mount Rigi
    Four home bases, everything else a day trip. Dotted lines are excursions; dashed lines are the travel days between cities.
    • Belgium: Brussels as a base, with day trips to Bruges and Ghent
    • The drive south: scenic stops in Durbuy and Dinant
    • Luxembourg: Luxembourg City, plus a day trip across the border to Trier, Germany
    • Alsace: Haut-Kœnigsbourg castle and Colmar en route to Strasbourg
    • Switzerland: Zurich, plus Lucerne and Mount Rigi to finish

    The day-by-day itinerary

    Day 1 — Travel day. An overnight flight over, landing early the next morning. If you want the full breakdown of how I fit this whole trip into a carry-on, that’s here.

    Day 2 — Brussels. Arrival and the Old Town, including the Grand-Place. My honest take on Belgium’s capital: Brussels: An Honest First Look.

    Day 3 — Bruges. An early train and the storybook canals — my favorite of the three Belgian cities. Bruges: The Storybook Belgian City.

    Day 4 — Ghent. Belgium’s underrated canal city (take the tram, not the walk). Ghent: Belgium’s Underrated Canal City.

    Day 5 — Brussels to Luxembourg. A private driver let us break up the drive with two lovely stops. Durbuy & Dinant: The Prettiest Stops Between Brussels and Luxembourg.

    Day 6 — Trier. An easy day trip across the German border to Germany’s oldest city. A Day Trip to Trier.

    Day 7 — Luxembourg City. A leisurely day of clifftop views, the Grund, and a lot of good cafes. A Leisurely Day in Luxembourg City.

    Day 8 — Luxembourg to Strasbourg. A fairytale castle and the storybook town of Colmar along the way. Luxembourg to Strasbourg: Haut-Kœnigsbourg & Colmar.

    Day 9 — Strasbourg. Alsatian charm, a grand cathedral, and — for the skincare lovers — a proper French pharmacy haul. Full day here: Strasbourg: Alsatian Charm & a Grand Cathedral.

    Day 10 — Zurich. A relaxing arrival into Switzerland: wandering the Limmat, the old-town classics, and watching locals leap off the bridges into the river. First Look at Zurich.

    Day 11 — Lucerne & Mount Rigi. A private-tour day and the highlight of our Switzerland leg — Lucerne’s Chapel Bridge and Lion Monument, then a gondola and cog railway to the top of Mount Rigi. Lucerne and Mount Rigi: The Best Day of Our Switzerland Trip.

    Day 12 — Flight home. A pure travel day. My rule for the last morning: no ambitious sightseeing — breakfast, one last check that nothing got left in the hotel safe, and head for the airport. Still short on gifts? Don’t panic-buy from a souvenir shop. Swiss grocery stores, the shops at Zurich’s main train station, and the airport all have a good spread — just check what will actually clear a carry-on before you buy.

    Before you go

    Two posts that made this trip run smoothly: what I packed for 12 days in a carry-on, and how I used AI to help plan the whole thing.

    ← Back to all Destinations

    Next up: Belgium — Brussels →

  • Lucerne and Mount Rigi: The Best Day of Our Switzerland Trip

    Lucerne and Mount Rigi: The Best Day of Our Switzerland Trip

    This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through a link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure here.

    If you only have one big day to spend beyond Zurich, this is the one I’d copy exactly. We spent it in Lucerne and up Mount Rigi, and it was hands-down one of the highlights of the entire trip.

    Why we booked a private tour

    Handing the logistics to someone else genuinely made the day. We went with The Zurich Insider, and our guide, Samantha, and our driver, Josh, took a beautiful route to Lucerne and coordinated every moving piece — the drive, the boat, the gondola, the trains — so we could just relax and take it in.

    Samantha was in great communication before we even started, incredibly knowledgeable along the way, and read our group perfectly: she adjusted the pace and priorities to what we wanted and even clocked exactly when we were ready for lunch (and sent us somewhere that fit us to a tee). Josh was a safe, professional driver, and between the two of them every stop was handled so we could simply enjoy the scenery. If you want a day this full without any of the planning stress, a private guide is worth every penny — I’d recommend them without hesitation.

    Swiss countryside scenery on the drive from Zurich to Lucerne

    Lucerne

    Lucerne is a gem. We saw the Lion Monument — that famous carved lion — visited a few beautiful and genuinely interesting churches, and walked across the iconic wooden Chapel Bridge. Lunch was at a brewery right off the water, which was perfect on a warm day, and I tried a Switzerland cola that was a fun, tasty surprise. We wandered the town, grabbed a few (very touristy) souvenirs, and worked in some cupcakes and treats, because vacation.

