Holidays to Switzerland Travel Podcast Episode 157 Transcript

8 Lesser-Known Swiss Villages and Towns near Lake Lucerne to Include in Your Trip to Switzerland

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Welcome to the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. If you’re planning a trip to Switzerland, this is the podcast for you. I’m your host, Carolyn Schönafinger, the founder of holidays to switzerland.com. In each episode, my expert guests and I share practical tips to help you plan your dream trip to Switzerland. You’ll get helpful advice about traveling around Switzerland and hear about the most popular destinations, as well as some hidden gems. We’ll introduce you to plenty of wonderful experiences that you can enjoy as part of your Swiss vacation. Each episode is packed with expert tips, itinerary ideas, and inspiration to help make your Swiss Vacation Planning easy. So, let’s dive in.

Grüezi. Welcome to this week’s episode of the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. In today’s episode, Celine Deplazes from Lucerne Tourism returns to introduce us to some hidden gems in the stunning Lake Lucerne region. While the city of Lucerne often takes the spotlight as one of Switzerland’s most beautiful destinations, there’s so much more to explore, and it’s just a short train or boat ride away. In this episode, Celine tells us about some of the region’s charming boutique towns and the authentic Swiss experiences and unique attractions that they offer.

If you’d like to stay away from the tourist crowds of Lucerne, but still have easy access to the city, you’ll love Celine’s suggestions. You never know, basing yourself in one of these beautiful boutique towns could be the highlight of your visit to central Switzerland, so let’s hear about them.

Hello, Celine, welcome back to the podcast. Thank you for joining me again. It’s always great to have your amazing insight about Lucerne and the Lake Lucerne region to share with our listeners. Now, for those people who perhaps haven’t heard you on one of our podcasts before, could you tell us a little bit about yourself, please?

Celine Deplazes: Sure. So, it’s always a pleasure to be on your podcast. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to talk about Lucerne and the Lake Lucerne region. I work for the Tourism Board of Lucerne, so we represent the whole region around Lake Lucerne, which holds some really beautiful boutique towns as well. I’m from Uri, I grew up there, and then I decided to move to the beautiful city of Lucerne, because, as you know, it’s the most beautiful city of Switzerland, surrounded by mountains and the lake. It’s just a wonderful place to live. But as I said, Uri, a wonderful boutique region. So if you love mountains and cows and you want it very quiet, definitely visit Uri as well.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, well, we’re going to talk about some of those amazing boutique towns around the lake today. I think Lucerne obviously is a very popular Swiss city. As you said, it’s probably the most beautiful city in Switzerland, and it’s no surprise then that everyone wants to include Lucerne in their itinerary. But I think the thing that a lot of people don’t perhaps appreciate is that there’s so many of those beautiful little towns and villages around the lake that they could easily base themselves in, and they’re not very far from Lucerne at all.

So perhaps we can go through and chat about some of these different boutique towns today, and I’ll let you tell me your favorites, and you know, all the useful things that we need to know about them.

Celine Deplazes: Yeah, great idea. So, yeah, you said it perfectly, right? A lot of people, they stay in Lucerne, in the city center, and I totally get it why, because everything is in walking distance. The highlights and the sights, you have plenty of restaurant options. But because Switzerland is so small, even if you go to the village of Hergiswil, it’s only a 10 minute train ride. So it’s like a metro ride, and you’re in a quiet area surrounded by nature. The backdrop is Mount Pilatus, and you have beautiful lake views, and within 10 minutes, you’re in the heart of Lucerne. So definitely a place that I can recommend to base yourself there.

There’s not just the beautiful views. There’s also a very exciting and unique attraction in Hergiswil. It’s called the Glasi Hergiswil, so it’s an exhibition and a museum about the glass workers. The Glasi Hergiswil is the only place in Switzerland that produces glass this way, with this traditional glass blowers. Something very unique to visit if you’re in Lucerne or in Hergiswil. And Hergiswil, just to give you an idea of the size, so the city of Lucerne has 80,000 inhabitants, and Hergiswil only has about 6,000. It’s still one of the bigger villages. I will talk about smaller villages in a minute, but to give you an idea of the size.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And is it on the lake, or is it a bit inland from the lake?

Celine Deplazes: No, it’s by the lake. So as I said, the backdrop, or behind the village is Mount Pilatus, and then it’s the village and then the lake. So you can reach it by train within 10 minutes, or you can take a boat. Depending on the connection, it’s 40 minutes or one and a half hours because it does different stops. But it’s also possible to reach it by water.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, okay, and just 10 minutes by train. I mean, I know a lot of our listeners will be traveling with a Swiss Travel Pass, so, you know, it’s not like they’ll need to buy a ticket every time they want to do that trip. It’s fully covered. That’s great.

