8 stunning day trips from Lucerne, Switzerland
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Loading... - Kendra Cox
- 25 Apr 2022
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Encircled by mountains of myth and sitting astride the shores of its eponymous lake of bluest blue, Lucerne is every bit as gorgeous as it was back in the 19th century when Goethe, Wagner and Queen Victoria eulogised its beauty. Slow travel comes naturally here, with boats, trains and cable cars breezing across the lake and up to nearby Alpine heights. From the birthplace of the nation to sky-scraping glaciers, here’s our pick of the best days out from Lucerne.
Float on the jewel-colored waters of Lake Uri
Switzerland heart in every possible sense of the word, Lake Lucerne’s southernmost arm, Lake Uri, is its most ravishing. At times as narrow as a fjord, Lake Uri’s jewel-colored green-blue waters give way to forested cliffs and peaks that rise sheer and rugged.
Cruise these waters and you’ll glimpse Rütli Meadow, hallowed birthplace of the Swiss Confederation as the spot where the Oath of Eternal Allegiance was signed in 1291. Nearby is the Tellskapelle, a little chapel ensconced in woods, where the apple-shooting hero and Swiss rebel William Tell is said to have leaped to safety from the boat of his Hapsburg captor, Gessler.
Myths abound, too, at the Schillerstein, a near 30m-high natural obelisk jutting up above the lake. Its inscription pays homage to Friedrich Schiller, the author of the play William Tell.
How to reach Lake Uri: Boat is the way to go to really see Lake Uri. Take SGV’s regular ferry service from Brunnen to Flüelen (44 minutes). Trains link Lucerne to Brunnen (46 minutes) and Flüelen (one hour).
Hike waterfalls and high-Alpine moors in Meiringen
Tucked away in the eastern corner of Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland region, Meiringen has a phenomenally beautiful backyard, with hiking and cycling trails leading to wild valleys, waterfalls and high-Alpine moors.
Get an early train for time to see both of its big-hitting natural wonders. First up is the 250m-high Reichenbach Falls, which plummets over sheer, wooded cliff faces with a deafening roar. You can see how author Arthur Conan Doyle thought it the perfect backdrop for a dramatic finale: in The Final Problem, he pushed both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Moriarty over the precipice here.
The Aare Gorge is just as riveting, with tunnels and galleries wending past milky-blue torrents and limestone overhangs.
Stay for more than a day to delve deeper into the Hasli Valley – to see the Triftbrücke, Europe’s highest (100m) and longest (170m) suspension bridge, dangling precariously over the Trift Glacier, for instance, or the waterfall-laced glacier gorge of Rosenlaui.
How to reach Meiringen: Meiringen is a 50-minute drive south of Lucerne via the A8. There are hourly trains to Meiringen (1 hour 10 minutes).
Climb Mt Pilatus on the world's steepest cog railway
Mountains and valleys seem to ripple into infinity from the 2128m peak of Mt Pilatus, where the restless ghost of Roman prefect Pontius Pilate is said to roam. As the legend goes, his corpse was thrown into a lake at the summit and he has haunted these parts ever since – hence the name.
Reached by the world’s steepest cog railway since 1889, with a gradient of 48%, the mountain is an easy and insanely scenic day trip from Lucerne. Getting here would have been more of an effort back in the 19th century when Wagner waxed lyrical about Pilatus’ views and Queen Victoria trotted up here on horseback. But the exhilarating views on the walking trail are little changed: reaching across the lake, deep into the Swiss Alps and as far as Germany’s Black Forest on clear days.
How to reach Mt Pilatus: From May to October, you can reach Mt Pilatus on a "golden round-trip" day excursion, a combination of boat, cogwheel railway, cable car and bus.
Witness a blazing sunrise or sunset from Mt Rigi
Puckering up between lakes Lucerne and Zug, the 1797m peak of Mt Rigi is well known for its blazing sunrises and sunsets. Turner was so smitten with the outlook and the singular quality of the light that in 1842 he painted the mountain in watercolors at three different times of day (Blue Rigi, Dark Rigi and Red Rigi).
Europe’s oldest mountain railway – celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2021 – hauls you to the summit, where the view is extraordinary, stretching across both lakes to Mt Titlis and the glaciated peaks of the Jungfrau massif. On clear days, you can see 24 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons. There’s terrific high-level hiking up here in summer on 120km of marked trails, as well as low-key skiing, snowshoeing and sledding in winter.
If you’d prefer a swim or massage with a sublime view, head over to the Mario Botta-designed Mineralbad & Spa Rigi Kaltbad.
How to reach Mt Rigi: Frequent trains run to Vitznau (one hour) and Goldau (32 minutes), where you can connect with cogwheel railways to Rigi Kulm (32 minutes and 44 minutes respectively).
