Amazing views of the city of Zürich, Zügersee (Lake Zürich), and the Alps. Take train (S10) which…read moreruns every 30 minutes (05 & 35) then walk up the small mountain to be rewarded with stunning views. There is a restaurant, a lookout area and a separate tower at the top. The lookout area is free. The tower offers 2 levels (30 m and 72 m) of views for free. The highest level of view (900m) will cost 1 or 2 franc. From this small mountain, you can hike various paths ranging from 0.6 km to several km. I wish I had the time and the right shoes to hike one of the paths. I'm sure the experience would be well worth the effort.

An absolute must when you visit Zurich! You can hike up or you can take a simple tram ride, but you…read morewill get the best views of the city! You can goto the top of the tower for only CHF 2 and there you can really get a stunning panorama of the city and its surroundings.

I highly recommend this Hütte, nestled about 1300m up into Austrian Heaven…read more It gets its name from the Alpenverein that founded and used to operate it (and perhaps still is involved somehow?). That chapter was, as you probably have guessed, based in Lindau. The feeling during my three day stay here was more like at an exclusive though rustic resort than at a Hütte. The whole experience was so clean, so professionally operated, and so friendly. There is a "no shoes" rule, meaning you have to rinse your boots off outside, store them away in the cloakroom, and wear slippers/indoor shoes throughout the rest of the building. I wish I'd known that in advance. I had many dirty, wet socks as a result. But hey, the restaurant was always warm, so it wasn't too bad. The food prices are comparable to "Munich prices", meaning expensive if you're used to small town prices, but quite reasonable if you come from a decent-sized city. There is always a great deal for lunch, and I recommend taking advantage of it if whatever they have on offer appeals to you. You won't be disappointed! I even went with a salad one time and was very pleasantly surprised by how large and filling it was. The kitchen stays open only to about 22:00, but if you intend to get up early the next morning for some hiking, you already know that is late enough. Breakfast starts, if I recall correctly, and about 06:00. There are three options: small, medium, and large! I'm a fat-ass, so I always went with large: meat, cheese, bread, jam, butter, and tea (or coffee, if you prefer). A shower token costs €2, and gets you 5 minutes of hot water. I tested my manliness by taking a full shower with only cold water. That was fine in the middle of summer, but for the colder months, I wouldn't wish that experience on a hardened inmate. Short story: get the token if it's not sunny and 30C outside. Each floor has a men's toilet and a women's toilet, as well as a men's washroom and a women's washroom. Hot water is obviously free there, so if you don't feel you need a shower, you can get a lot done there. Or if 5 minutes is too little for you, bird shower upstairs and then shower shower downstairs in the shower room. If you're an overnight guest (not just passing through for lunch), you get a pamphlet with all the options of what you can purchase during your stay, from shower tokens to wine to lunch plates. DON'T LOSE THAT! You need that when you order so the waitress can mark it all down. And don't forget that for breakfast. And on your last morning, just pay right then and there. They do take cards, but the machine only works in one corner of the building, so be prepared to wait a few minutes while it tries to connect. Enjoy your stay!

A must on your do to list. Hiking boots, water bottle and sunscreen. Enjoy the view it's just truly…read morea beautiful place. Tip: Take the funicular up, hike the Stoos to the end and take the chairlift down.

The Stoos Ridge Hike was another trail I planned my Switzerland trip around. Social media really…read moremade this ridge hike popular with the phenomenal views of the Alps and 10 different lakes. If possible, try staying overnight at Gipfelrestaurant Fronalpstock for the best experience. It was quite the journey getting to the beginning of the trail from Lucerne. We had to take the train, a bus, then the world's steepest funicular, and finally a cable car. And if you're not spending the night in the area, make sure you begin your day early so you can catch the last cable car down the mountain after hiking. Harcore hikers can choose to skip the cable car but if you plan on taking the same transportation, look into the Stoos passes, which is also discounted with the Swiss Pass or Half Pass! Out of every hike we did during our trip, I would rate this the hardest. Not only were the steep parts really steep, it was also very hot and sunny. There were also a ton of flies and beetles so we were constantly moving to avoid them, giving us little time for breaks. And because we came from Lucerne, we arrived kind of late and there were already a lot of people on the trails. But the views are amazing and I stayed there overnight and got to see the sunset. It's best to hike this from Klingenstock to Fronalpstock so that you can end the hike at the restaurant and grab a couple of beers to enjoy the view. There's also some playgrounds for the younger kids and a gated area to enter and pet some miniature goats. If you go the other way, there isn't much of an area to chill at Klingenstock and you would just have to go back down the mountain. Overall, glad I got to do it once but it's a rough one to hike during the summer. The views were amazing though and being able to stay up there when it's empty was a nice experience.