Celine Deplazes: Yeah, and it’s actually, for those traveling by car, it’s just by the exit of a highway connecting north to south. So it’s a very convenient location as well.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, good. Alright. So, do you have any accommodation recommendations for Hergiswil?

Celine Deplazes: I have two, actually, and I chose those because they’re a bit different. So, the Rockerly, a very special Swiss name. It’s a hotel, which is a bit more uphill, so you have the view over the village and the lake. It’s about 15 minutes from the train station by foot, or you can also take a bus, 10 minutes. Just be aware that you’re in a village, so there might not be a bus every five minutes, but they’re still coming regularly. It might take like 15-20 minutes. And then the other option would be Seehotel Pilatus, which is right by the lake. So in summer you have lake access, and for the colder time of the year, they have a spa and a wellness area as well, including an indoor pool. For those traveling by car, they also have parking lots available. So those are two options in Hergiswil.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Great. So who would you recommend should choose Hergiswil as their base?

Celine Deplazes: So I can highly recommend Hergiswil for everyone who wants to have a short connection to the city, if you’re looking for a lake view, and if you want to stay in a place where traditional craftsmanship is still alive. Perfect.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, right. So which village are we going to talk about next? We probably should mention too that we’re going anti-clockwise around Lake Lucerne as we talk about each of these villages. So if someone is looking at a map and wants to sort of follow along, anti-clockwise is the way we’re going.

Celine Deplazes: Exactly. So we’re jumping on a train and five more minutes, and then we’re in Stans. Stans is about 20 kilometers south of Lucerne. So it’s a total of 15 minute train ride, and it’s a bit a bigger village than Hergiswil. It has 8,500 inhabitants, and it’s the capital of the Canton Nidwalden. In Switzerland, we have 26 cantons, and each of those cantons, they have like a capital village, and Stans is the one of Nidwalden. Nidwalden was one of the founding cantons of Switzerland as well. So some Swiss history there as well.

The main attractions in Stans, I was always impressed by the big church. I mean, every city in or central Switzerland is a capital or a Catholic place. So we all have churches in each village, but the one in Stans is really impressive. It can host up to 600 people in the church. And of course, there’s mountains as well. And one mountain that I want to highlight is the Stanserhorn, because Carolyn, you mentioned lots of people they are holding, or lots of the listeners are holding a Swiss Travel Pass. And with the Swiss Travel Pass, Stanserhorn is actually included.

A beautiful excursion from Lucerne. Or, I mean, if you’re in Stans, it’s, it’s basically from the village center that the funicular goes up. So Stanserhorn is, you have, “world famous” is probably a big word, but it’s the world’s first open-air cable car, so it holds a world record. You board a funicular first, it’s an old traditional funicular, and then you change to a very modern cable car there, and you can be outside and enjoy the 360 degree view over the lake and the surrounding villages and mountains. And you can also see the city of Lucerne.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah. Now, they also have some special evening rides too, which I was lucky enough to do a few years ago. And, ah, the sunset views as we were coming back down the mountain from the cable car were just amazing.

Celine Deplazes: Yeah, so they’re not open all around the year. They’re open from April to end of November. And the evening trips you talk about are every Saturday, plus every Thursday and Friday from June to October. But the exact dates are all mentioned on their website. As you said, you can go there for a sunset dinner. You can bring your own picnic. A beautiful evening activity.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, and they’re big on flora and fauna on Stanserhorn too.

Celine Deplazes: Yeah. So there’s the Stanserhorn Rangers. It’s 15 of them, and it’s mostly retired men and women. They are on the Stanserhorn, and you can ask them any question you want. They can explain to you the fauna, the flora, the surrounding mountains, the animals, give you tips and recommendations. So they’re really passionate about Stanserhorn. They also got three awards for their work. So something’s very unique that you will only find on Mount Stanserhorn.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And they’re kind of famous for a dish that they serve at the restaurant too. What’s that all about?

Celine Deplazes: Yeah, it’s one of my favorite dishes. And I was up there, and I was a bit skeptical, because my grandma, she does great Älplermagronen. It’s a cheese macaroni. But when I was up Mount Stanserhorn, I really have to say it’s one of the best I ever tasted. So they come in like a fondue caquelon, which is a small pan on a little fire. And then you have to try it yourself. I can’t really explain, but it’s, yeah, the melted cheese and then crunchy onions. And you sit there, you, yeah, you have the mountains and the fresh air, fresh Swiss air. It’s just perfect. I really, yeah, it’s perfect. I don’t really find the words.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And yeah, did you? Did you tell your grandma that that the Älplermagronen was better than hers or not?