    The old town of Lucerne, Switzerland, along the waterfront

    One honest note: we took a boat across the lake, and while it was beautiful, it functioned more as a way to get from A to B than a dedicated scenic cruise. Still lovely — just manage your expectations if you’re picturing a sightseeing boat.

    Up Mount Rigi

    Then came the showstopper. We took a gondola partway up Mount Rigi — I’ll be honest, it was a little horrifying for me, but absolutely beautiful — and then a train the rest of the way to the top. The view up there was, no exaggeration, the most beautiful we have ever seen.

    The view from the summit of Mount Rigi over the lakes and Alps of central Switzerland
    Walking paths and alpine scenery at the top of Mount Rigi, Switzerland

    One thing I really appreciated: at the top there’s a steep path and a more meandering one. We took the meandering route — still a decent incline, so don’t picture it flat — and it was absolutely worth it. Coming back down, we took the train, which was less frightening than the gondola, though a few of the drops still made me say oof.

    Our driver picked us up and took a scenic route back to the hotel to close things out — a stunning end to an amazing day. If you do one big Swiss adventure from Zurich, make it this one.

    Comfort tips: it’s cooler and breezier at the summit than down by the lake, so pack a light layer — and wear comfortable shoes for those inclines. The New Balance 1080 v15 handled the paths at the top easily. If heights aren’t your thing, know there’s some exposure on the gondola, but the cog train is the gentler way up and down.

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    ← Switzerland — Zurich

    Back to: The full 12-day itinerary →

    The final stop in A Summer Grand Tour of Belgium, Luxembourg, Alsace & Switzerland.

  • First Look at Zurich: A Relaxing Arrival Day by the Limmat

    First Look at Zurich: A Relaxing Arrival Day by the Limmat

    This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through a link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure here.

    Zurich was our arrival into Switzerland, and we kept it deliberately low-key — a day to land, wander, and let the city set the tone. It turned out to be one of the easiest, prettiest arrival days of the whole trip.

    A slow wander along the Limmat

    After we were dropped off, we just started to explore on foot, and walking along the Limmat was beautiful. The whole riverfront invites a slow pace, which was exactly what we wanted after a travel day.

    Riverfront buildings along the Limmat in Zurich, Switzerland, on a summer afternoon

    The best surprise: watching people jump and flip off the bridges into the river. In summer, locals swim the Limmat like it’s the most normal thing in the world, and it looked like so much fun. My one regret of the day — we didn’t bring our swimsuits. Learn from me: if you’re visiting in warm weather, pack a suit so you can join in.

    The easy sights

    We wove past the classics — the shopping stretch of Bahnhofstrasse, the leafy Lindenhof lookout, the Grossmünster’s twin towers, and the lanes of the Niederdorf old town — with plenty of just-beautiful walking in between. The Lake Zurich promenade is a lovely place to slow down, and if you’re there on a Sunday, Sprüngli is a classic stop for something sweet.

    We paused for drinks along the way, and I had a delicious lemonade with mint and honey that I’m still thinking about. Mostly, this was a day to decompress and ease into Switzerland — exactly what we needed before the bigger adventure the next day.

    Where to actually buy your souvenirs

    Skip the dedicated souvenir shops. Some of the best gifts we brought home came from ordinary grocery stores — Coop and Migros are everywhere, and the chocolate, biscuits, and packaged specialties on those shelves are the same things people actually eat here, at prices that aren’t set for tourists. It’s the easiest way to bring home something Swiss without paying a premium for a paper bag with a cow on it.

    Two other spots worth knowing: Zurich Hauptbahnhof, the main train station, has a genuinely good spread of shops with plenty of variety, and the shops at Zurich Airport are better than the usual airport fare. Both are convenient if you’ve run out of time in the city, and the airport in particular is a fine last-minute rescue on your way out.

    One practical note if you’re carry-on only, as I was: think about what you’re buying before you buy it. Anything liquid or gel-like — jams, honey, liqueur-filled chocolates, spirits — has to go in a checked bag, and a Swiss Army knife won’t clear security no matter how nicely it’s boxed. Chocolate bars, biscuits, dried and packaged goods are all fine in a carry-on. If you know you’re checking a bag, you have far more freedom; if you’re not, buy after security or stick to the solid stuff.

    Comfort tip: in summer, tuck a swimsuit and a quick-dry towel in your day bag so you can jump in the Limmat with the locals — the regret of not having one is real. The Rainleaf microfiber travel towel is the one I pack: it’s compact, dries fast, and takes up almost no room in a carry-on.

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    ← French Pharmacy Haul

    Next up: Lucerne & Mount Rigi →

    Part of A Summer Grand Tour of Belgium, Luxembourg, Alsace & Switzerland.