One day in lucerne

If you only have one day, I would stick to the city. It is beautiful to walk around, and the lake is charming. There are ducks, etc. which will really be cool to the young. There are also beautiful covered bridges, etc.

There is the stone carved lion to see, which is wonderful. There is also a picasso museum and a wagner museum. I remember that we went to an airplane museum, but could not find it in a fast google search.

OH! don't forget to have fondue--one of my favorite memories of Lucerne!

I agree with Sue. I would start with the Picasso museum. It was facinating and unique. Exceeded my expectations and doesn't take much time. Maybe an hour? I would skip the other museum that is on the combo ticket though, wasn't as interesting (the Rosenthal or something like that).

See the lion. Great photo op and it is just a very touching icon. Wander the bridges. EAT THE CHOCOLATE (that probably goes without saying). In the window shops they have broken chunks of chocolate melted over peanuts - to die for. Better than the Lindt even.

Take a good amount of time to walk the bridges and stroll the waterfront.

And if you still have time - we walked the wall of the city and that was nice and scenic.

This might be blasphemy - but I don't remember the churches being anything to write home about.

Mala, I think it depends on what you have been doing beforehand. If you have been mostly in cities I would recommend the Rigi. My Tante who lives in Basel took us on the train for the day from Basel and it was wonderful. We had lunch and enjoyed the views and riding the cogwheel train. It was a great day and a real feel of Switzerland.

In one day, I went up Mount Pilatus, did a little bit of walking around at the top of the mountain, came back down and walked through Lucerne to see the Lion Monument and some of the old-style buildings.

If you do go up Pilatus, there is a children's play area part way up/down the gondola route.

Thanks all for the great suggestions.
Though picasso museum sounds great..Not sure if we would want to do it this time since I am not sure my baby will enjoy it...
We like the idea of Pilatus or Rigi along with the lion monument and walking around the town..
Now between Pilatus and Rigi what do we do ?
How long does either one of them take ?

Mt Pilatus can be done in half a day and leave plenty of time for strolling around town and seeing the lion monument. Those three are definitely what I would do with a day in Lucerne. I don't know about Rigi, though.

I concur with the half-day for Pilatus. You can make it longer if you want by exploring more of the walking trails at the top, but a full half-day should be fine.

Lucerne is such an interesting town - save some time for wandering through the great shopping areas and along the river. With one day, I wouldn't leave the city.