Celine Deplazes: No, no, I did not. Maybe I should take her so she got inspired and can adapt her recipe a bit like, I would never dare. I think every grandma in Switzerland has their own recipe and it stays within the family.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, for sure. Good, exactly. All right, so Stans is a very traditional village, as you mentioned before. What about recommendations for hotels or places to stay?

Celine Deplazes: So one that I can recommend, and that is probably a bit different than just the regular hotel, is called the Klosterhotel alpinum, and it’s an old monastery which was renovated and reopened in 2020. The whole Klosterhotel alpinum cares a lot about nature, sustainability, and local products, or regional products. So also the cheese macaroni and Stanserhorn, it’s cheese from the region. The macaroni are made in the region, and same is at the Klosterhotel alpinum. It’s all locally sourced products, and they also have, it’s called an edible garden, where they have lots of fruits and vegetables that are a bit special or not. So they want to see if they actually grow or are able to grow in Switzerland.

It’s a bit like a test. And yeah, something a very special, a special place, and not just a regular hotel. They only have 14 rooms. It’s very minimalist rooms because, as I said, it was a monastery before. But if you’re looking for something different, this could be a nice option for you. And then a more regular hotel is the Tailor Made Hotel in Stans. It’s a three star hotel, and it’s right by the motorway exit. No worries, the rooms are soundproof, but it’s a great option for those traveling by car because they have free parking available as well. They’re quite flexible when it comes to checking. They have a check-in machine.

So this is more of a traditional hotel. It’s not a motel. It’s really a hotel with a simple and warm interior with wood and modern furniture. So those are the two options in Stans that I can recommend.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, great. All right, so who should choose Stans as their base when they’re visiting the region?

Celine Deplazes: I can recommend Stans for the listeners that want to be close to the city, but you want to have it a bit more quiet and you want to be in a very Swiss traditional village.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so yeah, as you said, only 15 minutes by train back into the heart of Lucerne.

Celine Deplazes: Yeah, can’t be much closer. Even if you’re staying in the city center. Depending on where you are, you also have a bus ride or you walk 15 minutes to get to the train station. So Stans is definitely a great option.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, all right, so let’s move on a little bit to a village that I stayed in a couple of years ago and really, really liked: Beckenried.

Celine Deplazes: Yeah. So Beckenried is also part of the Canton Nidwalden still, and it is very small. It only has 3,600 inhabitants, so a very typical Swiss village, again by the lake and still surrounded by the mountains. It’s 15 minutes by bus from Stans, so you take a train and then you have to take a bus, because there is no bus stop, train stop in Beckenried, or again, you have the option to take the boat from Lucerne. It’s about one hour 15 minutes or 45 minutes, depending again, on the connection.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, good. And what are some of the things that you always recommend people do when they’re staying in or visiting Beckenried?

Celine Deplazes: So Beckenried is, as I said, very small. So something that you should definitely do, because it’s a lakeside village, is to do a boat ride. And then if you want something off the beaten track, again, it’s a mountain. We have so many different mountains in Switzerland, but this one is probably one of the lesser known mountain excursions in central Switzerland. It’s called Klewenalp.

Klewenalp is reachable by cable car. It’s actually the longest cable car in central Switzerland, and it’s a beautiful place for outdoor activities, so hiking or biking. In winter, it’s a skiing and snowboarding area. It’s a wonderful place for families. Of course, you can do very steep and long hikes, but my favorite hike, actually, is the Klewenalp to Stockhütte hike. It’s about one and a half hours, five kilometers, and it’s mostly flat and a bit downhill. If you do it that way, you can also do it the other way around, obviously.

And what’s a very nice ending is that you can take the bike boards. They’re called bike boards, like a scooter or Trotti net, and you can bike down from Stockhütte to Emmetten. Emmetten is again a small village, and from there, you take the bus back to Beckenried. So that’s a very nice day excursion for families.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And I’m guessing from if you’re doing that hike, you’ll probably get amazing views over the lake.

Celine Deplazes: Of course, always, always, always, yeah. Amazing views over the lake and the villages, Mount Pilatus and Mount Rigi, which are the popular mountains, I would say, in central Switzerland. But Klewenalp is really a place where I go hiking as well with my family.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, well, definitely have to add that one to the list. Yeah, you should. Now, despite it being quite a small village, there are still quite a few options for restaurants and places to stay. What’s your recommendation for a hotel in Beckenried?

