The route that gives Switzerland the treatment the most scenically concentrated country in Europe deserves: two days in Zurich for the old town (Altstadt) and the Kunsthaus (the largest art museum in Switzerland — the Alberto Giacometti room, the largest Giacometti collection in the world, the Walking Man visible at the room centre), one day on the Jungfraujoch (the 3,454-metre railway terminus, the “Top of Europe” — the Aletsch Glacier visible from the terrace, the largest glacier in the Alps, and the specific Swiss mountain engineering that built a railway through the Eiger and the Mönch in 1912), two days in the Bernese Oberland for the Lauterbrunnen Valley (the 72 waterfalls visible from the valley floor, the Staubbach Falls at 297 metres visible from the village, and the Mürren (the car-free village on the cliff above the valley — the Jungfrau, the Mönch, and the Eiger visible simultaneously from the Mürren terrace at the specific Swiss mountain triptych that no other viewing position gives), and two days in Lucerne for the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke — the 1333 wooden bridge, the covered walkway, the specific Lucerne image) and Lake Lucerne (the lake steamer to Brunnen and the tell’s Chapel).
Reading time: 10 minutes | Last updated: 2026
Before You Leave
Getting there: Fly London-Zurich (British Airways, Swiss, easyJet, Ryanair — 2 hours, from £35). Switzerland is not in the EU but operates Schengen — UK citizens visa-free 90 days.
Currency: Swiss Franc (CHF). 1 GBP ≈ 1.14 CHF (2025). Switzerland is the most expensive country in this guide — mid-range daily budget: CHF 140-220 / £122-193. The Swiss Pass (the unlimited rail, bus, and boat travel card — CHF 244 / £214 for 4 days, CHF 289 / £254 for 8 days) pays for itself in 2-3 days of Swiss mountain transport use.
The Route
Zurich (2 nights) → Lauterbrunnen / Mürren base (3 nights, 2 hours from Zurich) → Lucerne (2 nights, 1.5 hours from Lauterbrunnen)
DAYS 1-2 — Zurich
Day 1: The Kunsthaus and the Altstadt
The Kunsthaus Zurich:
The Kunsthaus (Heimplatz 1 — the largest art museum in Switzerland, the 2021 expanded building):
The Giacometti wing (the Alberto Giacometti Foundation collection — the Walking Man I and Walking Man II, the Spoon Woman, the specific Swiss sculptor’s work visible at the depth that no other single collection gives): entry CHF 23 / £20.18.
The Altstadt (the old town — the Grossmünster (the 12th-century Romanesque twin-tower church where Zwingli began the Swiss Reformation in 1519, the bronze doors by Otto Münchhöfer visible at the south entrance), the Lindenhügel (the hill with the lime trees, the Zürichsee visible south, the Zurich cityscape visible north)):
Day 2: The Swiss National Museum and Lake Zurich
The Swiss National Museum:
The Landesmuseum Zurich (Museumstrasse 2 — the Swiss history collection in the 1898 castle-style building, the specific Swiss national narrative from the Neolithic lake dwellings to the Confederation):
Entry: CHF 10 / £8.77.
The Lake Zurich boat:
The ZSG lake boat (the Zürichsee boat service — the boat from the Bürkliplatz to the southern end of the lake and back, the specific Zurich late afternoon on the water): CHF 20-40 / £17.54-35.09 depending on the route.
DAYS 3-5 — Bernese Oberland
Day 3: The Jungfraujoch
The Jungfraujoch railway:
The Jungfraubahn (the cogwheel railway from Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen through the Eiger to the Jungfraujoch at 3,454 metres — the 2-hour ascent through the tunnels bored through the Eiger and Mönch by the engineer Adolf Guyer-Zeller between 1896 and 1912):
The Aletsch Glacier (the 23km glacier visible from the Jungfraujoch terrace — the longest glacier in the Alps, retreating at 30-50 metres per year, the specific Swiss climate change visible in the metre-markers on the ice):
Return ticket: CHF 218.60 / £191.75 full price; included in the Swiss Pass with a discount.
Days 4-5: The Lauterbrunnen Valley and Mürren
The Lauterbrunnen:
The Lauterbrunnen valley (the U-shaped glacier valley — the 72 waterfalls, the Staubbach Falls (297 metres — the waterfall that Goethe visited and about which he wrote Gesang der Geister über den Wassern (Song of the Spirits over the Waters))):
Free to walk.
The Mürren:
The Mürren (the car-free village accessible by cable car from Lauterbrunnen — the Jungfrau (4,158 metres), the Mönch (4,107 metres), and the Eiger (3,967 metres) visible simultaneously from the village terrace, the specific Bernese Oberland triptych):
The Schilthornbahn (the cable car from Mürren to the Schilthorn at 2,970 metres — the 360° panorama, the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant where the James Bond On Her Majesty’s Secret Service scenes were filmed in 1969): CHF 80-105 / £70.18-92.11 return from Mürren.
DAYS 6-7 — Lucerne
The Kapellbrücke:
The Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke — the 1333 covered wooden bridge, the Water Tower adjacent, the 112 triangular paintings in the roof trusses depicting the city’s history and the saints’ lives (painted in the early 17th century, damaged in the 1993 fire, restored)):
Free.
The Lion Monument:
The Lion Monument (Löwendenkmal — the 1821 Bertel Thorvaldsen-designed lion carved directly into the rock face, the dying lion with the Swiss shield, commemorating the 786 Swiss Guards who died defending the Tuileries in 1792):
Mark Twain called it “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.” Free to visit.
The Lake Lucerne Steamer:
The Lake Lucerne steamer (the SGV paddle steamer from the Lucerne landing — the lake circuit to Brunnen and the Tell’s Chapel (the 14th-century chapel on the lake shore at Sisikon where William Tell is said to have leapt from the boat that was transporting him to prison)):
CHF 35-50 / £30.70-43.86 for the lake circuit.
What It Costs
| Category | Budget | Mid-Range |
|---|---|---|
| Return flights (UK-Zurich) | £35-120 | £60-200 |
| Swiss Pass (8 days, includes most transport) | £254 | £254 |
| 7 nights accommodation | £245-595 | £595-1,400 |
| Food (7 days — expensive) | £80-180 | £180-450 |
| Jungfraujoch (not covered by Swiss Pass fully) | £80-130 | £80-130 |
| Kunsthaus + Swiss National Museum | £30 | £30 |
| Total | £724-1,309 | £1,169-2,464 |
Switzerland is the most expensive 7-day itinerary in the European section of this library. The Swiss Pass reduces the transport cost substantially — without it, the trains alone would add CHF 200-400 / £175-351 to the budget.
