10 Best Things to do in and around Lucerne | Complete Guide
- BY SANCHI LOHIA -
OVERVIEW
The beautiful city of Lucerne rests beside a picturesque lake and is surrounded by breaktaking mountainous landscape. Thus it is no wonder it is one of the most visited destinations in Switzerland. Plus the location of Lucerne is very close to various other most important cities of Switzerland.
Whether you want to go boating in the beautiful Lake Lucerne or you want to feel on the top of the world by visiting one of the nearby mountain peaks, Lucerne has it all. Additionally, it is filled with numerous historical sights and buildings, a beautiful old town with super pretty streets, and much more. Here is out list of the best things to do in and around Lucerne:
LIST
1. Stroll in the old town and see the iconic chapel bridge
- The first thing you should do to get the vibe of Lucerne is to stroll around the Old Town. The Old town is located between Lake Lucerne and the city walls. It is filled with picturesque streets, pretty colorful low height buildings and historical towers and structures.
- As you reach the lake, you will find the oldest covered bridge in Europe, the iconic Chapel Bridge. This is a wooden footbridge dating back to the 14th century. It connects the new town to the old town. It contains an interesting number of paintings on its interiors dating back to the 17th century.
2. If you like history, visit the Glacier Garden
- This place has a lot to offer. But first, the very interesting base history to this place- Polished rock and glacial potholes of impressive proportions was found here which proved that Lucerne was once covered by glaciers! Additionally, fossils of shellfish and palm leaves have also been found at this spot indicating that some 20 million years ago, the area of Lucerne was a subtropical beach! So, you can visit this place and see the potholes and fossils.
- Other must do attractions in the Glacier Garden is:
- The famous Lion Monument: This is a rock structure of a dying lion carved into a former sandstone quarry. This lion represents the historical event when the Swiss Guard was defeated in 1792 after the Tuileries Palace. It happened during the French Revolution.
- Mirror maze: Created in 1896, this mirror maze consisting of 90 mirrors plays tricks with your mind. You can spend some time there and have fun with it!
- Observation Tower: This tower connected with Glacier Garden offers splendid views of Lucerne and Mount Pilatus.
3. See the breathtaking views from Mount Pilatus and ride a toboggan
- The beautiful Mount Pilatus can be easily seen from almost anywhere in Lucerne. The mountain offers numerous viewpoints to enjoy the spectacular views of the Lucerne town, lake and the surrounding areas. Additionally, it also offers hiking trails, Switzerland’s longest summer toboggan, rope course and even a hotel to stay at the top in case you like the view too much. With so many things to do, you can easily spend half a day or more here.
- There are 3 ways to get to the top of Mount Pilatus: hiking, cable car and cogwheel railway. You can take the famous Golden round trip from Lucerne to discover all the amazing spots on this mountain. The Golden round trip offers numerous forms of transport for going and back from Mount Pilatus. This includes cogwheel railway, boat ride across the Lake Lucerne, aerial cableway and Panorama Gondolas. You can choose a combination of either of those for the trip.
4. Enjoy spectacular views from the top of Mount Titlis
- The top of Mount Titlis can be reached by a cable car from Engelberg village, which in turn can be reached 50 min drive/train from Lucerne.
- In addition to the spectacular views from the numerous viewpoints on Mount Titlis, it also offers numerous sets of activities which are divided into 2 seasons, summer and winter.
- The summer season offers activities like mountain climbing and biking, scooter biking, boating on the Trübsee lake, zipline and much more.
- In the winter time, this mountain becomes a Ski resort and offers all the snow activities like skiing, tobogganing, snowshoeing, zipline, ice flyer and much more.
- With so many things to do, you can easily spend half a day or more here.
5. Mount Rigi
- Rigi mountain is clearly visible from Lucerne town. This mountain is surrounded by three lakes, Lake Lucerne, Lake Zug and Lake Lauerz. Due to this splendid location, it provided breathtaking views of the lakes and the surrounding villages and alps.
- The activities on Mount Rigi also are divided based on the summer and winter season similar to many other peaks. Summer offers activities like biking tours, hiking trails, paragliding and much more. Rigi becomes a ski resort in winter and offers all the snow related activities like hiking, snowboarding etc.
- There are plenty of ways to reach the top of Mount Rigi. You can take the cogwheel train from the villages of Vitznau and Arth-Goldau. Or you can take the cable car from Weggis to Rigi Kaltbad and change to the Mt Rigi cogwheel train up to Rigi Kulm.
6. Visit the highest train station in Europe and enjoy magnificent views
- Jungfraujoch, also known as top of Europe, is a glacial pass and is home to the highest train station in Europe. This glacial pass connecting the two, Jungfrau and Mönch, both above 4000 meters high. This at station is located at 3454 meters above sea level.
- The best way to get there from Lucerne is by train. You have to take this route: Lucerne->Lauterbrunnen->Kleine Scheidegg->Jungfraujoch. Same route on the return journey(obviously!). This train journey takes 4 hour, per way.
- The station has a dedicated area outside for the visitors. As soon as you step out, you will feel like you are in a different world. You will feel a steam of super cold air and gorgeous views around. All white spectacular views. Soak in the magnificent views of the surrounding glaciers and four-thousander peaks.
7. Zurich
- Set alongside a beautiful lake, the largest city of Switzerland is well worth a day trip. Picturesque old town, numerous historic buildings and structures, famous shopping streets, amazing nightlife, numerous viewpoints, the town of Zurich has a lot to offer.
- This city is just a 50 min drive/train away from Lucerne.
8. Enjoy pretty views of Lucerne from Musegg Wall and the connected towers
- The Musegg wall dates back to the 14th century. This wall along with 9 connected towers was built to protect the town of Lucerne.
- Now, you can walk on this wall while soaking in the picturesque views of the Lucerne town, lake and the surrounding alps. You can also climb one of the towers(4 are open to public out of 9) for a breathtaking view of the Lucerne town. Out of the 9 towers, 4 are open to the public.
9.Adore the world famous paintings at the Rosengart Collection Museum
- This museum is a private collection of over 300 world renowned paintings of modern art(art which is considered ahead of its time). The paintings belong to world renowned artists like Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse and more.
- This collection belonged to Siegfried Rosengart, who was an art collector and had contacts with these artists. Here is the list of artists and paintings at the museum.
10. Day trip to the capital city of Switzerland: Bern
- The city of Bern is a beautiful and peaceful city filled with historic buildings, museums and churches.
- The old city of Bern, is a UNESCO listed site due to being extremely well planned and retaining the original character of the buildings dating back to the 15th and 16th century.
- Overall the city, surrounded by beautiful Alps and river Aare, is a well worth day trip from Lucerne and has plenty to offer.
11. Interlaken
- Couched between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, the fairytale-like resort town of Interlaken is one of the most unmissable places to visit in Switzerland.
- Interlaken has a lot to offer. Breathtaking viewpoints from the nearby mountains, boat rides and other summer activities on the 2 local lakes, picturesque lanes and buildings are the few highlights. Overall this town acts as a fantastic base for seeing the best of central Switzerland’s magnificent scenery while enjoying the comforts of a chic lakeside resort. And this is an unmissable day trip from Lucerne if you are not planning to stay here.
Was this article helpful?
YesNo
