MAPS Zurich & Lucerne

[CaroleLee]

Happy Holidays to all,

 

Whilst we wait for our Rhine Cruise my research continues. Trying to find/purchase a tourist map similar to the ones given out by the ships or hotels of Zurich and of Lucerne. Usually like the Streetwise series but no Zurich or Lucerne. Does anyone have these maps or know where I can find?

Thx

Carole

One simple ask wear a mask

[cruisr]

Just go to Google Maps, type in Zurich, Switzerland in the search box and zoom in on the page and you can see everything in the city center,   Swipe up and you can select the icons for hotels, grocery stores, etc.  I use Google maps all the time for making my own walking tours,

[Host Jazzbeau]

I find that HopOn/HopOff bus maps are good planning tools.  They highlight all the 'top 10' sights.

[sharkster77]

When we were in Lucerne last year, the map on my phone was all I needed.  We walked all along the river, along the lake, by the Lion Monument, and the entire length of the medieval town wall.  At least in the old town area, it was impossible to get lost.

[Daisi]

3 hours ago, cruisr said:

Just go to Google Maps, type in Zurich, Switzerland in the search box and zoom in on the page and you can see everything in the city center,   Swipe up and you can select the icons for hotels, grocery stores, etc.  I use Google maps all the time for making my own walking tours,

I agree with this.  I have been researching things to see in Budapest & Prague for our cruise (if we ever make it ), so have saved lots of places in each city.  When we get there, I will just "mark" the hotel (great for knowing how to get back), and start wandering in the direction of the sights we wish to see.  We did that in Amsterdam, pinpointed the tram stop to get back to our hotel, threw the phone in my pocket, and wandered.  When we decided to leave, just pulled out the phone, hit "direction" to the tram stop, and off we went.  Works great without wifi or data so especially great.

[SteveU]

When we were in Amsterdam/Lucerne/Basel a few years ago I used an app on my phone from "GPsmyCity.com".  (search the Android App Store - not sure about IOS availability).  I think it costs a couple of dollars for each city, but they have info on all of the popular tourist sites in each town as well as maps that show your actual location via GPS. I found them helpful for planning before we left home, as well as guiding us when we were there.   There are probably new apps that have been developed since our visit, but these worked well for us and I know they are now available.

[sharkster77]

We used an app called Here We Go (I think..).  You download maps for areas you are going to visit before hand.  Then you can use the app to navigate without using any phone data (you click on 'use app offline').  App was free.

Maps I believe stay on your phone for 30 days, but can be re-downloaded as needed.

[Pyroforyou]

Maps.me is the app I use when traveling. You can save points of interest with different colors and it is good to use offline as well. If you really want a printed map to have as a backup then maybe buy older guide books, the sights won't change, well after covid who knows what will still be open.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I map out my touring days on google.maps and print off at least the map (and if driving, the full directions).  But I think when our travels resume I will probably pay Verizon their outrageous fees to use my phone in Europe, so these new-tech alternatives will come into play.  [In 2011, without any cell phones, DW and I got separated in the crowd heading to the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.  I had all our money and identifications, and we needed to get back to the meeting point for the ship's 'on your own' return bus.  It was the scariest few minutes of my life.  But we are the children of 'depression babies' and even though it doesn't make sense we pinch pennies in odd places...]

[jpalbny]

Just change over to T-Mobile, and get international data included in your monthly fee. For about the same price as Verizon.

[Host Jazzbeau]

32 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

Just change over to T-Mobile, and get international data included in your monthly fee. For about the same price as Verizon.

 

Thought about it, but T-Mobile doesn't have as good a network in the US – and reports from travelers say their European roaming is throttled.  So staying with Verizon, as the best bad option...

[jpalbny]

9 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Thought about it, but T-Mobile doesn't have as good a network in the US – and reports from travelers say their European roaming is throttled.  So staying with Verizon, as the best bad option...

 

We had Verizon for about 20 years before switching to T-Mobile. You are correct on both counts. The US coverage lags a bit but it's not been a big deal for us. And roaming data is indeed throttled but it's definitely fast enough for anything I've wanted or needed to do. In 2017 when we were on our India river cruise, people were trying to upload pictures to FB, CC, etc and bemoaning the slow WiFi on the ship. We were constantly in the range of local networks and uploading pictures without any problem.

 

Back when we used to travel, the tradeoff was well worth it. Hoping that it still will be in the future!

[Daisi]

I've used Google maps for years.  When doing car trips, we plug in our destination for the night, and turn off on whatever roads look interesting.  Nicest thing about it, it tells you roughly how long time wise you are from you destination (we turn off the speaking) so you know when you have to hit the highway.  We found using it on our phones was great on our cruise as well.  I would mark the ship in as we disembarked (or the pick up point), and we could wander around on our own after the tour, just keeping track of time to get back.  Found some interesting streets that way, as they took us down streets we would probably have missed trying to find the most direct way.

 

We used to use maps.me, but found that for driving, they were getting hard to see.

 

We don't have data on either or phones or tablets.

[caripoo]

I got a Streetwise Zurich at Barnes and Noble.....I got a Lucern one from our people who did out tours...or drop an e-mail to the Switzerland Tourist board

[mapsd]

We have great luck just using Google maps too.

I still like having a hard copy for browsing & planning though.

 

The hotel concierge usually offer free ones & will mark routes/highlights for you as well.