Celine Deplazes: So again, I have two recommendations, and one is called the Hotel Seeblick, and it’s a restored historic building from 18 from the 1820s. It’s a small hotel, so a boutique hotel with only 10 rooms, and they also have two rooftop suites. And the hosts are Kozia and Connie. Kozia is the chef, so she only cooks with very fresh ingredients, and then Connie will bring you the right wine to the meal. So it’s a very, yeah, a boutique hotel with a personal touch from the two hosts.

And then the Nidwalderhof is a hotel right by the lake. It has family rooms and spa rooms as well. And also, I was there once. In their restaurant, they have amazing food.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So I think you were there, that’s where I stayed, yes, yeah. And the restaurant, yes, the food is incredible. And they have a lovely terrace by the lake that you can sit out in the warmer months and enjoy your dinner overlooking the lake. It’s, yeah, very, very nice.

Celine Deplazes: Yeah, the views, again, as I said, they’re everywhere.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And as we previously mentioned, there’s a boat stop at Beckenried as well, so you can easily take a boat into Lucerne or to one of the other neighboring towns as well. So who do you think Beckenried is most suited to as a base?

Celine Deplazes: I think it’s something for listeners who want a lakeside village with access to a lesser-known mountain and who don’t mind to take an extra bus ride to get to the city, because it’s really one of those rural places, even more rural and secluded than Stans is. But if you’re looking for quietness, then definitely Beckenried is the place, yeah.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And having said that, even though you’ve got to take that bus ride as well as the train, it’s still only 30 minutes in total. So it’s, it’s not far at all. Sure, many of our listeners commute much longer than that, yeah, twice a day.

Celine Deplazes: Yes.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so let’s move on to Brunnen, which is perhaps a little bit more known. What should everyone know about Brunnen?

Celine Deplazes: So Brunnen is in the Canton Schwyz, another founding canton of Switzerland. When you’re in Brunnen, you actually have a view to the Rütli Meadow. So this is, according to the legend, the place where Switzerland has been founded in 1291. So a lot of history in Brunnen. It’s also by the lakeside, so you can reach it by boat from Lucerne. It’s a bit a longer boat ride. It’s about two to two and a half hours, and by train from Lucerne, the direct train, 45 minutes to reach this lakeside town.

I think all of you have heard of Victorinox and the Swiss Army knife, and this is actually the region where, where it comes from. So in Ibach, which is the village next to Brunnen, is the factory of Victorinox. And in the store in Brunnen, you have a very unique experience, and you don’t find it on any website, because they want to keep it exclusive. You can go to the store in Brunnen and assemble your own pocket knife, and this is only bookable via email or phone, or you just pass by the store and ask if they have availability.

I did it two weeks ago, and it’s really a great experience. It takes you, like, 10 minutes to assemble one knife. So they have two stations. And then they asked us, do you know how long it takes the workers in the factory to assemble one knife? And we were like, maybe two, three minutes, because we assume they’re very much faster. And then they, they were just laughing and said, yeah, like 20 seconds. Oh, okay, a long way to go for us.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Wow, yeah, 20 seconds, obviously, yeah, experts at it.

Celine Deplazes: Yes, yeah, yeah. So that’s something very unique, and it’s really how you do it there is how the workers work in the factory as well.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so you can choose your own design, your own color, really personalize it. Yeah, what a fantastic souvenir to take home.

Celine Deplazes: You can choose from three different sort of knife, so the smaller, middle one and the bigger one with more tools. And then you choose the color. And the one of the blades, they also are engraved with, I think it says something like assembled by hand, or something like this. So it’s, yeah, again, another unique thing that only your knife will have, and not the ones you can buy. But if you want to buy something in the store in Brunnen, because it’s so close to the factory store, they’re nice. They have 10% factory discount because it’s basically a factory store.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, good. Alright. So what about mountain excursions from Brunnen?

Celine Deplazes: The mountain excursions from Brunnen, the closest mountain is Mount Stoos. And for those, again, who travel with a Swiss Travel Pass, Mount Stoos is included until the village level. So it means you take the funicular from the valley station up to the village level. And if you want to go further, you can take a chair lift to the to the Fronalpstock. Fronalpstock is the name, and from there, you have a beautiful view over the part of Lake Lucerne that is called Lake Uri. So this is the region I mentioned in the beginning, where I am from.

