Zurich & Lucerne Travel Guide
Where to Stay in Zurich and Lucerne
How to choose between Zurich and Lucerne as a base, the best neighbourhoods in each, and our hotel picks from the Baur au Lac and the Schweizerhof to boutique Old Town houses and smart budget options.
The first decision is whether to stay in Zurich, in Lucerne or in both. Zurich is the international gateway, with the airport, the big museums, the shopping and the nightlife; Lucerne is smaller, more romantic and closer to the mountains. With trains every half hour taking under an hour between them, either can be a base for the other, but for a trip of four nights or more, splitting your stay is ideal: two nights in Zurich for the city, two or more in Lucerne for the lake and the mountains.
Zurich: the Old Town and the lakefront. The Old Town, on both banks of the Limmat, is the most atmospheric area to stay, with cobbled lanes, churches, guild-house restaurants and the river at your door. The lakefront, at the bottom of the Bahnhofstrasse, adds water views and Zurich's grandest hotels. Both are walkable to almost everything, including the main station in ten to fifteen minutes. Our pick in the Old Town is the Storchen, a guesthouse first recorded in 1357, right on the Limmat with river-view rooms facing the Grossmuenster, La Rotisserie restaurant and the Barchetta bar under the arches. For the ultimate luxury stay, the Baur au Lac, run by the founding family since 1844, stands in its own private park on the lake with three Michelin Keys and some of the city's best-loved restaurants.
Zurich: around the main station. If you plan many day trips, staying near the main station saves time every morning. The Europaallee, the modern district behind the station, has new hotels and restaurants, and the Langstrasse, just beyond, is Zurich's liveliest and most diverse nightlife area. Our pick here is the 25hours Hotel Zurich Langstrasse, a playful design hotel with 170 rooms, some overlooking the railway tracks, NENI's Middle Eastern sharing plates and a rooftop sauna. It suits travellers who want style and fun at a mid-range price.
Zurich: Enge and the Paradeplatz area. South of the Paradeplatz, the Enge district is quieter, residential and close to the lake, with the FIFA Museum and the lakeside parks nearby and good tram and S-Bahn connections. Our budget pick is Motel One Zurich, near the Paradeplatz, with compact but stylish rooms, a chocolate-themed lounge bar and some of the lowest rates for a quality hotel in central Zurich. Book early; Zurich hotels fill quickly during trade fairs and events.
Zurich: other areas. Zurich West, the former industrial district, has design hotels, bars and restaurants in converted factories and railway arches, popular with younger travellers; Seefeld, on the east shore of the lake, is upmarket and residential, close to the lakeside parks and the opera house. Hotels near the airport are convenient for early flights but far from the city's atmosphere.
Lucerne: the lakefront. The Schweizerhofquai and the lake promenade are lined with Lucerne's grand hotels, with views across the water to Rigi and Pilatus, and the station, the Chapel Bridge and the boat piers all within a few minutes' walk. Our pick is the Hotel Schweizerhof Luzern, run by the Hauser family since the nineteenth century, with 101 historic rooms and suites, a guest list from Mark Twain to Richard Wagner, and lake-view rooms that are among the best in the city.
Lucerne: the Old Town. For romance and character, stay in the car-free Old Town, a few minutes from the station across the Reuss. The Hotel des Balances, on the river by the Weinmarkt, has rooms looking out to the Chapel Bridge and Pilatus, a restaurant rated by Gault and Millau and one of the loveliest terraces in town. The Hotel Wilden Mann, a historic inn with about 500 years of hospitality behind it and 48 individually furnished rooms, is the best-value characterful choice, with wood-panelled restaurants serving Lucerne specialities.
Lucerne: elsewhere. Hotels around the station and the KKL concert hall are modern and practical; the area around the Swiss Museum of Transport and the Lido is quieter and good for families; and the lakeside villages of Weggis and Vitznau, below Rigi, offer resort hotels with lake views for a slower stay, linked to Lucerne by boat. For a mountain night, the summit hotels on Pilatus and Rigi offer sunsets and sunrises above the clouds.
Budget and booking tips. Switzerland is expensive, and rates rise sharply in summer, during the Christmas markets and around big events such as trade fairs in Zurich and music festivals in Lucerne. Book well ahead for these periods, compare flexible and non-refundable rates, and check whether breakfast is included, as it can add significantly to the cost. Many Lucerne hotels give guests a visitor card with local benefits, and most hotels in both cities are close to public transport, so there is no need for a car. Whatever you choose, prioritise location: in a country where everything runs on trains and boats, being near the station or the pier is worth more than an extra square metre of room.
Our quick picks. For a once-in-a-lifetime treat, the Baur au Lac in Zurich or the Schweizerhof in Lucerne. For character and a river view, the Storchen in Zurich or the Hotel des Balances in Lucerne. For style on a mid-range budget near the trains, the 25hours Langstrasse. For value, Motel One Zurich and the Hotel Wilden Mann. And for a split stay, combine one of the Zurich picks for the first nights with one of the Lucerne picks for the mountain days, travelling between them on a morning train so you lose no sightseeing time at all.