Guide to visiting Lucerne (things to see and do plus the best viewpoint)
Lucerne – a place that makes it to plenty of European tour itineraries! And for good reason – a very pretty Swiss town, great chocolate shops and close to Mount Pilatus.
Things to see and do
- Boat cruise of the lake
- Viewpoint from the Ramparts
- Globus and Manor department stores
- Bachmann chocolate shop (expensive but very yummy chocolate!)
- Wander the old streets (my favorite part of town was the side streets near the Manor department store)
- Walk along the wooden bridge (Chapel Bridge)
- Dying Lion Monument (I didn’t really care about this carving but it’s right near the town so if you’re nearby you may as well take a look at it)
- Half day trip to Mount Pilatus
If you’re a fellow stationery lover, Manor has a great stationery department.
Related: Favorite Switzerland stationery shops for planner addicts
Best viewpoints
Ramparts (old parts of walls that you can walk on) offer great views however they’re not suitable for the elderly. I had to walk up a very steep tower (I did Schirmerturm tower) with ladders not stairs to access the wall where there was this view:
The view from the wall was just as good as the very top of the tower so if you’re not fit just walk along the wall. I did later see a ‘proper’ entrance off museggstrasse road so if you want to do the wall I’d access from the front not from the back like I did.
I highly recommend taking a boat cruise – relaxing and great views.
House goals <3 (this was the neighbourhood behind Schirmerturm tower)
Warning – it’s steep!
What to Wear
I visited in early May. The weather was still a bit chilly – definitely needed jeans, boots and a decent jumper. If you want to see the flowers on the Chapel Bridge you’ll need to wait until the weather warms up (Summer). However since Lucerne is such a popular stop on those ‘best of Europe’ type tours, I recommend visiting in the off season as there’s limited accommodation options.
How long to stay
I’d do 2 days:
- Day 1 – wander around the town and a bit of shopping
- Day 2 – visit Mount Pilatus and do a boat cruise
Where to stay
I visited Lucerne as part of an organized tour. The included hotel was The Grand Hotel Europe – it was a bit far out of town. A pleasant approx half hour walk in daylight along the tree lined streets of the waterfront but a bit far to walk at night. There were frequent public buses to get back to the hotel. Just make sure you’re watching for your stop because they don’t stop for long.
We got lucky with a room at the front side that had some water views. The hotel was ok – a bit tired and dated but the rooms were big and the bathroom was a decent size.
The walk along matthias luchsinger platz into town
More Switzerland
Travel Planning
- Travel Planning: 50 Things to consider when planning an itinerary
- How I use Excel to organize all my travel plans (research, itinerary, hotel, tours, bookings, packing list etc.)
- Travel Planning: How to choose a hotel (my step by step process)
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