It looks like one of the fjords in Norway. So it’s, yeah, a very stunning view. And if you want to do some hiking, there’s a famous ridge hike also that goes from Klingenstock to Fronalpstock. It’s about one, one and a half hours. And if you do that hike, I really recommend to do it from Klingenstock to Fronalpstock, because then you have the great views all the time. Otherwise, the view is sort of in your back. That’s a great mountain excursion as well. And then you, you also have wonderful food up there. There’s a restaurant.

Carolyn Schönafinger: There’s so many, yeah, so many. Too many to choose from. Yeah. What about recommendations for accommodation in Brunnen?

Celine Deplazes: So what I can highly recommend as a hotel in Brunnen is the Waldstätterhof in Brunnen. It’s a four star hotel. It’s right by the lake. We stayed there three weeks ago, and it has a private little beach, so private lake access. There is a spa as well, and lots of local people from the area, they go there for the Sunday brunch. So it’s a, it’s an amazing breakfast buffet as well. So this is the hotel that I can highly recommend in Brunnen.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Excellent. So who should consider Brunnen as their base?

Celine Deplazes: Again, if you want to be by the lake, and if you want to be in a place where history of Switzerland is very close. And also if you want it a bit more lively than in Beckenried and in Stans, because especially during summertime, so from May to September, many tourists, they come to Brunnen because of the Rütli Meadow and because of Victorinox. It’s, it’s more known than Stans and Beckenried for sure.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, good. Right. So where are we traveling on to next?

Celine Deplazes: So we’re taking a bus and then we’re heading to Gersau. So Gersau is a very secluded village by the shore of Lake Lucerne, and it’s probably the smallest village that we’re talking about today. It only has 2,500 inhabitants, and to be honest, it’s not a very well-known place, also probably not amongst Swiss people.

So one of my colleagues, he’s actually from Gersau, so when I prepared the podcast, I talked to him, and he gave me some really insider, some real insider tips. And I also learned that it was its own Republic. I didn’t know that, so that’s a really interesting fact. So from 1319 till 1817, this Lakeside had its own Republic and its own council and its own laws. And there’s actually a saying in Swiss German, we say, “Stop being such a gersau.” Or “stop being” or “stop ‘Gersauen'”. So ‘Gersauen’ is the village, and we make a verb out of it, and it means “stop being so complicated”, because they always wanted to have their, their own council, and they wanted to be for themselves.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Well, now you know how it originated?

Celine Deplazes: Yes, exactly. And when I talked to, so his name is Johnny, and he grew up there. And he told me, even when people from Saint Gallen, a city in Switzerland, are coming to our region, they are so amazed how beautiful it is there. And as I said, it’s really secluded, so it takes you a while to get there.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so it was quite isolated, yes, yeah, yes, yeah, it was alright. And so what are all the local tips that that Johnny gave you about what people should see and do when they’re visiting Gersau?

Celine Deplazes: So he said that, I mean, Mount Rigi is a very famous mountain, but a lot of people, they’re not really going to the southern part of the mountain, which has a lot of hiking trails as well. So from Gersau, you can go up to Rigi Burggeist, and up there you can do a little hike. You can go to Rigi Scheidegg, and then you could still go to the Gipfel, where it gets more crowded or more popular, and then from there, go down to Vitznau and then back to Gersau by bus or by boat. So the whole southern part of Mount Rigi is lesser known, and you can access it from Gersau by a little gondola.

Or there’s lots of Lakeside barbecue spots. So you can walk along the lakeside, go for a picnic. There’s a mini golf place. There’s places to jump into the lake, basically everywhere. So it’s, yeah, if you want to relax atmosphere, a relaxed village, Gersau is a great place to go. There’s no highway. It’s, yeah, a street or the boat that brings you to there.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So you can really get away from all the hustle and bustle.

Celine Deplazes: Definitely, definitely.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so it’s quite small, but what about hotel recommendations?

Celine Deplazes: So that’s where he said it gets a bit more difficult because it’s not really touristy, so there’s not that many options. But he mentioned two, and he said, or the one he mentioned is Hostel Rutli, and it’s a, I don’t really know what it means, but it’s a hostel, so a very simple recommendation. And I checked the prices, because I was interested how much in high season it would cost. A double room in August would be around 110 per night, which is around 200 US dollars. And that’s a really fair price for high season. And the room looked very nice. It was like, or it’s like, an old chalet, an old Swiss chalet with wood so very cozy and warm.

