Welcome to Lucerne Switzerland’s fairytale town where medieval charm meets alpine beauty. Set along a stunning lake and surrounded by mountains, Lucerne offers a perfect blend of history, culture, and adventure.

We cover top sights like Chapel Bridge, the Lion Monument, and the colorful Old Town, along with tips for exploring the Musegg Wall, taking scenic hikes, and enjoying lakeside strolls. You’ll also find practical travel tips on packing, transportation, and budget-friendly options plus a quick overview of our day trip to the Stoos Ridge Hike.

Take this exact same trip, download our 2-day Lucerne itinerary and let us do all the planning for you, and continue the adventures with our episodes on Zermatt and Interlaken!

 Highlights from this trip include:

• How to get to Lucerne 
• Lake Lucerne 
• City Highlights in Lucerne:
  • Chapel Bridge & Watertower 
  • Lucerne Old Town 
  • Lucerne Lion Monument 
  • Musegg Wall 
  • Lucerne Churches 
• Stoos Ridge Hike 

Our top recommended hotels in Lucerne are Des Alpes Luzern, Hotel de la Paix, and Hotel des Balances 

Purchase an E-Sim to have cellular data on the go.

Check out our Switzerland Activities and Tours for all activities we recommend and even some that we wanted to do but couldn’t get to.

Things to pack while visiting Lucerne:

• Collapsible Day Backpack
• Umbrella 
• World Travel Plug Adapter 
• Wool socks
• Hat
• Blister bandages
• Collapsible Cooler

Find a great flight deal to Switzerland by signing up for Thrifty Traveler Premium and get flight deals sent straight to your inbox. Use our promo code TSP to get $20 off your first year subscription.

Contains affiliate links, thanks for supporting Travel Squad Podcast!

Two Days in Lucerne – Episode Transcript

0:35

And get ready to embark on a new adventure with us around the globe.

Hey, Squatty’s Travel Squad Podcast is back with Just the Tip, our Friday mini episode series where we give you quick travel stories, hacks and recommendations to set you off into the weekend.

Right.

0:50

Today we’re continuing our adventure in Switzerland, taking you to the quaint, historic lakeside town of Lucerne.

So I just want to say before getting into this episode, we already have episodes on Interlochen, and they’re Matt.

So this is just a continuation of the same trip.

So we’re excited to take you to Lucerne.

1:08

So Lucerne.

Lucerne is a beautiful lakeside town in central Switzerland that honestly feels like it’s straight out of a fairy tale.

It has a charming Old Town, mountain views, the iconic Chapel Bridge, and it’s one of those places that’s just easy to fall in love with.

1:25

So Lucerne has been around since the 12th centuries.

So for a really long time, this city has been here in Switzerland, and it played an important role in the formation of the Swiss Confederation.

So it has its lore and Swiss history as well.

It’s central location made it an important hub for trade and political alliances that helped shape what Switzerland is today.

1:47

The surrounding area is also packed with a ton of adventure.

You can take a cogwheel train up to Mount Pilatus.

You can hike CNA trails on Mount Regi.

You can cruise across Lake Lucerne.

You could paraglide above the mountains for amazing epic views.

So there’s a lot of things you can do in and around Lucerne.

2:06

In this episode, we’re sharing what makes the city so special, from a relaxing walks along the lake to riding up into the Alps, whether it be via gondola, funicular train, and why it should definitely be on your Switzerland itinerary.

2:21

So as we start every episode, we’re going to dive into some of the tips.

We’re going to divide it up into a few different categories.

And if you listen to Zermatt and Interlock, and a lot of these are the same tips, but we did forget in those two episodes to mention that you should probably have an E SIM and we’ll one in the show notes for you.

2:40

But this guarantees that you have data while you’re traveling abroad.

We actually have T-Mobile, so we get 5 GS of Internet for free.

So we didn’t need it.

But if you’re staying for longer, you’re definitely going to need an E SIM because that’s how you’re going to use your Google Maps or the train apps as well.

2:58

So you have data while you’re getting around the city.

And the five GS that Brittany mentioned, of course, is complementary international data.

If we run out, we do recommend and utilize Aerolo if we need more.

So that’s what she’s talking about.

We will link in the show notes.

3:13

But let’s start off with some packing tips.

Pack an umbrella.

We went in summer here, if you remember, back to the last few episodes, if you’ve listened in July, but the weather can be unpredictable in Switzerland.

Actually, at this point on our trip, the weather did start to turn and become rainy for the remainder of our time.

3:30

So you do want to have an umbrella.

Yes, you also want to pack in layers.

