explore it yourself:
The journey and accommodations:
We arrived by train from Lake Como on the afternoon of August 4th and stayed until the morning of August 7th. We arrived in and departed from Luzern Train Station.
Below is what AI recommended for accommodations:
1. Hotel Alpha
2. ibis budget Hotel Luzern City
3. Backpackers Lucerne
4. Hotel Rothaus
5. Gasthaus Löwen
We ended up selecting Backpackers Lucerne as it was the most affordable option. It is worth noting that although it was the most affordable option to us, it was still expensive relative to most of our other accommodations across the rest of our trip. It is true when they say Switzerland is very expensive!
With that being said, we really enjoyed our stay here. We had a private bunk room for the two of us and immediately this hostel felt like stepping into a summer camp with its ‘woodsy’ vibe and scenic surroundings. The hostel itself is just steps away from Lake Lucerne with many people sitting out and enjoying the nice weather with picnics and swimming. One thing we were surprised by was the amount of young families staying in the hostel with children. Although our guess was this was a function of the price of hotels in Lucerne, it was nice to see and made for a family-friendly feel, adding to the summer camp vibe.
The sleeping situation was okay at best as there is no air conditioning in the rooms so it gets pretty hot at nights and the small fans that are provided help very little. On the positive side, they did have a laundry service for 10 CHF where you can fill a basket with dirty clothes and the reception workers would wash, dry, and fold it for you which you can then pick up later in the day. This was perfect for us as it was so hot outside that we had worked up quite a bit of laundry.
Note: * our additions to ai itinerary and exclusions are crossed out, also see our summary at the bottom.
Day 1: Explore Lucerne Old Town & Lakefront
Old Town
- Lunch upon arrival at
Restaurant Opus- OR
Seebistro Luz - We grabbed groceries and had a light lunch instead of eating out for this meal.
- Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) & Water Tower
- Lucerne’s iconic covered wooden bridge from the 14th century.
- Very picturesque! The bridge is lined with beautiful flower boxes so we stopped to take a few photos.
- Don’t miss the paintings under the roof depicting local history.
- Hard to imagine the paintings were commissioned in the 1600’s and still hang today.
- Lucerne’s iconic covered wooden bridge from the 14th century.
- Old Town Walk
- Wander the colorful Altstadt with its frescoed buildings and charming squares.
- It really felt like every street had a bunch of uniquely colored building that made for a great photo.
- Highlights: Weinmarkt, Hirschenplatz, and Kornmarkt.
- All of these spots are essentially right on top of eachother so it was easy to hit them all together.
- Hidden Gem: Visit the Zunfthaus zu Pfistern, a former guildhall with a beautiful painted facade.
- Wander the colorful Altstadt with its frescoed buildings and charming squares.
- Musegg Wall (Museggmauer)
- Climb up the ancient city walls and three of the nine towers, including the Zyt Tower with its 1535 clock.
- We climbed up the first tower on the path (furthest to the West) which had no covering on top providing panoramic views of the Lucerne and we would suggest this to everyone heading here too!
- Climb up the ancient city walls and three of the nine towers, including the Zyt Tower with its 1535 clock.
Lake Lucerne Cruise & Sunset
Lake Lucerne Cruise- Take a 1-hour panoramic boat cruise around the lake.
- Or choose a longer round-trip (e.g. to Weggis or Bürgenstock for views).
- Note: This is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass or available at pier ticket offices.
- Take a 1-hour panoramic boat cruise around the lake.
Swiss museum of Transport- Interactive and fun for all ages — trains, planes, and space tech.
- Also includes the Swiss Chocolate Adventure ride!
- Sunset & Dinner
- Walk along Schwanenplatz and the lake promenade.
- Walk along Schwanenplatz and the lake promenade.
- Dinner at
- Crustopia* located inside Just a little brew pub*, which was in the Hirschmatt-Kleinstadt* neighborhood
- This ended up being one of our favorite stops as the restaurant was full of people filing in after work so the energy was good and the pizza was amazing!
Wirtshaus Taube(authentic Lucerne fare)- OR
Old Swiss House(historic and atmospheric).
- Crustopia* located inside Just a little brew pub*, which was in the Hirschmatt-Kleinstadt* neighborhood
- Ufschotti Strand* beach along Lake Lucerne
- As noted in the accommodation’s section, this was just steps outside of our hostel. Regardless of weather, it was packed with people enjoying the lake every day!
- Inseli Park*
- This was a nicely manicured park also along the waterfront of Lake Lucerne. We sat here for a while enjoying the peaceful surroundings with many others having picnics in the area as well.
Day 2: Mt. Pilatus Adventure
Summit Ascent
- Take the ferry from Lucerne to Alpnachstad (~1 hr).
- Given we have the 90-day Eurail pass, we opted to take a free train over to Alpnachstad instead of the ferry.