And the second hotel he mentioned is the Seehotel Riviera. It’s directly by the lake. It also has a spa area, beautiful rooms with a terrace and a great view over the lake. And the nice addition is that they have a great gin bar as well.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Ah, okay, gin lovers then might be making Gersau their place they stay in the region, yeah, who else should, should stay in Gersau?

Celine Deplazes: I think Gersau is really the place for those who are looking for a quiet getaway by the lake. They’re not looking for the touristy, high-traffic sites. They’re not looking for culture offers or like plenty options for restaurants to choose from. It’s more about the quietness and, like, simplicity.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, very good. So Gersau may not be very well known, but the next couple of little towns we’re going to talk about certainly are so tell everyone listening about Vitznau and Weggis.

Celine Deplazes: Exactly. So those are a bit, yeah, as you said, more known places thanks to the access to Mount Rigi and the boats from Lucerne. They operate regularly to Vitznau and Weggis as well. It’s about 40, 45 minutes to reach those villages. And yeah, it’s the easiest and most scenic way to get there, by boat. By train, there’s no direct, direct connection. It’s about one hour. And by car, it also takes you 30 to 40 minutes. So it’s not really a benefit by going by car. It’s really the boat that’s, in my opinion, the way to reach the villages.

And the highlight, or the main attraction there, is Mount Rigi. And from Vitznau, by the boat station, you can board the train to Mount Rigi. It’s like, it’s the boat pier and the train station are basically one. And then you head up to Mount Rigi, and from there, you have a wonderful view over the lake, the surrounding mountains. You can see lots of other lakes and peaks, even peaks in Germany and France can be seen on a, on a very nice day. And again, it’s included in the Swiss Travel Pass. So in central Switzerland, we have three mountains that are fully covered with the Swiss Travel Pass. It’s Stanserhorn, reachable from Stans, and Stoos, reachable from Brunnen, and then Rigi, reachable from Vitznau, Weggis, or also from from Gersau, as I said, the southern part of Mount Rigi.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So any other attractions or activities that people could perhaps try when they’re staying in one of those two villages?

Celine Deplazes: Yes, so something that I can recommend to do is the Urban Golf in Weggis. So you can get your equipment in the tourist information in Weggis. And then you basically play golf in the village. So it’s a nice way to explore the village of Weggis by not just walking around, but doing a little bit of an activity. So that’s great, great fun to do again for the whole family. And then there is also a little bus, is the ‘Lido’ bus, which brings you around the town, or gives you a nice idea of Weggis. You can just hop on that train to get, like, a little village tour.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, that’s good to know. What about accommodation? It’s a bit bigger. It’s a bit more known, guessing there’s a wide range of hotels.

Celine Deplazes: Yes, so the range, or the choices we have are a bit bigger than in Gersau. So one is the Campus Hotel Hertenstein. It’s a four star hotel located on the peninsula of Hertenstein. So if you look at the map, it’s, yeah, it’s like a little, little peninsula there, and it’s this hotel. You can reach it by boat. Again, that’s the easiest way. It’s a private beach there. They have two different restaurants. They have bicycle rental because if you want to go to the village, that’s probably the easiest and most convenient way to do that. This hotel is for people that want to enjoy the lake. I would say if you want to do a lot of sightseeing, might not be the best option, because, yeah, the connections are there, and you can, of course, get to Lucerne, but it’s just a bit more effort. So if you’re looking for a nice escape to just enjoy the lake in summer, then that’s definitely a nice hotel.

And if you were more the sightseer, then the Hotel Das Morgen, which is right next to the station of Mount Rigi in Vitznau, that will be the option to go. And it’s a pretty new hotel, also with a very unique concept, because it’s the world’s first neuro-campus hotel. So they are blending neuroscience with hospitality. So very interesting to see that. Their rooms, they have 55 rooms, they are mostly in white, but still very warm with a wooden floor. And they have also quite an interesting restaurant concept. So it’s called the Gestern Heute Morgen, which means yesterday, today and tomorrow. And the interior, for example, in the yesterday is more like an old chalet and the one in their restaurant parts tomorrow is obviously more modern, and they have robots serving foods there as well. So this is, yeah, as I said, a very special concept, but a beautiful hotel, and it’s a great location if you want to do the excursion to Mount Rigi.

And for the ones with a bit of a thicker pocket, there’s the Park Hotel Vitznau. It’s an exclusive five star hotel in a century old castle. So if you come to Vitznau by boat, you can’t miss it. It’s by the lakeside. It’s a beautiful house. They have 48 individual suites and residences, obviously direct lake access, a spa and three restaurants. And for the wine lovers, they have one of the biggest wine cellars in Switzerland. So they have about 40,000 bottles of wine divided into six cellars. But if you want to see that, you have to be a hotel guest, because only hotel guests get access to the spa or to this wine cellar and the restaurants. So they want to keep it very exclusive.