Weather can be unpredictable.

And then also make sure to bring an appropriate outlet adapter, the one that we have in love.

We will link the show notes as well.

You can charge several items at once as 2 standard plugs, few USB inserts and a USBC as well.

3:50

Transportation wise, Switzerland as a whole has a comprehensive bus and local train system and countrywide train system.

Although we didn’t use it while we were in country, we did have a rental car and while we were in Lucerne we did walk as well.

4:05

Didn’t really drive our car anywhere but there is no metro in Lucerne.

So if you need transportation in Lucerne and don’t have a rental car, bus and local train is going to be the way to go.

Or taxi.

But the city is very walkable and a lot of the main highlights in Old Town are very close together.

4:21

And when we checked into our hotel, they actually gave us a bus card.

So that might be something that you guys get as well.

So there are different ways to get around.

If you are venturing further out of the city and do some of the surrounding hikes, nature activities then using a cab, the public transport or your your own vehicle if you’ve rented 1 is going to be the best.

4:41

Money saving wise, the currency in Switzerland is the Swiss franc, but we used our credit card everywhere.

We didn’t end up having to pull any cash.

Also look into the Swiss Half Fare card or the Swiss Travel Pass.

These are passes that you can buy in advance before your trip and they do give you discounts on a lot of transportation within country, but more importantly to tourist attractions.

5:05

What I mean by tourist attractions, of course, are the train, gondolas, funiculars that you may want to take to get to mountaintops to do the hikes or views, etcetera.

Lots of things in Switzerland do require you to take these, so these cards will give you discounts towards those.

5:21

To save money, don’t eat out every night but go to the grocery stores.

We went to Co-op and meat growth and they’re both very affordable.

You can get good food while you’re there and save a lot of money from eating out.

Yeah, Switzerland food restaurants.

Very, very expensive eating at a grocery store may sound like I don’t really want to do it, but this is quality food that they sell at a very, very affordable price compared to anything else that you’re going to find out.

5:46

And some of our best meals were eaten at co-ops while we were in Switzerland.

So do not underestimate that.

And finally, drinking water is readily available from the tap or public fountains.

So you can save money that way.

Don’t think hey, I need to buy bottled water.

6:02

The water in Switzerland is some of the best on earth.

So that is a great money saving technique as well, just from the tab.

And Squatty’s, before we get into the meat of the episode, I just want to say that we will have a Lucerne itinerary just as we did for Zermatt and Interlock in that will have included where to stay, things to pack, and what to do day by day.

6:22

So you can find that in the show notes as well.

So let’s talk about what we did in Lucerne.

We only had one full day in Lucerne.

We arrived, did everything that we are going to talk about in half a day, quite honestly.

6:37

And then the next day we were also in Lucerne to do a hike.

We’ll get a little bit into that, but we continued on.

So you could spend a lot longer in Lucerne, but you can really see the main highlights in one day.

So let’s go ahead and start talking about that.

Yeah, when I was doing research, the main highlight that I kept reading about was going to Chapel Bridge in the water tower.

6:56

Chapel Bridge is the oldest covered wooden bridge in Europe and one of Switzerland’s most iconic landmarks.

Yeah, and it’s actually the oldest surviving Truss bridge.

So if you have any architects or any architectural fans out there, Truss is just a style in which you will build a bridge to give IT support.

7:13

So this is the oldest surviving Truss bridge in the world.

It was actually built in 1333 as part of Lucerne’s fortification to protect the city.

So this is at the start of the the Old Town area.

You have the beautiful Lake Lucerne, so large the water is nice and turquoise.

7:31

And then of course you have a road that comes through a very modern Rd. of course but then leading into the river areas.

Then you have the Chapel Bridge that just crosses and so you have the Old Town and walkable areas on opposing side so you can just stroll through Chapel Bridge from one side to the next.

7:49

And what makes it especially unique are the interior triangular paintings that were added in the 17th century, which depicts scenes of Lutheran’s history and Switzerland’s Catholic heritage.

And these paintings are rare and add a lot of cultural value.

So as you’re walking across the bridge, you are going to be drawn to the Lakeshore and how beautiful the city is.

8:11

But also make sure to pay attention to the bridge itself because right above you are the going to be these paintings.

And the bridge is next to the Wasser term, which basically means the water tower.

It actually predates the bridge and was once used as a prison archive and treasury.

8:28

So as they built the bridge, they have now connected it to the tower.

And of course, if this bridge was built in 1333, this tower predates the bridge.

So really, really old and just the bridge here is a piece of living history and a symbol of Lucerne.

8:44

So it is iconic.

