Day by Day
Five days on foot
Arrival & Lucerne Old Town
📍 LucerneLand Zürich 10:35, buy tickets at the airport station using your Half Fare Cards (50% off instantly), direct to Lucerne in 50 minutes. Check-in not until 15:00 — store bags at station left-luggage and head straight out. Walk the full Museggmauer, Lucerne's medieval rampart with nine towers and panoramic rooftop views over the lake. Chapel Bridge, Lion Monument, Hirschenplatz. Pick up groceries at Migros (next to station) for apartment dinners. Check in at 15:00.
Mount Rigi — alp ridge hike
📍 LucerneLake steamer from Lucerne to Vitznau (50 min, stunning lake views). Cogwheel to Rigi Kulm at 1,797m — panoramas of 13 lakes and the entire Alpine arc. Walk the ridge trail southwest to Rigi Staffel through July wildflower meadows (~3 km, easy). Descend by trail to Rigi Kaltbad (~4 km, moderate), then cable car to Weggis and steamer back. A full circular day on marked trails — packed lunch saves CHF 40–60 vs mountain restaurant.
Lucerne → Zermatt
📍 ZermattCheck out by 11:00. Buy train tickets at Lucerne station with Half Fare Cards. One change at Visp, then the electric-only final leg into car-free Zermatt. Check in to Hotel Mountain Paradise (15:00–19:00). Stock up at Coop Zermatt for packed lunches — mountain restaurant meals run CHF 25–45 each. Sauna to recover. First Matterhorn views at dusk from the village.
Stellisee, Blauherd & Rothorn
📍 ZermattSunnegga underground funicular from the village (3 min) to 2,288m. Hike up to Stellisee — the finest Matterhorn reflection in Zermatt, and the highlight of the Five Lakes trail. Rather than continuing the full circuit (the remaining lakes are far less impressive), hike on to Blauherd at 2,571m and take the cable car up to Rothorn at 3,103m. The summit panorama takes in the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, Weisshorn and the full Zermatt valley. Descend by cable car back to Blauherd or Sunnegga, then funicular down to the village.
Schwarzsee & Glacier Trail
📍 ZermattCable car to Schwarzsee at 2,583m — the closest point to the Matterhorn accessible without ropes. The black lake beneath the peak on a clear morning is extraordinary. Walk the Matterhorn Glacier Trail from Schwarzsee down through moraines and alp terrain, stopping at Stafelalp where the Matterhorn is framed by meadow and traditional chalets — the iconic shot. Descend to Zermatt (~2.5 hrs). Afternoon free. Pack bags tonight — early check-out tomorrow.
Zermatt → Zürich → Dublin
✈️ DepartureEarly check-out, last look at the Matterhorn. Morning train north through the Rhône valley to Zürich HB (~3 hrs). Store bags at left-luggage. Afternoon in Zürich — walk the Lindenhügel for city views, stroll Bahnhofstrasse, sit by the lake. Airport train from HB is 10 minutes. Depart 20:55 on EI349, home in Dublin 22:10.
All hikes at a glance
AllTrails routes matched to your exact plan · tap to open
No specific trail needed — this is a self-guided walk from the station through the Old Town. Start at Lucerne HB, head to the Museggmauer rampart for views, then descend to the Chapel Bridge and Lion Monument. The AllTrails Lucerne walking index lists the best urban routes if you want a mapped version.
Your route: cogwheel up to Rigi Kulm, then hike the ridge southwest to Rigi Staffel, continuing down to Rigi Kaltbad where the cable car drops to Weggis. The primary AllTrails route to follow is Rigi: Kulm - Kaltbad (2.5 mi, point-to-point, 4.8★) — this matches your descent exactly. Use Rigi Panorama Trail for the full ridge context.
Your route is in two parts. Part 1: Funicular to Sunnegga, hike ~20 min to Stellisee — use the Lake Stellisee AllTrails loop (1.7 mi, easy, 4.7★) to navigate to the lake and find the best reflection spot. Do not continue the full 5 Lakes circuit — the trail beyond Stellisee becomes unimpressive. Part 2: Continue hiking uphill from Stellisee to Blauherd (~45 min), then take the cable car up to Rothorn (3,103m). Descend by cable car back to Sunnegga and funicular to Zermatt. There is no AllTrails route for the Rothorn summit itself — follow signs from Blauherd station.
Your route: cable car up to Schwarzsee (2,583m), walk to the black lake for Matterhorn views, then descend via the Matterhorn Glacier Trail through Stafelalp back to Zermatt. The primary AllTrails route to follow is Schwarzsee - Zermatt (4.8★, 73 reviews) — a point-to-point descent through meadows and forest via Furi. For the glacier section above Schwarzsee, the Matterhorn Glacier Trail: Schwarzsee - Trockener Steg route gives useful context but goes in the opposite direction — use it for terrain preview only.
Keeping food costs down
What's left to sort
Buy at sbb.ch before leaving Ireland. Digital card on your phone. Present it at every ticket machine to get 50% off automatically. Valid for one month from activation — activate on or just before 10 Jul.