Pilate or Rigi

With only two nights why don't you just see the sites of Lucerne? Otherwise you will have traveled all the way to a beautiful city only to check into a hotel and then leave for another destination.

Rigi!
Walk the flat scenic "Blumenpfad" (Flower trail) from the Rigi Kaltbad station either way--west to the lookout platform at Känzeli with a panoramic view of Lake Lugano and the Alps, or east, across the train tracks, to First and on along the lakeview side of the cliff.

Either way you should make the decision the day of. The mountain could be covered in fog as my friends paid to go up with out knowing.

Tim,
I have been to Lucerne before and plan to spend one day in the city and another exploring either Rigi or Pilatus. Having said that I often go with the wind and might change my mind, so what are your favorites in the city. 😎
Mary

Mary, what have you already seen and liked on your previous trip to Lucerne? I might be able to recommend some more things there, but don't want to repeat what you may already know.

Linda
Honestly I just walked around the town visiting the Lion, the bridges and doing some shopping. I still have my Swiss Army knife engraved with my maiden name. I'm open to ideas though. I thought maybe Pilatus or Rigi along with a boat ride would be nice. Again, I will play it by ear depending on the weather.

Mary

Mary, when you shopped around Luzern, did you see the cobblestone plazas with the ornate public fountains and the medieval buildings with murals painted on them? They're on the cobblestone roads on the backside behind the buildings on the river, on the opposite side of the river from the train station side of the river.

It's interesting to walk up to the ramparts behind the old town and go up the stairs inside the ancient clock tower. There's an ancient clock in there where you can see all the mechanics.

I love the medieval buildings on the other side of the river, too--the side that the train station is on. If you walk along the river from the train station and don't cross a bridge, when you're at the "Nix" restaurant between the Reuss bridge and the Mill bridge, veer to the left and then quickly to the right, onto Pfistergasse (street). About a block going north you'll come to the shop "Au Cachet." That's my favorite chocolate shop with the best truffles I've ever had. It's the oldest chocolate shop in Luzern. They make their own chocolates. If you walk back southeast on Pfistergasse a couple of blocks, you'll see medieval buildings, including one curvy ancient apothecary.
If you head back along the river and cross it on the Rathaus Bridge (the bridge before you get back to the famous Kapellbrücke bridge) then you come out on a couple of my favorite restaurants in town--the Rathause Brauerei and the Pfistern restaurants.
-The tourist information bureau is on track 3 of the Lucerne train station and they can give you a map and helpful advice of what to visit while in town and how to find those places.
Also, there's a delicious vegetarian buffet restaurant on the top floor of the Luzern train station. It's called Tibits. It has a glass wall where you can look down on all the trains at the station platforms below.

If you go to Rigi, you should take the scenic route by taking the ship on Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstáttersee) to the Vitznau stop. Get off there and walk across the street to the cog rail train. Take it up to Rigi Kaltbad. It's not the top, but it has access to the views that I prefer. From there you can take the Blumenpfad trail either east or west--follow the marked blue signs. There's a viewing platform with a telescope on the western end of the trail. If you go to the east, on the way to the cliff, you can stop at the intersection of paths at First. There are a few restaurants there. We ate at a great one that faced the pasture. No lake view, but plenty of cows! To get back to Luzern, it's fun (and fast) to take the cable car from Rigi Kaltbad down to Weggis. You have about 15 minutes to walk quickly downhill through the town, following the signs to the ship, in order to catch the next ship back to Luzern.

I did both mountains on consecutive days prior to my recent RS Switzerland tour. IMO, Pilatus has more spectacular views and a more impressive cogwheel rail trip up the mountain. Rigi has a few more hiking options and is an excellent trip by itself. If you visit the cheese farm just down the hill from the top of Rigi, be prepared for a steep walk down to the cheese farm and then either a steep walk back up or a not-so-easy, almost cross-country hike to Rigi Staffel station.

I've never done Rigi but absolutely loved our trip up Pilatus and recommend it to everyone (caveat: if the weather is cooperating). Here is the description of what we did: http://www.luzern.com/en/the-golden-tour. I loved doing the aerial tram one way and the cog railway the other, and the boat trip was wonderful.

mary,

I haven't been to Rigi, but quite enjoyed Pilatus and you can combine that with a boat trip. One route to follow would be to take the boat from Lucerne to Alpnachstad (about an hour as I recall) and then walk across the street to the cogwheel Funicular (an engineering marvel in its time). The journey up the hill to Pilatus is quite scenic and at Pilatus you'll be able to enjoy incredible views as far as the eye can see (hopefully no haze). You can also have a nice hot lunch (the Hotel Bellevue had a nice cafeteria-style buffet when I was there in September). At the conclusion of your visit, take the Cable Cars down to Kriens, walk down the hill a few blocks to the bus depot and return to Lucerne by bus (only about 15 minutes as I recall).