Posted on Monday, 12 September 2016

Tom Freeman and his partner take their young son to Lucerne in Switzerland. The hotel is a freebie and the flight is no-frills – but can they enjoy a trip to this prosperous city without breaking their daily expenses budget?

The allure of Switzerland has, for me, always been slightly tarnished by the notion that it's a very, very expensive country. My wife has also held a deep desire to visit this small Alpine state, but has been similarly put off by the high costs. Now we have a young child, visiting a place like Switzerland seemed even more out of reach.

That was until we realised we could knock out two of the biggest costs: accommodation, and, to a large degree, transport. Through her work my wife had accrued a number of points with a certain hotel chain, which could be redeemed against our accommodation. The firm had a hotel not far from the centre of Lucerne, a city whose lake-side majesty has glittered in both our minds for many years.

Add to this a low-cost flight to Zurich with a certain budget airline and enjoying the Swiss high life – at least for a few days and within thrifty boundaries – didn't seem so impossible.

But could we enjoy Lucerne on a budget?

Travelling with a young child is never easy, but our five year old is pretty well behaved and doesn't tire too quickly. His age also means we don't have to pay extra for him on most countries' public transport systems.

Indeed, this was true of Switzerland.

Zurich

Zurich airport was a futuristic labyrinth of glass and steel, featuring all those little design details that seem so wonderfully Swiss. From the typography on the signs to the clever layout, this was efficiency par excellence.

A clean, spacious train took us to the city centre for CHF 6.60 (£4.60) per adult – actually a little cheaper than London Zone 1 to Heathrow!

Having done our research we walked to the Zürich Hauptbahnhof, a grand old train station, where we decided to have a coffee after our long (and coffeeless) budget flight from London. By selecting a well-known coffee chain, we thought we might avoid high prices. We were wrong. At £15 for three drinks, we made every sip count!

It was obvious that if we were to avoid hitting our credit cards on this trip, caution would need to be exercised at all times.

We spent an hour strolling around ostentatious Zurich, spotting three Ferraris and one Lamborghini. Nobody looked remotely poor. It's a delightful city, set beside the glittering Zurichsee.

Budget Food?

We found a reasonably-priced supermarket called Migros and ate bread and cheese on a bench near the water's edge. Warm July sun kissed our skin and evaporated the memory of the overpriced coffees.

The train to Lucerne cost less than we thought (13 CHF per adult) – and was worth every ‘rappen'. Gliding beside a long section of the Zurichsee we absorbed the typically Swiss details. Charmingly wealthy houses stood proudly by the shimmering water.

Lucerne

Lucerne's setting was just as breath-taking as we imagined, with the Alps in the distance and the deep blue Lake Lucerne lending the city a watery calmness. Yet Lucerne had an altogether more medieval feel to Zurich. This sense of history was all around us, although it was somewhat impacted by our hotel. It was a budget establishment, after all, located a ten minute bus ride from the centre – where things weren't nearly so medieval. Nevertheless, it was comfortable and was a reminder that we were trying to do this whole trip on a budget.

After freshening up we hit the old cobbles of Lucerne in search of more food. Unencumbered by baggage we strolled leisurely through the streets, which, despite the prohibitive associated costs, were brimming with tourists. We ambled along the Bahnhofstrasse by the lake edge, past a number of quaint bridges before crossing at Spreuerbrucke, on one of the two old wooden bridges traversing the lake.

Enroute we found an outdoor food market and thought we could buy some inexpensive bread, cheese, meat and olives for an early evening meal. But clocking a hunk of salami going for 60 CHF (£45), we instead shuffled off to a nearby supermarket.

Next up was the main retail area of town, boasting the full gamut of top-end brands (naturally), along with numerous cafes and restaurants – most of which, of course, were beyond our budget.

We even popped our heads into McDonalds, which we never, ever do, just to check the prices (if the worst came to the worst). But a medium-sized meal there was going to cost us about 14 CHF (£10)!

If we meandered a little further away from the water, we surmised, the prices would come down.

They didn't!

We found a charming flowery park and settled down once again to fill ourselves with supermarket comestibles.

Glacier Garden

The next day we visited the Glacier Garden, beside the Lion Monument. Here we enjoyed the Ice Age glacier potholes, interactive activities and host of well-made multimedia presentations. Our son loved the mirrored labyrinth from 1896.

It's also affordable by Swiss standards: 12 CHF (£9) for adults – and under sixes go free!

Afterwards, in a thoroughly good mood in the Swiss sunshine, we took a walk along Haldenstrasse, the street that edges the lake. A fleet of pretty boats bobbed on the lake – some of which offered costly but no doubt lovely excursion opportunities.

Returning to the centre we crossed the main landmark and symbol of Lucerne, the Kapellbrucke mit Wasserturm (Chapel Bridge with Water Tower). Sadly the original 14th century bridge succumbed to a blaze in 1993, when a nearby boat caught fire. However, the restoration was so expertly done you would barely know it wasn't the original.

In the evening we threw caution to the wind and enjoyed veggie burgers and salad. The staff, as was so often the case throughout our trip, were very friendly. This softened the blow of the £45 bill.

Later, as we sat watching the boats by the lake's edge, we agreed that, if the weather is warm and you enjoy city walks, then Lucerne is a wonderful place to visit on a budget.

In the distance we could see the beautiful Mt Pilatus, standing at 2,132m above sea level. But the train ride to that glorious summit would have to wait for more abundant times!

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