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DAY 5- Paris to Lucerne

Lucerne Travel Blog › entry 6 of 36 › view all entries

My European vacation had been in the works for a while, I just didn’t know that I would do it through Contiki tours. Originally, I was just going to grab my backpack, buy a Eurorail pass and set out on my own. But, with limited time, I decided doing a tour would allow me to see as much as possible in my timeframe, therefore, I chose a 23 day European Vista tour, through Contiki. It turned out to be a fantastic decision!

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DAY 5- Paris to Lucerne

July 6, 2009

We left for Lucerne at 9AM, and were told that it would be one of the longest trips on tour. It definitely was, as we didn’t get to Lucerne until about 6:15. Granted, we did have two 15 minute breaks and one ½ hour lunch.

When we arrived in Lucerne, we went to our hotel to check-in, the Astoria Hotel. It was a fantastic hotel! We ate dinner at the hotel, then got ready to go out for the night. We ended up going to a local sports bar, and I never did know the name of it. It was a good place to start. Seeing as it was Sunday night, we were told that there were no clubs open. I don’t know if this is actually true, however, Josh knew a guy named Dominic that was willing to open a club up especially for the two or three Contiki tours that were in town that night. So, from the sports bar we went to the club, where we had an absolute blast. The music was good and the bartenders were fast, efficient, and funny. Because the club wasn’t open to the public that night, there was enough room to dance without being trampled on. After a night of drinking, I don’t remember what time we left the club, and I don’t remember getting back to the hotel. It was a fantastic night.

Main expenses:

Breakfast- Included in the tour

Lunch (in Euros)- 10.00

Snacks (for the bus-in Euros)- 5.00

Dinner- Included in the tour

Alcohol (in Swiss Francs)- WAAAY too much to keep track of! But, prices varied at the different places.

Hotel- Included in the tour

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Astoria Hotel

Astoria Hotel

Our second stop on the tour turned out to be one of the nicest hotels we stayed in on the entire tour. Perfectly located on one of the main streets in the city, it is easily within walking distance of everything you’d want to do. This is a big hotel, but it is modern and immaculately clean. It is a beautiful hotel. The rooms are spacious, the beds are comfortable, and our room had a gorgeous view. The staff was friendly, and the meals, (with the exception of our second breakfast), and which we ate in the dining room, were fantastic. Outside the dining room is a lounge, also known as the dance club Pravda. At the time I stayed here, it was on it’s ‘summer break’, but normally it turns into a dance club on the weekends, and stays a lounge during the week (or so I was told). Upstairs (and looking down on Pravda) is Penthouse, a top floor bar that has an outside area that happens to be the hotel roof. We hung out in both these bars, and they were great!
I had heard from a few different guests in the hotel that they didn’t like how noisy the hotel was, due to these two bars, but I had no problem with the noise level once we went back to our room for the night. We also slept with the room window open, and did not find the noise level from the street to be loud, at all. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone.