Lucerne travel blog — The fullest Lucerne travel guide for a great trip to Lucerne for the first-timers

It is a part of the walls to protect the city, built in 1386, this wall seems to remain intact. There are 3 watchtowers open to the public including: Schirmer, Zyt and Mennli. Among them, the Zyt tower is home to the oldest clock in the city, built in 1535 by Hans Luter. A special feature of this clock is that it is allowed to ring one minute earlier per hour before all other clocks in the city. With a short walking from the city center, the Musegg wall offers stunning views towards Lucerne and the Reuss River.

Once you’ve climbed up to the Musegg Wall, you can’t miss the Suite Lounge and Bar, with delicious cocktails and a panoramic view of the city and the beautiful Lake Lucerne.

Address: suite – smallplates & cocktails, Pilatusstrasse 1, CH – 6003 Luzern
Phone: +41 41 210 21 31
Url: https://suite-rooftop.ch

Lion Monument

The next destination is the Lion Monument, a very famous stone sculpture of Bertel Thorvaldsen, depicting a lion is dying, honoring the heroic sacrifices of 800 Swiss mercenaries protecting Louis XVI at Tuileries in the French revolution in 1792. Visiting here, you will feeling hard to be able to control your emotions, slowly read the inscription Latin words on the cliff to understand more about the historical context of this work. Then looking at the face of the lion, its eyes are filled with deep sadness …

Address: Denkmalstrasse 4, 6002 Luzern, Switzerland
Opened: 1819
Hours: Open 24 hours
Phone: +41 41 227 17 17
Artist: Bertel Thorvaldsen

Near the Lion Monument, there are many other tourist attractions such as Alpineum museum, national natural heritage – Glacier Garden of Lucerne (Gletschergarten), Bourbaki Panorama museum. To visiting these museums and relics, you should buy Swiss Pass that can help you both save travel expenses in the Switzerland and get free admission to museums here. While wandering in this area you can take a short break at Alpineum Café just outside the Alpineum museum, sip a cup of coffee and some Birnenweggen cakes to feel the daily life of Lucerne.

Spreuerbrücke Bridge

The second covered wooden bridge of the city over the Reuss River, smaller, less famous the Chapel Bridge, is also why fewer tourists.

Jesuit Church

Built in 1666 and located near the Chapel Bridge, the Jesuit church is Switzerland’s first major Baroque church with two onion-shaped towers. Today, this place is often used as a concert venue.

Address: Bahnhofstrasse 11A, 6003 Luzern, Switzerland
Opened: 1677
Phone: +41 77 489 05 79

Swiss Museum of Transport

It is said that the museum has the most artifacts and transport facilities in Europe. With a space of up to 40.000m2, this museum showcases over 3.000 traffic related artifacts. Imax cinema offers visitors a strong emotional experience and unique film feel. It is known that this is the only place in Switzerland to show this genre.

Address: Lidostrasse 5, 6006 Luzern, Switzerland
Opened: July 1, 1959
Hours: 10AM–6PM
Url: https://www.verkehrshaus.ch/en/home.html

Activities should participate in Lucerne

Climbing

Coming to Lucerne with a tourist who likes the peaceful, tranquility of the city, you can spend 1-2 days to wandering every corner of the city, watching the sunset by the lake. But if you like more exciting activities, you can’t miss the climbing tour of Mt. Pilatus, because Lucerne is a city that is considered typical of Switzerland with the perfect combination of urban life and natural. With the mountain just outside of the city of Lucerne – Mt. Pilatus, very beautiful and wonderful scenery, you can take the cable car to get to the top right from the city, climb a short distance and you will see Switzerland’s famous Alps.

To fully experience Lucerne you can stay in this city in a longer itinerary, because Lucerne not only has old streets, museums and lively festivals, Lucerne also has Lake Lucerne, the extremely important highlight that a lot of people overlook. Experience Lucerne is stay in a lakeside hotel, rent a car to getting around, enjoy the charming poetic scenery here, the inspiration from Lake Lucerne is unlimited.

See the river Lucerne and Swiss nature from upscale hotels

In Lucerne there are many luxury hotels and resorts, scattered in the mountains around the river Lucerne. From here you can enjoy panoramic views of Lucerne from above. Especially because it is located in the mountains, you will enjoy the beautiful nature of this rich country, from forests, mountains and rivers, all amazing!

Lucerne travel guide: What and where to eat?

