Switzerland feels far away. The Alps, Zurich, Lucerne — it all sounds like a major trip that takes months to plan. In reality, from Karlovy Vary to the Swiss border is about 600 km — roughly the same distance as London to Edinburgh. In two days you can see the Rhine Falls, Zurich, Bern, Interlaken, Lucerne, and stop in Liechtenstein. Not a rushed blur, but with real time in each place.
This is one of the most packed itineraries we run. And one of those trips after which people write back: “I couldn’t believe how much we saw in two days.”
Early morning departure from Karlovy Vary. First stop — the Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen, right on the Swiss-German border.
This isn’t just a beautiful waterfall. It’s the widest and most powerful waterfall in Europe: 150 metres wide, 23 metres high, up to 700 cubic metres of water per second at peak flow. You hear the roar before you see it. Spray reaches the viewing platforms. In the middle of the falls stands a rock — you can reach it by boat and stand literally inside a wall of water.
This place sets the tone for the whole trip. After the Rhine Falls, you understand that Switzerland is a country of natural force — not just banks and watches.
Next stop — Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city. It gives a deceptive first impression: from the outside it looks like a financial capital of suits and banks. Step into the Altstadt and an entirely different city appears.
Altstadt — the medieval quarter on both banks of the Limmat river. Narrow streets, houses from the 12th to 16th centuries, street cafés, antique shops, galleries. Lenin lived here (the house at Spiegelgasse 14 — ten minutes before the Russian Revolution). Zwingli began the Reformation here.
Grossmünster — a Romanesque cathedral from the 12th century, the city’s symbol. Its two towers with characteristic domes are visible from everywhere. Climb the tower for the best view of the lake and the Alps on the horizon.
Lake Zurich — a walk along the waterfront. Mountains on the opposite shore. On a clear day, the reflection of the Alps in the lake is one of those images that stays with you. And the famous Wasserwerfer fountain — a 30-metre jet of water straight from the lake.
Bahnhofstrasse — if you’ve ever seen a list of the world’s most expensive shopping streets, this one is on it. Beneath the pavement tiles, the gold reserves of Switzerland’s largest banks are literally stored. You don’t have to go into the shops — just walk the length of it and feel the particular atmosphere of Swiss wealth.
Night in a hotel in Switzerland or near the border — cleanliness, order, a morning breakfast with a mountain view.
The most packed day of the itinerary. Four places — each completely unlike the last.
Bern is the capital of Switzerland. Not the most famous and not the most immediately striking, but one of those cities that reveals itself gradually — and then doesn’t let go.
Bern’s Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Six kilometres of arcaded galleries along the main streets — covered pedestrian passages through which you can walk the entire centre without getting wet in the rain. These arcades are 800 years old.
Bear Park (Bärengraben) — the symbol of the city. Bears in Bern aren’t a tourist attraction — they’re an ancient civic tradition going back to the 13th century. Live bears in a large open-air enclosure right in the centre.
Zytglogge — 14th-century astronomical clock. A few minutes before each hour, a performance begins: figures move, bears march, a cockerel crows. Tourists gather in advance.
Rosengarten — a rose garden on a hill with the best panorama of the city. Red rooftops, the Zytglogge tower, the curve of the Aare river, the Alps on the horizon — the classic Bern postcard.
Interlaken is the place where you feel it: you’re in Switzerland. The town sits literally between two lakes — Thun and Brienz — and directly above it rises the three-peaked Jungfrau (4,158 m).
This is where Mendelssohn wrote his famous Wedding March — inspired by these views. It’s hard not to believe it: the mountains press in, in the best possible sense, the scale is different.
Interlaken is the main tourist hub of the Bernese Oberland. From here people go up to Jungfraujoch (the highest railway station in Europe), raft the mountain rivers, skydive over the Alps. None of that fits into our two-day format — but understanding the scale of the place during an hour’s walk is entirely possible.
If Bern is statehood and history, Zurich is financial power, then Lucerne is beauty. Simply beauty, without further qualification.
Kapellbrücke — a covered wooden bridge from 1333 across the Reuss river. The oldest wooden bridge in Europe. Inside: wooden panels with 17th-century paintings telling the city’s history. Next to the bridge — the octagonal Wasserturm, over 700 years old.
Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee) — the Lake of the Four Cantons. The view from the waterfront: mountains in every direction, emerald water, white steamboats. This view was being sold on postcards in the 19th century, when Wagner, Tolstoy, and Mark Twain came here.
Lion Monument (Löwendenkmal) — a cliff from which the figure of a dying lion has been carved. Mark Twain called it “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.” A memorial to the Swiss Guards who died protecting Louis XVI during the French Revolution. Small, but it makes a completely disproportionate impression.
On the way back — a stop in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein. The sixth smallest country in the world: 160 square kilometres, 38,000 inhabitants, one of the highest GDP per capita on earth.
Entry without passport control — Liechtenstein is in the Schengen zone. On the hill above the town — the Prince’s residence, visible the entire hour you’re there. The main street of Vaduz — shops, the post office (getting a Liechtenstein stamp in your passport is a tourist tradition costing a few francs), cafés with views of the Rhine valley.
Technically, you have visited four countries in two days: Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein.
Two days, four countries, eight cities and landmarks — without your own car, without booking hotels, without navigating unfamiliar roads, without parking questions in central Zurich.
A Russian-speaking guide provides the context. Switzerland without explanation is just beautiful views. Switzerland with history — why Zurich became the world’s financial capital, what was happening in Bern in the 13th century, why Liechtenstein has such low taxes and who exactly is that prince on the hill. These are different trips.
The itinerary is timed to the minute. Two days in Switzerland from Karlovy Vary isn’t “drove past and glanced” — it’s a dense but not exhausting rhythm. There’s free time everywhere, cafés everywhere, things to bring home everywhere. But without chaos and hours lost to logistics.
The hotel night is included — nothing to think about. You arrive, check in, have breakfast with a mountain view in the morning, and move on.
→ Book the Switzerland Excursion
When does the excursion run? On Saturdays, departure at 05:00 from Karlovy Vary. Return on the second day around 02:00–03:00 at night.
Do I need a visa for Switzerland? Switzerland is in the Schengen zone — a Schengen visa works. If you have a Czech residence permit, you enter without additional documents.
What currency is used in Switzerland? Swiss franc (CHF). Cards are accepted everywhere, but a small amount of cash is handy for coffee, souvenirs, and the Liechtenstein passport stamp.
What to bring? Comfortable shoes — there’s a lot of walking. Layers of clothing — mountain weather changes quickly. A camera or good phone — there will be views at every stop.
What to bring home? Swiss chocolate — obviously. A watch — if the budget allows. A Victorinox knife — practical and compact. And the Liechtenstein stamp in your passport: a rare souvenir that people genuinely appreciate.
Switzerland is one of those trips you come back from changed. Not because something extraordinary happens, but because the scale — of the Alps, the lakes, the history — shifts your internal frame of reference. Two days isn’t much. But sometimes two days is enough to understand: you need to come back.
→ All excursions from Karlovy Vary: feelkarlovyvary.cz/excursions/
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