Carolyn Schönafinger: If you’re paying to stay there, why not keep it nice and exclusive?

Celine Deplazes: Exactly, exactly.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So who would be Weggis or Vitznau best suited for as a base?

Celine Deplazes: We call it also the Riviera of the Lucerne region. So I would say, if you’re looking for a Mediterranean feeling with palm trees in the middle of the Swiss Alps, you have to go to Weggis and Vitznau. That’s the place you should go.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, Mediterranean in central Switzerland, exactly. Okay, so I think we’re going to move away from the lake a little now to another boutique town that you highly recommend, Sörenberg.

Celine Deplazes: Exactly. So no more lakes, just wonderful mountains. Wherever you look, Sörenberg is about one hour by car, one hour by train, from Lucerne city, and it only has 2,000 inhabitants. So now that’s really a small, small village, and it’s part of the UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch. So this is a place where sustainability is very important. There’s lots of farmers.

There’s the Entlebucher Bergkäserei Marbach. And this is a place where you can really see the whole process of how the milk turns into cheese. And you get to see, or maybe you find out the secrets behind why the Swiss cheese is so tasty. So if you really want a Swiss mountain feeling, but not high, high up in the mountains, Sörenberg is a very nice option. And obviously, because there is so many mountains, I want to highlight one mountain excursion. It’s the Brienzer Rothorn, and that’s about 2,300 meters above sea level. It’s the highest mountain of the Canton of Lucerne, and it borders the Canton of Bern.

So on one side you can see Lake Brienz, and from this side, there’s also an old steam train going up and then down to Sörenberg. They have a new gondola. So you can also combine it by coming from Brienz, which is very close to Interlaken, and then up to Brienzer Rothorn and down to Sörenberg, on the other side of the mountain. In general, if you’re in Sörenberg and this area, it’s about the outdoor activities, hiking. Sörenberg is a very family-friendly place. They have big playgrounds, very easy also hikes for kids. So definitely the place to go for families that are looking for hiking spots and outdoor experiences. In winter, it’s a ski resort as well. Small ski resort.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Great, and probably a lot of our listeners would not have heard of that. Is that very well known amongst the Swiss?

Celine Deplazes: To be honest, so I grew up in Uri and this whole area, like the backyard of Lucerne, so to say, I didn’t really know that place before, but since working for Lucerne tourism, I obviously got to know it a bit better. And really, I have to say, I love it. I’m actually heading there this weekend for a hike as well. It’s probably something unexpected.

I mean, unexpected, you’re in Switzerland, you expect mountains and green meadows, but this area there is, is really not touristy. Yeah, they call it the “Wild West” as well, because you have mountains, but then you also have very green hills. So yes, something, something very different to, to visit and to experience. And if you, if you have time, and if you love nature, which you hopefully do, if you come to Switzerland, then Sörenberg is a great place. And this whole region is wonderful to visit.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so it’s only a couple of thousand inhabitants, you said. But is there many hotels to choose from?

Celine Deplazes: There is options. So I want to highlight three, and one of them is the Hotel Rischli. It’s a four star hotel. The bus stop is right in front of the hotel. They have a very nice, small spa area, but it’s all you need. They also serve local food, as I said before, it’s the UNESCO Biosphere. So sustainability is written in all letters, so very important for everyone living in this region. And the hotel only has 25 rooms. So there is no big hotel chain in this area. It’s all, or most of them are family run, yeah. So all with a very personal touch.

And the second one is the Kurhaus in Flühli. Flühli is a village just before Sörenberg, and it’s an old historic Swiss hotel from 1899. So it’s a beautiful blend of the traditional Swiss hospitality mixed with the modern comfort. And yeah, it’s, again, a very small hotel, only 29 rooms, and freshly renovated only four years ago.

And the last option is really in Sörenberg itself. It’s a hotel I stayed at as well, and they also have apartments. It’s called the Hotel Sörenberg, so a very simple name, simple to remember, and the apartments can or have space for up to seven people. So for families, that’s a great option. There is also a kitchen so that they can cook their own meal or have breakfast there. And it’s opposite the mountain or the valley station to go up to the mountains.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so very convenient. Great. So nature lovers, I guess the ones, the people that should be considering Sörenberg for somewhere to stay when they when they visit the region.

