The charming town of Lake Lucerne sits at the base of the swiss alps and is a gorgeous base camp to get to see a good portion of central switzerland alps. There are great day trips from here to see different mountains. It is possible to do one per day or two if you only go to the top to see views. If you are hiking it is best to see one mountain a day.
1. Mt. Rigi
Mt. Rigi is a mountain overlooking the town of Lucerne in Central Switzerland and is known as Queen of the mountains. Mt. Rigi is known as the queen gem because it is less known and crowded compared to the famous Mt. Pilatus.
Read my Day trip hiking Mt. Rigi guide here.
Elevation:
5899 feet
Distance:
1 hour ferry boat, 30 minute cog-way train
How to get there:
Take a water ferry from downtown Luzern to Viznau. Take the cog-way train here to the mountain summit for hiking and views. Read my guide for the full transportation information, costs and choices.
Activities
- Hiking
- Cog-way Train
2. Mt. Pilatus
Pilatus, also often referred to Mount Pilatus, is a jagged mountain overlooking Lake Lucerne in Central Switzerland. It is made up of several peaks, of which the highest is named Tomlishorn and is a great day hike and day trip from Lucerne.
Elevation:
6982 feet
Distance:
10 minute car drive, 30 minute cog-way train one way.
How to get there:
There are 6 main options of how to get to the mountain from Luzern, by hiking, by cableway, by cogwheel railway, or by a round trip ride on the cogwheel train, cableway, and boat. The common and most budget main two ways I list below with details.
Cableway
The cableway is from Kriens, where you ride two panoramic gondolas and a cableway to get to the top of Mt. Pilatus. Along the way, there are two mountain stations. The first is Krienseregg with a ropes course. The second is Fräkmüntegg, where you can ride the toboggan down the mountain.
Cost: round trip from Kriens to Pilatus Kulm: adults CHF 72, children 6 to 16 CHF 36
Cogwheel Railway
This is the steepest cogway in world taking 30 minutes to summit Mt. Pilatus with a gradient of 48°. This can be added to the cogwheel railway and cable car route in one round trip journey. This ticket is referred to as the Silver Round Trip. You begin at Lucerne railway station, ride the cogwheel train to the peak, take the cableway and gondolas to Kriens, and then ride a bus back to the railway station. If you don’t have a car, this is good because transportation to and from Lucerne is included in your ticket price.
Cost: adults CHF 85.20, children CHF 42.60
Activities
- Ride a toboggan to the bottom of the mountain, Adults CHF 8, Children 6 to 16 CHF 6
- Ropes course
- Hiking
3. Mt. Titlus
Mt. Titlus as well as Mt. Pilatus are probably the most visited alp mountains from Luzern. The top visited is considered to be Mt. Titlus. To get to Titlis from Lucerne, you take a 45-minute train ride to Engelberg, followed by a cable car. There is hiking, skiing, and a monastery you can visit as well as a small cheese factory in Engelberg town.
Elevation:
10,623 feet
Distance:
45 minute train ride from Luzern.
How to get there:
Taking the train from Lucerne to the mountain takes about 45 minutes. The route from Engelberg train station to the TITLIS valley station takes just ten minutes on foot or you can hop on the free shuttle bus. The 8-seater TITLIS Xpress cable car will bring you all the way up from Engelberg to Stand station. The train will be about 85CHF for a single roundtrip ticket. Book the train here. The Xpress cable car is 66CHF one way for a ticket and 92CHF for a return ticket up and down the mountain. More information and pricing for lifts and ski tickets here.
4. Jungfraujoch
Jugfraujoch is referred to as the top of Europe. It is the highest train station on the continent. It is located at 11,332 feet, and is in the heart of the Bernese Alps. The station is surrounded by 4000m peaks and glaciers and is probably one of the most unique day trips to take from Luzern.
Elevation:
11,332 feet
Distance:
4 hour train ride, cog-way train ride 30 minutes
How to get there:
The best way to get there is by train. From Lucerne, you will have the most scenic route driving alongside two gorgeos blue lakes (Lungern and Sarnen) then over the Brunig pass. You will then drive along the Lake Brienz, a deep blue lake surrounded by epic mountain views. In Interlaken-Ost you catch a connecting train to Lauterbrunnen to reach the scenic stop at Kleine Scheidegg. Kleine Scheidegg is a mountain pass at an elevation of 2,061 meters where all trains to Jungfraujoch leave from. From this station, you will board a cog train to reach the mountain peak.