- Note: When purchasing tickets for the Mt. Pilatus experience, be sure to select the Eurail pass tickets for a discount on the railway and cable cars up and down the mountain!
- Given we have the 90-day Eurail pass, we opted to take a free train over to Alpnachstad instead of the ferry.
- Ride the Pilatus cogwheel railway, the steepest in the world.
- When we purchased our tickets, we chose not to reserve a specific time slot which costed 5 CHF per ticket. After arriving to the railway station we were informed the next opening was in 90 minutes so we had to walk around the village for a bit to waste some time.
- If you want to ensure you don’t have to wait, then be sure to pick a reservation slot that aligns with your arrival time.
- When we purchased our tickets, we chose not to reserve a specific time slot which costed 5 CHF per ticket. After arriving to the railway station we were informed the next opening was in 90 minutes so we had to walk around the village for a bit to waste some time.
- At the top: panoramic views, short hikes, suspension bridge, and lunch.
- As expected, the views at the summit are incredible. It was very cloudy at the top when we arrived but after a few hours the clouds cleared a bit and the view down the valley is surreal.
- Explore Mt. Pilatus Summit Tip: Bring a jacket – it’s much cooler at the top, even in summer!
- Walk to the Esel viewpoint.
- This is a relatively easy hike up a winding staircase taking ~10 minutes. Worth it for great views and low-stress!
- Optional: Try the Dragon Trail or relax on the panoramic terrace.
- Also not very difficult, the Dragon Trail is mostly flat with a few staircases included and gives you views of both sides of the mountain which was nice!
- While walking the Dragon Trail, we spotted a herd of cows roaming along the final stretch of the hiking path towards the summit. We decided to walk down and check it out which took about 30 minutes each way and was totally worth it!
- Walk to the Esel viewpoint.
- Tip: Bring a jacket – it’s much cooler at the top, even in summer!
- Lunch at the Summit
- Eat at Panoramic Grill or bring a picnic to enjoy outdoors.
- We ordered mozzarella sticks here which were a nice little snack. The menu was pretty pricy across the board which is why we opted for a smaller snack.
- Note: There is a number of different restaurants at the summit, mostly serving the same food items and all of them were pretty expensive!
- We ordered mozzarella sticks here which were a nice little snack. The menu was pretty pricy across the board which is why we opted for a smaller snack.
- Eat at Panoramic Grill or bring a picnic to enjoy outdoors.
- Our tips:
- Be sure to book a reservation slot for the railway. If you have a specific time you want to go you should book in advance (we had to wait an hour and a half as noted above)
- Check the weather before going. We had a lot of cloud coverage most of the time which was cool, but obviously limited the view. They ultimately would come and go so we were able to see the view, but maybe not as clearly as a sunnier day. Additionally, on the descent and transfer to different cable car we saw there was an excursion area so we decided we would do the tobagganing, then later found out it was closed due to rain/wet conditions.
Descent & Relax
- Descent by Aerial Cableway
- Descend to Kriens via gondola and cable car.
- Take a bus (No. 1) back to Lucerne (15 mins).
- There is a ~10 minute walk from the end of the cable car to the bus stop but it was clearly labeled and you can usually follow the crowd here.
- Note: If you are staying overnight in Lucerne, your hotel should provide you with the city pass which provides free public transit within the city, this bus was included in that pass!
- There is a ~10 minute walk from the end of the cable car to the bus stop but it was clearly labeled and you can usually follow the crowd here.
- Descend to Kriens via gondola and cable car.
- Unwind with a swim at
Lido Lucerne, a lakeside beach with mountain views. - Dinner
- Prik Thai* near Lucerne train station
- The portion sizes here were large and the food was very good! It is still relatively expensive compared to most other cities we visited on our trip but worth it!
- Try
Grottino 1313, a cozy local favorite with no fixed menu – seasonal and creative. - OR head to
Rebstock Restaurantfor upscale Swiss cuisine.
- Prik Thai* near Lucerne train station
We reworked our itinerary for Day 3 because even with our Eurail pass (Which provides us a discount on cable car tickets) for these mountain trips the total was still around 100 USD for the two of us. Since we paid this for the Day 2 excursion we decided we should do something more budget friendly on day 3. Below is what we actually did and further below remains the itinerary AI initially recommended (Mount Rigi).
Day 3: Day Trip to Zurich and Liechtenstein
Morning at bakery
- Breakfast and lattes from Bakery Bakery*. Although a bit expensive we absolutely loved this bakery. They had incredible pastries, lattes (with syrup), and environment. It was very family friendly and also had free photobooth which was fun. We ended up coming here 3 times!!
