Spending four nights in Lucerne! I would love to hear any ideas or suggestions! One thing I was thinking was an excursion to Mt. Pilatus and Mt. Rigi. Should I do both?! Restaurants, bars, hiking, biking, boats I like it all so any ideas are welcomed!
Thanks!
Danielle
Do you have Rick's Switzerland book? He covers Luzern and the excursions from there quite well, including step-by-step directions for seeing Mt. Pilatus and Mt. Rigi.
I only went to Rigi, because I only had three nights (the first was the day of arrival so I was not yet at full speed). I chose Rigi over Pilatus for the simple reason that I had a Swiss Pass, and my travel (boat from Luzern to Vitznau, train up to Rigi Kulm, train down to Rigi Kaltbad, cable car down to Weggis, STEEP walk down to the Weggis dock, and boat back to Luzern) was completely covered. This took much of a day, and was great. If the steep walk is not for you, don't go to Weggis, but return to Vitznau, where the walk between the train and the boat dock is short and almost level.
A Swiss Pass only gives a 50% reduction for some of the transit to the top of Mt. Pilatus, so with my limited time I didn't do it.
As of this January, the Swiss Travel Pass now fully covers the Rigi and Pilatus routes (and Eurail passes for 2 or more countries discount them 50%). See the updates at https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes.
I just did the trip to Mt. Pilatus and it was great. I did the Rigi trip in 2008. You don't say when you will be in Switzerland. My Rigi trip was late summer and the cows grazing and bells ringing, the green countryside and walking around was great. The Pilatus trip was, obviously, in the winter. There was not a whole lot of snow until very high up. There are places you can stop on the way up the mountain for hiking and a meal - that didn't seem that appealing in the cold, but would have been lovely in the summer. Mt. Pilatus seemed more like a real Swiss mountain - fairly comparable to the higher mountains in the Berner Oberland. Either trip is worth the time and money IMO. If you aren't going to the Berner Oberland, I would vote for Pilatus. If you are - I would opt for the less expensive Rigi.
Yes time of year is probably important! We will be there may 26-30th!
Go to the Rigi without question. While its lower, I think the views are spectacular and there's much more to do up at the, eg hiking through fields with cows and real Swiss people, all the while observing differing views as you walk. Pilatus is high but once you're up there all you can do is a quick walk around the top or have lunch. You also probably wont see a single Swiss person aside from the employees.
You might also want to do a cruise on the lake, stop in one of the towns and have lunch. Its spectacular as long as the weather is clear. Another great trip is to take the train to Brienz, not only is the ride there spectacular, but the ride up the Rothornbahn is amazing as well (steam powered and the view is awesome both on the way up and from the restaurant on top).
You might also consider a trip to Engelberg and Mt. Titlis. We did that in July and had a glorious day, not only exploring the snowy mountain top, but also hiking around a lake in Trubsee halfway up to Mt. Titlis. Engelberg is a short train ride from Luzern. We actually stayed two nights in Engelberg, but I know others have done it as day trip from Luzern to experience Mt. Titlis, with an early start and clear weather.
We also took a paddlewheel steamer from Luzern to Weggis and had a relaxing lunch by the lake there. That was a highlight at the end of a very busy trip for our family.
Laurie
