I'm planning a trip to Luzern during Fasnacht in 2024. My ideal is to have a hotel room with a balcony or at least a window, where we can watch the parades and festivities from the sanity of our hotel room. Does anyone know which hotels overlook the parade routes? Has anyone been in Luzern during Fasnacht? We hope to be there before Dirty Thursday and stay for a few days before moving to a quieter location
Posted by
Thun, Switzerland
491 posts
I have been to it a few times. It is definitely crazy, but also fun to be in the streets amongst it all.
Here is the website and maps from this year's event.
"Umzug" = parade. There is a map of the routes taken.
Posted by
Switzerland
383 posts
I used to live in Luzern and Fasnacht is fun, but if you want any sleep at all, I wouldn’t recommend staying in a hotel in the old town. A lot of my friends who lived in the old town would actually stay elsewhere during Fasnacht! On Thursday at 5am a cannon goes off and the party officially begins, going strong until early Friday morning. There are loud brass bands, drums and tons of people clogging all the streets in old town all day and night. If that’s really what you want, anything along the river (old town side) or overlooking one of the squares in old town would work for a close up view of the festivities. Or the big Schweizerhof hotel. The 3 big parades go down the main road through town, from Pilatusstrasse past the train station, over the bridge to Schwanenplatz and down to where the Wilhelm Tell restaurant ship is, but the bands are constantly roving through old town and along the river. For slightly calmer but still very central, stay near the train station or on Pilatusstrasse.
Regarding timing, the big parades and best days to experience Fasnacht are actually Thursday, Monday and Tuesday. The weekend Fri-Mon is much quieter by comparison and there aren’t as many people out. Most people take a break or are going to local small town parties etc. Also be aware some restaurants and shops, especially in old town, are not open for normal business during this time.
And if you’re going to join in, you really need a costume. Basically everyone from small children to retired people will be dressed up.
Posted by
OP
Vancouver, BC
367 posts
Oh my! This is such excellent information! Thank you so much. I apologize for not coming back sooner and thanking you. That's so helpful.
As for the noise, my daughter lives in Luzern and I can escape to her place if it gets too much. And yes, she has costumes too. But I just want to stand on a balcony and watch it all unfold.