- We hung out here for awhile utilizing their free WiFi to work on the blog
Commute
- We were looking for the most efficient way to get to Liectenshtein for a quick day trip and determined that heading to the Southern part of the country would be the easiest for us, therefore we aimed for Balzers. To get there from Lucerne, we took the train to Sargans which included one transfer at Thalwil. In all, the trip took just under two hours to get to Sargans.
- After arriving in Sargans, we hopped on a bus to Balzers which took about 15 minutes and costed 9 CHF each. We were specifically aiming for the Gutenberg castle in Balzers so we hopped off the bus at a stop nearby and walked about 10 minutes up a hill to the castle.
Afternoon in Balzers, Liechtenstein
- We really wanted to see the country of Liechtenstein because of it’s close proximity to us. Vaduz is the capital and the biggest of the cities, but we opted to see Balzers instead because it was a slighly shorter commute as noted above.
- Balzers was really small compared to the other cities we have visited on this trip, but it truly felt like a fairy village with its surrounding mountains and winding roads that traverse over rolling hills seemingly heading nowhere.
- We hiked up the Gutenberg Castle* and saw sweeping views of the city and surrounding valleys. It was a really short hike that only took a few minutes but still provided some amazing views!
- We took a stroll through the neighborhoods and stopped at a local grocery store for snacks before heading back to Zurich.
Evening in Zurich
- Considering we were also close to Zurich, which wasn’t on our initial itinerary, we selected a train route back to Lucerne that stopped here and allowed us some time to walk around before getting back to our hostel.
- Just outside the train station is a lively waterfront area just along the river that was really nice wander around.
- With that being said, the surrounding area closest to the train station is under a lot of construction so it wasn’t the easiest area to navigate on foot as we constantly had to switch sides of the street to continue along the sidewalks.
- In order to count as actually visitng the city we felt like we needed to get dinner so we stopped for Sushi from QQ Sushi which we highly recommend to anyone visitng Zurich looking for some sushi!
Alternative Day 3: Day Trip to Mount Rigi
Morning at Mt. Rigi
- Train or ferry to Vitznau then board the Rigi Cogwheel Railway to the top
- Explore Rigi Kulm
- Enjoy 360° views over Lake Lucerne and the Alps.
- Walk the easy ridge trail and relax at the mountain spa in Rigi Kaltbad.
- Mineralbad & Spa Rigi Kaltbad
- Enjoy 360° views over Lake Lucerne and the Alps.
- Hidden Gem: Visit Rigi Scheidegg, a quieter part of the mountain with tranquil trails.
Afternoon Descent
- Lunch at the Summit Restaurant
- Return via Arth-Goldau then train to Lucerne (~1 hr)
- Dinner at
- Restaurant Balances
- OR Zur Werkstatt
final thoughts:
Overall Rating: 100/10
Would we go again? Yes, Lucerne was a perfect first stop in Switzerland!
Favorite moment:
Bailey’s favorite: I loved the slower pace and the relaxing feeling the city had. I enjoyed visiting the beach across the street from our hostel. It was filled with people picnicking, playing games, and swimming!
Parker’s favorite: Hiking down from Pilatus Kulm to see the cows lounging near the summit was amazing!
Favorite meal:
Bailey’s favorite: The crookie and iced lattes from Bakery Bakery were so good. My favorite cafe from the trip!
Parker’s favorite: Prik Thai had some of the best Thai food I’ve ever had! Although it was pricy, the portion sizes were huge.
Any surprises? We were surprised by how expensive Switzerland is even though we’ve heard that for years! A meal out on the town for two (without ordering drinks) was costing us between $70 and $90 at the most casual looking restaurants. Be sure to pick up some groceries here if you’re looking to save a bit of money!
Anything we missed? AI also recommended Mt. Titus as a day trip which also looked incredible.
Food spots AI recommended, but we didn’t have a chance to go: Restaurant Opus, Seebistro Luz, Wirtshaus Taube, Old Swiss House, Grottino 1313, and Rebstock Restaurant.
Average step count per day: 17,500 steps
How did ai do?
Nailed it: First and foremost, the hostel recommendation of Backpackers Lucerne was perfect! This hostel combined affordability and a great location along the lakefront that made Lucerne really feel like a weekend at summer camp. We would absolutely stay here again should we visit Lucerne in the future.
Needs work: One thing AI didn’t really take into account is the price associated with ascending mountains via cable car and railway. Each trip up the mountain to visit another peak is anywhere from $30 – $70 per person and considering the amount of stunning peaks here in Switzerland, you could go broke visiting them all. AI recommended a trip to two different peaks during our time in Lucerne and we simply had to cut one of them out to save some money despite how much we would have loved to visit them all.
On a similar note, restaurant suggestions in Lucerne have all been very fancy places and given how expensive every spot in Switzerland is, we had to choose more casual options for dining to prevent spending hundreds for a single meal.