Lucerne summer music festival - crowds?

I haven't attended it, but from what I understand it's big deal. I suspect most attendees will be more or less local, but don't be surprised if hotels are more expensive/scarce during those dates.

Thanks. Anyone out there who has been in Lucerne during the festival?

Hi Janet, I've lived within a hour of Luzern for more than twenty years and I've never even heard of it, so I doubt it can be very important! But having said that, Luzern is always a popular place to stay, so it is agog idea to book early. If it were me I would probably stay in a town or village nearby where hotels are cheaper and hop on a local train to get into Luzern. Jim

I wouldn't worry about it. I checked a few of the popular hotels right in the center and there was no difference in price and availability between 13 to 15 August and 15 to 17 August. In other words, the hotels were no more expensive than usual. Luzern is an expensive place!

I hate to throw a monkey wrench into this , but here's a considered thought . First the disclaimer ; We were in Luzern last fall ,but it was after the festival dates . As well , I can't make a valid judgement about the audience i.e. whether they are largely local or attendees from other parts of Europe or the States . Having said that , The festival is a HUGE DEAL in the world of classical music . Founded around 2002 by the conductor Claudio Abbado it is known worldwide for the sheer perfection of the performances . The centerpiece is The Luzern Festival Orchestra ,an Ad Hoc ensemble that plays as if they had been playing together for decades , when they actually play together for about a month each year . Their recordings of Mahler's symphonies are legendary . Again , I can't comment on how the festival affects hotel booking , but I think a reasonable assumption is that the sooner you finalize your plans , the better . P.S. We stayed at the Ibis Styles Hotel just off Lowenplatz . Just remodeled last year ,it was $190 USD per night , ten minute walk from the bahnhof and center of town , included a nice breakfast and was pin drop quiet at night . Have a great trip!

Also , If you are thinking of a boat trip on the lake , a particulary nice one takes you out to Vitznau where you can ride the Vitznau Rigi - Bahn to the top of Rigi Mountain . There are several variations on doing this excursion ,and hopefully , Lola will provide them . For a fun taste of what this is like , go to YouTube and watch " Changing Trains " , a BBC travelogue from 1978 written and presented by Eric Robson ( in four fifteen minute segments ) . Also try to ride one of the five antique paddle steamers on your cruise , they add a lot of flavor to the trip!

Rigi variations- not as well-known or numerous as the Goldberg Variations but interesting nevertheless. All can start with the boat trip from Luzern to Vitznau. There you catch the cogwheel train up to the top, which is Rigi Kulm, made famous by Mark Twain in "A Tramp Abroad". He pretends to have taken a week or so to ascend, maybe by mule, to the top, and then many more days there waiting for a chance to see the sunrise ( he could never rise early enough). It is an enjoyable read. The hotel is still there; if the timing works out you could have lunch. The views over the lake and mountains are glorious. From Rigi Kulm you have several choices for return to Luzern. The least interesting but possibly fastest is to descend by railway down the back side of Rigi to Arth-Goldau and catch a commuter train back to Luzern. No lake views after you leave the summit. My favorite is to descend by train back the way you came as far as the little community of Rigi Kaltbad. Thesis on a bench still high above the lake, with views, and there are several nice walks from here, with wildflowers and the sound of cowbells if you are there at the right time. When you have had your full, catch the cable car for an exciting and fast ride down to the lakeside town of Weggis. Then you take another lake boat back to Luzern.

Thanks, Michael, Jim, Lola & Steven! Lots of good info. We are considering (but not yet committed to) taking the William Tell Express route to Lugano and then taking the Bernina Express route to Chur. Besides wondering whether we want to commit to that much train riding in a row, am wondering if the lake portion of the Wm. Tell is any better or worse than just taking a cruise on the lake. Thoughts? Thanks.

Jim & others - We have (distant) relatives in Munsingen who have offered us their guest room for part of all of the time (9 days) we are in Switzerland. They say we can get to many places from there fairly quickly by train - giving us some travel times -including Lucerne (1:30 hr.). What do you think about the advisability of staying in Munsingen rather than in Lucerne for at least one night? (This would be if we don't take the William Tell Express out of Lucerne.) Obviously it would be a lot cheaper to stay for free, but would we be missing too much do you think? We have the same question about the Berner Oberland. It would be neat to stay in Murren overnight but we would run the risk of reserving a hotel room on a date that the weather was bad and we couldn't really see much of the mountains. If we stayed in Munsingen (about an hour from Interlaken on the way to Bern) for free, we could wait for the best day(s) to go up to Murren/Shilthorn and/or Wengen/Jungfraujoch. I guess what I'm asking is - are day trips from Munsingen too time limited to really appreciate the Berner Oberland area. We would like to do some walking, but nothing very strenuous or long. Rick describes a beautiful 1- 1.5 hr walk (with benches along the way) from Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg & then suggests taking the train from there to the Jungfraujoch, then taking the train back down to Murren (or wherever). I would appreciate anyone's thoughts on this day trip question - both to Lucerne and the B.O. Thanks. Janet

Janet, The trip from Munsingen to Lauterbrunnen appears to be 1H:24M (with two changes), so it would be easy to take day trips to the Berner Oberland. However, it would be easier to do the hikes that you mentioned and the Jungfraujoch if you were staying in area. With that in mind, one possibility would be to book 2-3 nights in the Berner Oberland, as that would also provide some choice on which days to visit various sites. Lauterbrunnen would be the most convenient location (IMO) as it provides easy access to both sides of the valley - Mürren / Gimmelwald / Schilthorn on one side and Wengen / Kleine Scheidegg / Jungfrau / Grindelwald on the other side. Regarding visiting the Jungfrau, the weather can be a bit "unpredictable" so it's somewhat a situation of "luck of the draw". I was there in September, and it was beautiful and sunny in the valley, but foggy and a fierce blizzard with high winds raging at the Jungfrau. The following day, the trains between Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg were suspended due to high winds. The top of the Spinx is at 11,782 ft. / 3591 M, so you'll need to keep that in mind if you're subject to "altitude issues". Lucerne is also a very beautiful city and worth 2-3 days (again, IMO). There's lots to see and do there. Happy travels!