This beautiful swiss city with medieval architecture is located a little more than 1 hour away by train from Zurich. Lucerne doesn’t have its own airport but you can use the one in Zurich. The trains leave from Zurich airport and get to Zurich Train station, and from there you get to Lucerne. The price is ~20 Euro and it leaves every 30 minutes, so plenty of time to have a coffee first.
If you rent a car, the trip from Zurich takes one hour.
Once you get there you are amazed by the architecture and the charm of the city. Walking is the best way to explore the city and enjoy it. Many people use it as a travel hub, because the hotels are cheaper than Zurich and you can organize a lot of trips with Lucerne as starting point. But you’ll see it’s a lot more than that, and you’ll fall in love with its charm.
Walk along the spectacular Chapel Bridge, an iconic medieval woden bridge and it has a roof. If the 200 meters seem long, don’t worry there are also some benches where you can rest, and when you do, look up and you’ll see historic paintings in a triangle shape in the “ceiling”. If it rains while you are walking here you’ll never want it to finish. Right next to the bridge you’ll see the Water Tower, a 30+ meter high construction in an octogonal shape. It was used also as a watchtower or a prison. Both the bridge and the tower were built 300 years ago. The two, together make a beautiful pair when they are in the same photo, so find a spot to include them both.
Continue afterwards through the narrow streets of the old city center, and capture all its essence. The cobblestone streets, the architecture and the fact that it is car-free may make you feel surreal.
Next, admire Lake Lucerne, walk along its shsores or book a cruise. The views are beautiful and you’ll get to have a relaxing experience. You can choose from luxury yacht cruises, motorboats or older/traditional transportation.
Have lunch on the cruise, if possible, depending on your selection, or at a lakeside rstarurant with an outdoor space.
Plan also a visit to the beautiful Mount Rigi, for views accross the city, the lake, some meadows, and valleys and the distant Alps. If you don’t know where it is, just look for a high tower with observation decks up on a mountain near Lucerne. To get there you’ll have to use a combination of boats, ferries, trains, cable cars or cogwheels. The fastest way is by train to Arth-Goldau trains station, and then taking the blue cogwheel train to Rigi Kulm. Either way, you’ll still need more or less one and a half hours, but the views and experience are worth it.
Another activity worth experiencing is “climbing” Mount Pilatus, often called the Dragon Mountain.
To arrive there you’ll have to go near Lucerne to Kriens Pilatus Bahnen, and take the cable car ride. From Lucerne take Bus nr 1 ,get off at Kriens, Zentrum Pilatus stop and walk 5-600 meters (follow the inscriptions “Pilatus”).
Another way of getting there is with the Pilatus Railway the world’s steepest cogwheel railway/funicular, from Alpnachstad (not Alpnach and not Alpnach dorf). You can get to Alpnachstad by boat or train. From there take the train from Pilatus Bahn/Bahnhof (Pilatus Railstation)
If you have a full day , for an extra spectacular experience do the Golden Tour.
From Lucerne you can plan some daytrips, like Grindelwald, Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen, or nearby Zurich. For Zurich we prepared a guide with activities which we liked. See the full guide here.
Highly recommended: If you plan to visit Interlaken, go with the panoramic train “Luzern–Interlaken Express”, which is part of the Golden Pass train route. Price for a ticket is 35 Euro second class and 60 euro first class.
