Lucerne itinerary 2 days — How to spend 2 days in Lucerne & what to do in Lucerne for 2 days?

August 14, 2020

lucerne Panorama-Yacht-SAPHIR — Lucerne Yatch

The city of Lucerne is known as one of the oldest and most beautiful cities with great natural scenery, a must-visit destination in Switzerland. That’s why I decided to go to Lucerne as soon as I landed at Zurich airport and I spent 2 days in Lucerne in winter. So, is 2 days is enough in Lucerne and what to do in Lucerne for 2 days? Let’s check out our suggested Lucerne itinerary 2 days (Lucerne 2 days itinerary) on how to spend 2 days in Lucerne and visit mount Rigi from how to get there, where to stay, where to go, top things to do in Lucern for 2 days to find out the answer!

old town lucerne travel blog (6) — Old Town of Lucerne

Lucerne-city-center_traditional-music — Traditional music performance in Lucerne center

We take the flight of Etihad Airways from Kuala Lumpur airport, my whole family of 4 people landed at Zurich airport at 8AM. Just get out of the airport was a cold wind rushing in. Even though I’m feel very cold, still happy to tell myself, “Wow, finally I also see Winter, I will be worn a jacket.” =))

lucerne lake,lucerne travel blog (1) — Lucerne, one of the most beautiful and must-visit places in Switzerland

Wooden Chapel Bridge,lucerne travel blog (1) — The legendry Wooden Chapel Bridge

Right next to Zurich airport is the Zürich Flughafen train station. The first thing to do is to buy the Half Fare Card at the SBB office (SBB: Swiss Federal Railways) at Level 01 right in this train station. The reason why I chose to buy this ticket and the guide for transport in Switzerland you can read details via the link below.

Because I had booked a train ticket from Zurich to Lucerne online before, so I and my whole family went to the 3rd floor of the station for the breakfast, rested and waited until the train departed to Lucerne city.

The downside of buying train tickets online is that the ticket only applies to the train you have booked, but when you book online you will be able to buy SuperSaver ticket type at a much cheaper price. While if you buy tickets at the train station, you can take any train to the location where you chose when buying the ticket.

The-train-from-zurich-airport-to-lucerne — The traind from Zurich Sirport to Lucerne

11:30 AM, my train to Lucerne departed. Dear Lucerne, I’m coming! After nearly 1 hour of train riding, we arrived in Luzern (Lucerne). Before moving to any point, you should buy day tickets (24 hours or 72 hours) to getting around and in Lucerne city. With these type of tickets, you will save a lot more than buying single tickets.

bus depot outside the lucerne station — Bus depot outside the Lucerne station.

Lucerne Railway Station inside — Inside Lucerne Railway Station

Lucerne 2 days itinerary (Lucerne itinerary 2 days) — Day1: Best places to visit in the city of Lucerne

My whole family of 4 people stayed at the homestay of sister Angelina Niederberger. She is married to a Swiss man and has an extremely beautiful daughter. Her homestay can accommodate 1-4 people and the location is very convenient because it is close to supermarket, bus stop and train station.

Just checked-in at the homestay and eager to go out, it rained. However, the cold rain does not discourage of exploring the beautiful city of Lucerne of my family.

After unpacking, taking a shower and resting, we took a bus to go into downtown Lucerne. It only takes about 10 minutes to reach the Luzern Bahnhof central station (Lucerne railway station). From here you can walk around the old town of this city.

Kapellbrücke Bridge – Chapel Bridge

About 400 meters from Luzern Bahnhof central station on the left hand side is Kapellbrücke Bridge. This is a wooden bridge that cuts across the Reuss River with the oldest roof in Europe.

The view to the river bank seen from the bridge.

The city of lights in a dark night… Lucerne and the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower

The shimmering scenery of Kapellbrücke Bridge at night.

Shopping in the old town center of Lucerne city

A few hundred meters walk from Kapellbrücke Bridge is the old town center with lots of shops and stores. If you want to buy a Swiss watch, you should buy it in Lucerne. Because according to local tips, watches in Lucerne have many styles, are updated most often. If you go with a large group, one person pretends to be the tour leader, sometimes you will get an additional 5% – 8% discount after getting the Tax Free discount if payment amount more than CHF300.

In the old town center, you will see many impressive picturesque buildings.

The historic centre of Lucerne, Switzerland, has some beautiful painted buildings - Luxury Columnist — The historic center of Luzern, with some beautiful murals art.

lucerne travel blog,lucerne blog,lucerne travel guide,lucerne city guide (4) — A lovely coffee shop.

Lion Monument – The Lion of Lucerne

From the center of Old Town, you will see signs leading to Lion Monument. This is a stone statue of a dying Lion, carved in a cliff with a blue lake below. This statue is carved to commemorate the Swiss soldiers who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, during the attack on the Tuileries Palace in Paris, France.

The Lion statue has a height of 6m and a length of 10m located on the shield of the French monarchy with a spear piercing the body. Before the head of the Lion is the shield of the Swiss soldiers.

Lion Monument — A beautiful spot in Lucerne if you get a chance drop by

lucerne Lion Monument,lucerne travel blog (1) — Close up

The Church of St. Leodegar

This is a Catholic church built in 1633. The church is highlighted by two parallel bell towers that you can see from a distance.