Almost right next door to Chapel Bridge is the Spruer Bridge, which was built in 14 O 8 and this is also part of the old medieval fortification of the city.

Like Chapel Bridge, it’s covered with a wooden foot bridge with the triangle roof panels.

9:00

But this bridge is shorter, quieter, and less touristy.

So if you like less touristy things, you might enjoy this bridge more.

Yeah, I feel like it gives you a more intimate and reflective vibe as you’re going across this bridge because most people are at Chapel.

And then again, this is not too far away.

9:17

You can actually see this bridge from Chapel Bridge, but not a lot of people go there.

And like Chapel Bridge, it also does have paintings.

Remember, these paintings are from the 1600s.

So they put these paintings in place on Spruer Bridge before they did the paintings on Chapel Bridge.

9:34

And these paintings are a series of 67 panels depicting medieval allegory of death, uniting all classes and ages.

So actually, these paintings really are telling a story too, about, hey, doesn’t matter if you’re rich, poor, you’re all going to die.

9:52

And I know that’s kind of like morbid to think about, but I we also do think in the 1600s, that is a unique story to tell, especially in a time when society was really divided by classes.

This was a good moral story for everybody to see as they cross the bridge.

So we did cross both of the bridges and then we went and explored Lucerne’s Old Town because they do have these painted squares.

10:14

A lot of the buildings, as you stroll through, you’ll see painted frescoes on them.

We’ve seen this in other places as well, where like windows or shutters around windows will be painted on, kind of making you feel like they’re there, but they’re actually just paintings.

And some of these murals date back to the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and some have been restored and repainted over the years.

10:36

So beyond just like the shutter paintings, they did have some really beautiful frescoes painted on them as well.

Yeah, and it really looks like whatever is painted actually is part of the architectural style of the building with columns, etcetera.

But it’s really not.

These are flat buildings.

10:52

And then of course, the paintings make them look a lot more attractive and cool than they really are with just the normal flat walls.

And the frescoes and paintings were originally commissioned by wealthy merchants and local families as a way to show off their wealth, status or trade, much like signs or advertisements.

11:10

So a lot of times too, back in the day, people couldn’t read.

So a lot of the paintings, if they were merchants, would depict what is sold within the building.

So there is a history as to why they have them just as well.

Some buildings even display allegorical scenes, biblical stories, or heroic Swiss legends, while others depict daily life, historical events, or symbolic imagery.

11:32

So just stroll around the Old Town of Lucerne and just really enjoy all of the buildings and the architecture and the frescoes and everything that you see there.

So pretty close to the lakefront, you can climb up the Moose Egg Wall for views of the city.

11:48

Really amazing pretty views.

This wall has a few different towers and it is a well preserved medieval city wall that dates back to the 14th century.

Yeah.

And again, along with Chapel Bridge and Spewer Bridge, this was part of Lucerne’s original fortification and stretches across the northern edge of the Old Town.

12:08

Notably, there are nine of the original towers that still stand, so there is a portion or you can actually get on the wall and walk the wall and certain towers are actually open to the public for you to be able to climb in and go up.

We went up three of the towers, one of them was the clock tower, which was really cool to see the inner workings of the clock.

12:28

Yeah, which was really cool because you can see the pendulum of the clock and some of the moving Gears of the mechanical clock within the tower that dates back to the year 1535 S Yes, it is a tower.

But at the same time, since this the clock still works on the wall and on the tower you can see the inner mechanics of it, which I thought is a really unique perspective.

12:50

The views from the Manly tower were the best of the city, so we did that tower last and I’m glad we saved it for last because it definitely did have the best views.

Yes, it gives panoramic views of Lucerne, Lake Lucerne and the surrounding mountains.

13:06

So I do feel like this is where you get the best views.

So of course, it’s just one of the things to do in Lucerne.

Check it out because this is an old fortification from the 1500s.

Of course.

Yes, they do make the steps a little bit more accessible than they were back in the day with wood and they’ve re fortified it.

13:26

But at the same time, if you are not very mobile, it can be difficult to climb up these towers.

So just do keep that in mind.

But it gives you great views within the city when you go up here to the top of the tower.

While we were in Lucerne, we also visited two different churches.

13:43

One of the churches was called Church of Saint Leo Duggar, and this is Lucerne’s most important Renaissance church and one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.

Yeah, it was originally a Benedictine monastery founded in 735 AD and actually one of the oldest religious sites in Lucerne.

14:02

But in the 1600s it converted into a church, and it’s notable for its early Baroque interior mix with late Gothic and Renaissance elements.