Switzerland is the most advanced country in Europe. In other words, Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe. Eating out in Switzerland can be twice as expensive or tripling as neighboring countries, so spending on eating needs to be taken into account. Two of Switzerland’s most popular traditional dishes are the cheese hotpot (fondue) hotpot and the fried potato cake Rösti. Depending on the region, what type of local cheese will be added to the hotpot, or whether the local produce will be served with Rösti.

Kulturhof Hinter Musegg

Located on the small steppe at the foot of the Musegg wall is the address “Kulturhof Hinter Musegg”. It is not a restaurant but a culture house. You can also buy local produce or have lunch at the “Hinter Musegg” eatery with a menu from the clean produce of regional farms at affordable prices (compared to Swiss prices). A lunch of about 25 CHF, if only a main dish costs less than 20 CHF. Address: Diebold-Schilling-Strasse 13, 6004 Luzern / Phone: +41 79 154 22 29 

Jazzkantine zum Graben

Another place is not just a restaurant. Jazzkantine is a very simple place for those who love Jazz in Lucerne. In the evening there is usually a schedule of bands to stop on their touring routes, or students from the city’s conservatory. The food is simple but very good, most popular Western dishes are easy to eat. In the afternoon of the week, there is a menu under 20 CHF, private dishes are also available, with music and very pleasant and quality service. Address: Grabenstrasse 8, 6004 Luzern / Phone: +41 41 410 73 73

Lucerne travel blog: Festivals in Lucerne you need to know

Winterthurer Musikfestwochen Festival

This is a music festival held from mid-August to mid-September every year. At this time, people wear traditional clothes to sing and dance, some bring old things to trade and exchange. In the city there are many music performances, the festival atmosphere is everywhere.

Luzerner Fasnacht Carnival

The festival of Luzerner Fasnacht was held in February starting on Schmutziger Donnerstag day, means “fat Thursday”, the last day to eat meat before having to diet before Easter. The festival lasts for a week and people are rested, singing and dancing activities are performed throughout the city, then marching in the streets.

Swiss National Day

On August 1, every year is also a celebration of Swiss National Day. If you come to Lucerne on this day, you will have the opportunity to watch fireworks at Lake Lucerne.

Lucerne blog: Where to stay?

Lucerne and many other Swiss cities have extremely expensive hotel prices. To reduce the cost you should find a hotel in the suburbs, but if so, to get to the city center quite far. The best way is to buy the Swiss Travel Pass to be able to combine cheap travel in Switzerland, visit the museums for free, and then choosing a hotel far from the center is not very expensive.

Hostel

In the center you can choose Hostel Lion Lodge Luzern located right near the Lion Monument, the price is also low in Lucerne. This hostel is just a 5-minute walk from Lake Lucerne, Wesemlinrain bus station is just a few minutes away from the central station. The hostel also has a kitchen for backpackers to buy food and cook, a very important thing for an expensive destination like Switzerland, with room rates from $34/night. (You can check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Airbnb

I am very pleased with the apartment we rented by Marta during this vacation. A very cozy apartment, an area of ​​about 40 square meters, with a living room and a bedroom, Swiss apartment is usually very clean, is the real apartment that Marta lives and only rent it every time she travels or leaves the city. The 4th floor apartment overlooks a small garden and the very art street Steinenstrasse, where each house is painted a different color. The location of the apartment is very good, right near the Statue of the Lion of Lucerne (“Löwendenkmal”), and all other attractions in Lucerne are within walking distance. Perhaps the only minus point is that the apartment is located on the top floor of the building (4th floor) and without an elevator, it is a bit hard to have heavy luggage. The price we pay is 90 € / night, an acceptable price for an apartment in central Lucerne, staying up to 4-5 people. You can check rates and reviews here.

Upscale hotel

If you are a rich person, surely the hotel area next to Lake Lucerne is a great choice. These hotels are the high-end hotels with view overlooking the lake, the scenery as in fairy with Lake Lucerne and the Central Swiss Mountains, and the Hertenstein peninsula is located separately and you can come here by boat.