View of the old town of Lucerne and the church from the boat on Lucerne Lake.

What to do in Lucerne for 2 days? Suggestions for some places to eat, restaurants in Lucerne:

La Cucina Italian restaurant with a highly-rated pizza.

Address: Pilatusstrasse 29, 6002 Luzern, Switzerland
Hours: 11:30AM–2PM, 6–11:30PM
Monday; Sunday: Closed

Manora Restaurant, located on the 5th floor of the MANOR shopping mall. The price is very reasonable.

Address: Address: Weggisgasse 5, 6002 Luzern, Switzerland
Hours: 9AM–7PM / Saturday; Sunday: Closed

Located on the underground floor of Lucerne central station, on the same floor as the Coop supermarket, there is a Kebab shop called Little Istanbul located right in the first of the row of the food stalls. OMG! The kebab here is so delicious!

Tibits Restaurant is a buffet restaurant dedicated to vegetarians. This restaurant is also very crowded but the price is inexpensive. The restaurant is located on the top floor of Lucerne Station.

Lucerne itinerary 2 days: Exploring Mount Rigi, Lucerne

Actually, I originally planned to go to Mount Pitalus, however, because the boat to getting to Mount Pitalus was not active yet. And one thing you definitely must-do when coming to Lucerne is to take a boat on Lake Lucerne. So, I changed to explore Rigi Mountain, which has an equally beautiful view.

To buy tickets to get to Mount Rigi, go to Ferry Terminal Pier 1 right opposite Lucerne Hbf central station. Just cross the street to reach the ticketing booth of this pier. (See the first photo of the section: Best places to visit in Lucerne). You can buy tickets to get to any mountain in Lucerne here.

Mt. Rigi Classic Round Trip from Lucerne by Boat and Mountain Railway

The fare to get to Rigi Mountain is CHF95/round trip (2nd class), which includes boat ride on Lake Lucerne to Vitznau pier, and from Vitznau to take a train to the top of Mount Rigi Kulm. If you already have a Half Fare Card like me, the fare is only CHF58.50.

Alternatively, you can buy tickets to Rigi online at SwissAlps’s website or Rigi Mt’s website. However, I recommend you check the weather forecast first and go to the Rigi mt website to see how the weather is on the top of the mountain via the webcam before deciding to go. Tickets can be bought at the pier.

Sailing on Lake Lucerne

The city of Lucerne is so small that you can explore it entirely on foot within a few hours. However, the activity I recommend the most is take a boat cruise on Lake Lucerne to fully enjoy the wonderful beauty of Lucerne.

Fortunately, the second day in Lucerne, It was warm and sunny. A perfect day to cruise, and go up the mountain for sightseeing.

Panorama-Yacht Saphir 1-Hour Cruise in Lucerne

Despite the cold weather, but because of the nice sunny and beautiful view, my whole family sitting outside to enjoy sightseeing and take photos. | lucerne itinerary 2 days

On boat there is a restaurant serving food and coffee, other drinks.

The cruise is getting close the foot mountain.

Lucerne City Tour and Yacht Cruise from Zürich

Take the train to the top of Mount Rigi.

As soon as we get off the boat at Vitznau Pier, you will see the train station to reach the top of Mount Rigi Kulm. Mount Rigi is known as the Queen of the mountains in Switzerland.

At a height of more than 1600m, Mount Rigi, though not as high as Mount Pitalus or Titlis, but it has a distinct beauty, with a view down to Lake Lucerne, with the Black Forest far away, and the majestic views of the Alps. The Rigi is also home to Europe’s first gear train.

Cable train to the top of Mount Rigi. (Pictured is the train station at the top of the mountain)

When get on the train, you should remember to choose a seat next to the window, on the left-hand side, to enjoy a wonderful view on the way up the mountain.

View from the glass windows of the train.

I always amaze, surprise because the scene is so beautiful.

On the train going to the top of Mount Rigi.

Huhu, I met a baby prettier than a doll. Snow-white skin, with blue eyes.

Seeing so much snow for the first time in my life =))

Note: Remember to bring your sunglasses when you go up to the snowy mountain. Don’t be like me, forgot to wear glasses, dazzled when taking pictures, my eyes are always blink =))

My eyes are closed, not so that I’m deep in posing, but because it’s too bright, I cannot open my eyes =)))))))

View of Lake Lucerne from the top of Mount Rigi.

View of the Alps from the Rigi mountains, Lucerne.

Meet this friend, he also rushed up the mountain to play with the snow to take virtual live pictures like everyone =))

After a while playing with the snow, watching the scenery, I need a bowl of hot soup :-”

1 bottle of beer to … take a virtual live photo and return it to Di. But I don’t drink beer =)))

Get on the train back to the city of Lucerne.

Around 4:00 pm-5:00pm, my whole family got on a train again to go down to the foot of the mountain and took a boat to Lucerne city. After finishing dinner at Tibits Restaurant, we went back to homestay to rest. The next day we will go to Interlaken and to Lauterbrunnen valley.

See you in the next blog post. Stay positive!

2 days in lucerne: Where to stay in Lucerne?

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

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

Are you looking for more top things to do in Lucerne: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Lucerne fullest travel guide and 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.