Celine Deplazes: Yes, definitely. Nature lovers, again, the ones who are looking for quietness and just simplicity.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so we’ve highlighted lots of different boutique towns, but for those listening that are thinking, “Well, you know, why shouldn’t I just stay in Lucerne?” I mean, we’ve given them plenty of reasons why they should, they should consider staying somewhere else. So what are your thoughts on why people should consider choosing one of these other smaller towns as their base?

Celine Deplazes: Yeah. So I think it’s the authentic experience that you’re looking for. I mean, for you coming from Australia, a 15 minute train ride, you do that within the city, or to commute probably even longer. So it’s like nothing. And obviously talking about money, because that’s often also a thing, going a bit outside the city center of Lucerne, the hotel prices are more affordable also in the high season, so it’s worth to look at at those options as well. And then you can still see the city of Lucerne, but you might even enjoy being in a more quiet area more than being in the city center, because in summer, it’s, it’s often a bit more hectic. A lot of tourists are visiting Lucerne for obvious reasons, but yeah, I think Switzerland, or central Switzerland, is so small, so why not just jump on a, on a train and head a bit outside, where you find lovely, lovely hotels run by families, very with a very personal touch. Hospitality is so important, and you find it in all those small villages.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, absolutely. And I must say, the couple of times that I have stayed outside, outside Lucerne, I don’t feel like I’ve missed out. I’m close enough to the city. It’s easy to get there by public transport, so it’s not like I’m missing out on being able to see all the things that are in Lucerne. But you can also take advantage and really soak in the atmosphere of being in, in a smaller village as well.

Celine Deplazes: Exactly. I mean, I love Lucerne, the city, obviously, because I live here. And for tourists, I think to cover the main highlights of the city center itself. If you have a full day, that’s perfectly fine. You can cover the Lion Monument. You walk around the old town. You can see the Chapel Bridge. And then in the evening, you have a wonderful dinner, and you take the train to Stans, and the next day, you head to Stanserhorn, which is just in front of, of the hotel, so to speak.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, excellent. So where can our listeners get more information about each of these beautiful boutique towns that you’ve mentioned today?

Celine Deplazes: So on our website, lucerne.com, so Lucerne with a zed, that’s the Swiss or the German way to spell the name of the city, you find a lot of information about all those little villages, because, as I said, we represent the whole region. So you get a nice overview of the options and villages you have there, or obviously also on the local tourism boards, websites.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Great, all right, and I’ll include a link to the Lucerne tourism website in the show notes for this episode, as well as links to all the other episodes that you have featured on where we’ve talked about lots of different things in to do In and around Lucerne. So if anyone is planning to visit the region, they should definitely go back and listen to those other episodes as well, because there’s lots of helpful information that you’ve shared with us previously.

Thank you so much, Celine, it’s been wonderful to chat with you again, and I look forward to seeing you again, hopefully in the not too distant future.

Celine Deplazes: Thank you very much for having me. And everyone who’s coming to Lucerne, I hope, yeah, you get the chance to experience one of those boutique towns in the surrounding areas. Thank you very much for listening, and yeah, I hope to see you soon in Switzerland.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Bye, for now, bye, bye. I hope you enjoyed our virtual journey around the boutique towns of the Lake Lucerne region. Which one appeals most to you? Is it the lakeside tranquility of Beckenried, the history of Brunnen, the Alpine charm of Sörenberg? Or perhaps it’s one of the many other unique Swiss villages that Celine introduced us to. Whatever one you choose, I’m sure none of them will disappoint.

And as we heard, the great public transport connections and the Swiss Travel Pass make it so easy to explore these charming towns while still just being a short ride away from the heart of Lucerne. To help you plan your own visit to these stunning boutique towns, I’ll include a link to the Lucerne tourism website and mention all the accommodation and activity recommendations mentioned in today’s episode. You’ll also find links there to previous episodes featuring Celine so you can get even more ideas and inspiration for your visit to Lucerne and the entire Lake Lucerne region.

There’ll also be a link to the Holidays to Switzerland online shop so you can buy your Swiss Travel Pass, the all-in-one ticket for traveling around Switzerland. Simply head on over to holidaystoswitzerland.com/episode157 , to find all those links and the information. Thank you so much for joining me again today. If you found this episode helpful, please share the podcast with your friends who are planning a trip to Switzerland, and if you enjoy listening each week, I’d really love it if you could leave a five star rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks so much. I’ll be back next week with more Swiss travel tips and inspiration, and until then, cheers.

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.