So that’s very, very rare in Switzerland.

So this church is unique in that, right?

14:17

Because the interior is kind of Baroque, but the outside a little bit Gothic Renaissance style.

The next church that we visited was the Jesuit Church of Lucerne.

This is one of the most beautiful and historically significant Baroque churches in Switzerland.

Yes, and it’s situated right along the Ruess River near Chapel Bridge, right in the heart of Lucerne’s Old City.

14:39

This was built in 1666 and it was the first a large Baroque church in Switzerland and a key part in Lucerne’s Catholic Counter Reformation efforts.

It has baroque architecture, It has a white facade with twin onion Dome towers, making it instantly recognizable and dramatically different from the other churches that are present in Lucerne.

15:01

It’s really beautiful.

Check it out, especially while you’re already on the lakefront.

It’s just easy to go see it right there.

Speaking of the lakefront, that’s something that you want to do when you are in Lucerne because right by the Old Town, you can very easily get to the lakefront and it’s just beautiful to walk it.

15:18

You see the picturesque European buildings of the Old Town, the bridge, then you see the turquoise waters, the lake, and you’re surrounded by the beautiful mountains.

So it just really is picturesque.

And at the time that we were there, they were having a festival called Lucerne Live, which they have several stages where bands and music were playing.

15:40

They do have street food that they are selling, drinks and and souvenir items sold by vendors.

So we just walked through the area.

We quite honestly did not stay and watch any of the bands.

But if you’re there during the right time of year, Lucerne does have several festivals.

They had another music festival that was happening later into the summer, but they had this going on right now.

16:00

So it made walking on the lakefront a little bit more lively and unique for us.

Yeah, just walking around the lakefront, if nothing’s going on, it’s just still so beautiful to get views of the city and the lake.

And then along the lakefront you could take cruises on the lake as well.

We wanted to do this but when we got there it was raining and so the weather just wasn’t ideal so we didn’t do it.

16:20

But that is something to do while you are in Lucerne.

Yeah, I really wanted to do a cruise on Lake Lucerne again, like you said, Brittany, that was part of our plan, but just weather did not permit for that.

I mean, I guess we could have done it in the rain, but I don’t think the views would have been as pretty with the overcast sky.

16:37

But if you’re there during better weather, I would highly recommend that because lots of people say one of the highlights of Lucerne is taking a boat ride out on the lake.

One of the last things that we did in Lucerne was visit the Lucerne Lion Monument.

This is also known as the Dying Lion of Lucerne.

16:54

It’s a lion sculpture carved into a natural sandstone rock face within the city.

It was really close to our hotel and I’m glad we just made the quick walk over to see it.

Yeah, this monument was carved into the sandstone rock face in 1821, and it was originally made to honor the Swiss Guards who were killed protecting the French royal family during the French Revolution, more particularly when the French Palace was stormed in 1792.

17:22

So the French monarchy had some of the Swiss Guards out there, and of course, they died valiantly trying to protect the monarchy.

The sculpture actually shows a wounded lion lion across broken symbols of the French monarchy with a spear piercing its side.

17:39

Above the lion is a Latin inscription.

I’m not going to say what it says in Latin, but it translates to the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss.

But what I really liked about this, if you don’t really care much about history, it is a cool monument, but you really are tucked into a secluded greenery area.

17:57

I mean, the heart of the city is right there, but then you get in here and it really feels secluded.

You’re surrounded by trees, the sandstone rock formation and sculpture.

There’s a little pond or lake in front of it.

So it just really is a nice quaint area to go.

So we’re going to talk about some other things that we didn’t have time to do.

18:15

Jamal mentioned that we did most of this in half a day.

But Lucerne is a great city to slow travel in.

Like going along the lakefront, stopping and having coffee, tea.

A meal along the lake would have been really nice.

But if you have more time, you could take the boat on Lake Lucerne.

18:33

You can take funiculars up to castles, they have castles in the area.

Or you can take the cogwheel train up to Mount Pilatus.

Mount Pilatus towers over Lucerne with its dramatic peaks, panoramic Alpine views, and you can reach the summit through a cogwheel railway or you can hike up as well.

18:52

So there are other things to do.

We spent the night in Lucerne and then the next day we did a hike.

Yeah, So this was a hike that Brittany really wanted to do.

It was called the Stous Ridge Hike.

And so we woke up in the morning.

We had to drive 30 minutes from Lucerne to a town called twice.

19:13

I believe that’s how you pronounce it.

It’s spelled SCHWYZ.

And as I had mentioned earlier, at this point in the trip, the weather really started to change.

