European Railroad Discussion > Hotel In Luzern Switzerland?

Can anyone recommend a modest hotel within walking distance of the main train station in Luzern, Switzerland? If so, I would appreciate the information.

Hotel Reservation Service (www.hrs.com for the English-language version) is very handy to find hotels.  First search for the city you want, then click on "Distance to" and the train symbol.  Several hotels are within 0.1 miles (~500 ft, probably across the square) from Luzern BHF Hbf. Luzern (BHF = Bahnhof = train station, Hbf. = Hauptbahnhof = main city-center train station).  You can make reservations thru this website.  We used www.hrs.com 10 years ago traveling by train in Germany and France, and it never failed us.
- Doug Debs

The Swiss Franc is even par with the US Dollar. So, logically, the Swiss raised prices on everything. It is expensive!

Paul Ramer
Cincinnati, OH

pramer Wrote:
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> The Swiss Franc is even par with the US Dollar.
> So, logically, the Swiss raised prices on
> everything. It is expensive!
I am well aware of the exchange rate - I used the word modest meaning not luxurious.  A basic unpretentious hotel is what I would like to find.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/16 17:00 by birdman.

VRBOs might be a more affordable option, especially when more than one guest is involved.

Thomas Eckhardt

and a VRBO   is what ?   Sleep in the park?

Can't recommend a hotel but do enjoy Lucerne and Switzerland as a whole. The transport museum in Lucerne is well worth a visit. And as for the trains - yes there are spectacular lines (and do go on them) but the most interesting stuff for me is in the ability of train trams trolleybuses buses and funiculars to connect. Its amazingly seemless.

mundo Wrote:
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> and a VRBO   is what ?   Sleep in the park?

it its like Air BNB

Last Sept we stayed at hotel Schluessel (www.schluessel-Lucerne.ch) and enjoyed our stay.  It is about a 10 minute walk from the train station.  It is on a small plaza and above what they claim is the oldest restaurant in Switzerland.  There is a small church on the square that has a bell the rings every 3o minutes, 24 hours a day.  The bell is not very load and surprisingly didn't bother our sleep.  In fact I found it peaceful. The plaza was very quiet each night that we were there.  

Besides the the transportation museum, there is a nice steam paddle wheel ferry that leaves across the street from the train station.  You can take it the whole length of Lake Lucerne (3.5 hours one way) or just to the transportation museum.  Either way the ferry trip is a lot of fun.

Just spent 2 weeks in Switzerland at the end of Sept / beginning of October, 2016, and had great success with Airbnb.  I did not stay in Luzern this particular trip, but found plenty of places where I did travel (Zurich/Gotthard line, Interlaken, and Bern).  Airbnb has an app for your smartphone, and has the options of 1) sharing a room (like a hostel), 2) private room (like a bedroom in a single family residence), or 3) an entire place (typically a 1-3 bedroom apartment with kitchen, etc).  You could maybe preview on the webpage prior to the app to see if anything strikes your fancy.

Side note, if you do not have it yet, I highly recommend downloading the SBB app (search Play/App Store for "SBB Mobile Preview") - it is the timetable app, and includes rail, bus, boat, and any other form of public transportation.  And with Google maps, you can zoom in on a location if there is a stop nearby and it will name said stop.  I used it to go from Kloten to Regensdorf via bus, and was able to find the bus stop 3 doors away from my destination, while making 2 bus changes.  And with Location/GPS enabled, it will find your closest stop and list all options forthcoming.

Bryan
Cincinnati, OH

 

We were in Lucerne in August . . . . took the train over from Basel . . . day trip.  We highly recommend the Pilatus Bahn . . . . billed as the steepest cog railroad in the world.  We took the boat from near the train station to the cog railway station.  Then we rode the cog up the 7,000 foot mountain and took the cable car back down . . . with a short bus ride back to the train station.  The views on the mountain are spectacular.  There are several hiking trails at the top and good food can be had.

John - Cincinnati, OH

I've stayed at the Hotel Pickwick a few times.  It's nothing to write home about, but it's simple and basic accomodations just across the bridge from the main station and above a Swiss interpretation of an Irish pub (it's nothing to write home about, but that's where check in is located).  The rooms are long and skinny, but the view out the window is astounding (overlooks the Kapellbrücke) and the price is usually very reasonable.  It was just me, and honestly the room was narrow enough I was almost tripping over myself sometimes, but it works well for sleeping, showing, and charging things up.

If you want a better Irish-style pub that generally has more than a few English-speaking expats any given night, opt for the Shamrock, which is only a few minutes walk up the street.  That became one of my usual hang outs when I was there for a week several years ago.

My wife and I stayed at the Hotel Wilden Mann a few years ago.  We liked it very much.  It was definitely within walking distance of the station because we ate several meals there because Switzerland is so expensive!

Last June, we stayed at the Hotel Drei Konige (sp?). Midrange price, nice breakfast, and our room had a pretty good view of Mount Pilatus (when the clouds parted). To get to the train station was a 10-15 minute walk along the river and past the Chapel Bridge. Very pleasant.

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mundo Wrote:
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> and a VRBO   is what ?   Sleep in the park?

 Vacation Rentals By Owner....a website advertising short term holiday rentals worldwide.

Dave