Park Hotel Vitznau

A little further away from the center, there is a luxury hotel Park Hotel Vitznau that overlooks the beautiful lake, it’s hard to describe the luxury and paradise landscape of this hotel. Park Hotel Vitznau also offers a free shuttle service to Rigi Cable Car, where you can take the cable car to the top of the famous Rigi mountain. There are lots of fun activities for you to join here like skiing, mountain climbing, … and only watching the scenery also make you satisfy. A top rated 5-star hotel with room rates from $950/night (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Hotel Villa Honegg

A paradise hotel in the Alps and if you have good financial conditions, definitely to experience, it is the Hotel Villa Honegg located on the top of Bürgenstock, 20 km from Lucerne. A top rated 5-star hotel with room rates from $711/night (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Buergenstock Resort

The 5-star resort in Lucerne that I have stayed in, the ultra-virtual infinity pool and a large resort complex. A top rated 5-star hotel with room rates from $1064/night (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Below we recommend more best cheap, budget, mid-range and upscale hotels with good ratings and reviews you can refer to.

Hotel des Alpes (Address: Rathausquai 5, 6004 Luzern, Switzerland / Phone: +41 41 417 20 60), a top rated 3-star hotel with room rates from $148/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Hotel Monopol Luzern (Address: Pilatusstrasse 1, 6003 Luzern, Switzerland / Phone: +41 41 226 43 43), a top rated 4-star hotel with room rates from $172/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

CASCADA Boutique Hotel (Address: Bundespl. 18, 6003 Luzern, Switzerland / Phone: +41 41 226 80 88), a top rated 4-star hotel with room rates from $201/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Hotel des Balances (Address: Weinmarkt, 6004 Luzern, Switzerland / Phone: +41 41 418 28 28), a top rated 4-star hotel with room rates from $266/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Hotel Schweizerhof Luzern (Address: Schweizerhofquai 3, 6002 Luzern, Switzerland / Phone: +41 41 410 04 10), a top rated 5-star hotel with room rates from $294/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Hotel Waldstatterhof (Address: Zentralstrasse 4, 6003 Luzern, Switzerland / Phone: +41 41 227 12 71), a top rated 3-star hotel with room rates from $153/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Art Deco Hotel Montana Luzern (Address: Adligenswilerstrasse 22, 6002 Luzern, Switzerland / Phone: +41 41 419 00 00), a top rated 4-star hotel with room rates from $215/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Renaissance Lucerne Hotel (Address: Pilatusstrasse 15, 6002 Luzern, Switzerland / Phone: +41 41 226 87 87), a top rated 4-star hotel with room rates from $223/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Hotel Wilden Mann (Address: Bahnhofstrasse 30, 6003 Luzern, Switzerland / Phone: +41 41 210 16 66), a top rated 4-star hotel with room rates from $189/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

You can find more, check rates, availability & book for Luzern hotels from $55/night on Agoda.com or Booking.com or Airbnb.com.

Lucerne travel blog: Shopping in Lucerne

If you are extremely passionate devotee about Swiss watch, this is a fertile land for you. From medium to high-end Swiss watch shops and brands are everywhere in the city, from Omega, Longines or Rolex, ranging from a few hundred euros to tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of euros. Of course the price is not pleasant, but if you want to buy genuine, in the hometown of the watch, Lucerne is the best place.

Overall, prices in Lucerne in particular or Switzerland in general are very expensive, higher than most other European cities. Food prices are also expensive, whether in supermarkets or in shops and cafes. But there are some souvenirs you should buy if you have ever been passionate and excited. One of the souvenirs that tourists often buy, is also a famous Swiss symbol is multi-purpose knives (Swiss Army Knife Tools). The most popular brand is Victorinox, the price is quite soft from 15 Euros to several hundred Euros. Swiss Army Knives are also items that you might consider to buy for family and friends as a gift. You can also ask to have your name engraved on the knife, cost 1CHF.

Address: Hirschenpl. 12, 6004 Luzern, Switzerland
Hours: Sunday: Closed/9:30AM–6:30PM/Thursday:10AM–8PM/Saturday: 9AM–4PM
Phone: +41 41 412 28 30
Url: https://www.victorinox.com/lucerne

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Lucerne you can refer to

• Lucerne Day Trip from Zurich
• Half Day Trip to Mount Titlis with Cable Car from Lucerne
• Jungfraujoch Day Tour from Lucerne
• Lucerne Walking Tour
• Swiss Museum of Transport Entrance Ticket in Lucerne
• Swiss Travel Pass

Are you looking for more top things to do in Lucerne: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: What to do in Lucerne? — 10 must, best things to do in Lucerne & top things to do in Lucerne and let’s check it out here.