This Stous Ridge hike is known to just be a hiking trail that is at the top of a mountain.

19:31

So you are really hiking the Ridge, but you get amazing views of Lake Lucerne below.

You’re a top of the mountain.

You had just have the lush greenery, but the weather was not doing it for us.

It was not raining, but it was so overcast.

19:46

We really couldn’t see anything unfortunately.

So when you get to Schweis, you’re going to actually take a funicular up to Stowe’s.

And so this is the steepest funicular in the world.

So once you’re at the top, you actually have to hike 10 minutes.

20:03

And the reason why you have to hike 10 minutes is because you have to get to a chair lift.

And the chair lift that you take up is going to take you to the start of the hike.

Then you’re going to hike along the Ridge.

Then you’re going to meet up at another chair lift to take you back down to stows.

20:18

So kind of think of it as like a triangular upside down lollipop because you take the funicular up, you take the chair lift over, you hike.

Then then you take another chair, lift down and then you have to take the funicular back down.

So that’s the best way I can describe it to you.

20:35

The funicular in the chair lifts, if you have the half off card, you can utilize it here.

So again, another reason why we highly recommend it.

But as we got to the top, again, it wasn’t raining, We’re taking the chair lift, it’s foggy.

We get to the top, we’re at Stoose Ridge for the hike and we say to ourselves, all right, it’s foggy now, cloudy.

20:53

Ideally by the time we get close to the end, it will clear up.

Unfortunately, it did not do that.

Honestly, I would say from the top, we got maybe 30 seconds of a partial Lakeview when it had cleared very minimally, and then that was truly it.

21:11

So if you Google Photos of this, you’ll see what we missed out on.

I mean, it’s iconic.

It’s beautiful.

If you’re on Instagram all the time, tons of people post information or reels about this.

And now that we’re back from the trip and I’m seeing all those Reels now, I’m just like, oh, we really missed out.

21:27

The hike itself was fun, don’t get me wrong, but we did not get the views with this and the hike is actually 2.9 miles so let’s just say three.

You do have about 1000 feet in elevation gain as you are hiking the Ridge, but we really did miss out on the views on this one.

21:45

Yeah, the hike itself is still really cool.

It was foggy, eerie in kind of a way.

So we couldn’t see the drop offs on the sides of the Ridge ’cause you’re hiking a mountain Ridge, so there are drop offs on both sides.

So we couldn’t really see what was below us.

So kind of scary, but kind of cool with the same time.

22:03

And then as you get closer to the chairlift that you’re going to take back down, you’re just to get really good views of Lake Lucerne.

We would get pups of color here and there.

And it did clear, like Jamal said, for about 30 seconds.

So we saw it and I’m glad we did.

But had this been a clear day, we would have had views for a lot longer and it would have been really pretty and picturesque.

22:23

So at the end, before you take the chairlift back down, there is a sitting area.

There is a restaurant there where you can grab some food or a drink, and they also have a goat petting zoo.

So we did that as well and we waited a little bit to see if the weather would clear.

It did not.

22:39

Also, if you’re not sure if you want to do this hike because of whether they do have webcams online so you can see what it looks like before you go up in the morning or what it looks like the day before if the weather is going to be the same.

So you can use that as a reference before you make your purchase to do this hike.

22:55

See, we already had our tickets for the funicular and the gondolas.

We bought ahead of time.

A lot of times we do recommend actually doing that.

So we already had it.

So at that point we are committed, view or not, to just do the hike.

But if you don’t buy it ahead of time, then do utilize that to see if it’s something that you really want to do to pay the money if you’re not going to get the view or the payout.

23:17

But nevertheless, again, a really fun hike.

And on a clear day, I can imagine how beautiful it is because sometimes when we take photos and videos of things, we say photos, videos don’t do it justice.

And I am just so impressed by the video, videos and photos that we see of this hike that people are posting on social media.

23:33

So I could only imagine.

Yeah.

So once we were done with the hike, we took the chairlift back down.

Once you take the chairlift down, you have to take the funicular down as well.

And that concluded our time in the Lucerne area.

But you could spend a lot more time here.

Again, we just did the day.

23:50

I think for us it was enough.

But of course if we go back we could do more.

Really beautiful town.

Enjoyed Lucerne a lot.

Yeah, I felt like it was the first city that we went to.

Vermont and Interlochen were more villages, chalets, more mountain towns, and this was like the first city architecture where I felt like I was in Europe.

24:14

And thanks for tuning in to just the tip.

Make sure to subscribe, leave a review and follow us on all the socials at Travel Squad Podcast and.

Have fun traveling this weekend, bye.