Luzern and the 4 Canton’s lake region

HOW MUCH TIME IT WILL TAKE YOU:

Train journey: Lausanne Gare – Luzern takes approximately 2h30min. As 5 hours of train on one day is a lot, we suggest making it into a 2-days trip to be able to both visit Luzern and enjoy some hiking.

Note that you can also organize a 1-day trip and choose between hiking and visiting the city.

WHAT IT IS:

This is your chance to visit one of the prettiest cities of Switzerland: Luzern!

With its medieval buildings and incredible landscapes, this rather small city has a lot to offer to tourists from all around the world.

Luzern:

Here is a non-exhaustive list of things to do in Luzern:

• Our favorite: Boat tour on the 4 Canton's lake!
• Chapel bridge Kapellbrücke and the water tower
• Musegg Wall and its nine towers
• The Culture and convention centre (abbreviated as KKL Luzern)
• Jesuit Church
• Swiss Museum of Transport
• Lion monument
• Bruch quarter (trendy quarter of Luzern)

Hiking:

Luzern is situated on the shores of the 4 Canton's lake, near the mountain Rigi. From there, you'll have a breath-taking view of the lake and mountains – you won't regret the effort to go there! Below are some hiking propositions of different difficulties and duration :

• Rigi-Kaltbad – Romiti – Säntiberg – Weggis:
  • Length: 6 km
  • Duration: 1h55
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Link: Panoramic views of Lake Lucerne | Switzerland Tourism
• Hikes on Mount Pilatus:
  • Length: from 3.5 km to 5.8 km
  • Duration: from 1h30 to 2h
  • Difficulty: easy - medium easy
  • Link: Hiking on the Pilatus

Attention : not all transports are in service due to covid-19 and the winter season. Don't forget to check if the cable cars you want to take are open.

Here's an interactive map showing the region and open infrastructure : SisMap

Cable car Weggis – Rigi Kaltbald not running from 08.03 – 01.04

Your beloved ESN Committee ♥

This event can be made sustainable by taking the train and public transports in Luzern. #ESNaware

HOW TO GET THERE:

Luzern:

Take the train from Lausanne Gare to Luzern directly.

Hiking:

Once in Luzern, you can follow one of those itineraries. For both of them, there are multiple possibilities,  if those suggested here don’t suit your timeline / plans, don’t hesitate to look on Google Maps for others.

• Rigi-Kaltbad – Romiti – Säntiberg – Weggis:
  • Luzern - Rigi-Kaltbad: Take the boat Luzern Bahnhofquai - Vitznau (57min), then the train Vitznau - Rigi Kaltbad First (18 min)
  • Weggis - Luzern (to go home) : Take the boat Weggis - Luzern Bahnofquai (35 min)
• Hikes on mount Pilatus:
  • Luzern - Pilatus: Look on google maps, there are many different possible trains/cable cars (all approximately 1 h).

 

WHAT YOU NEED:

You will need:

• Good shoes
• Clothes adapted to mountain weather (can vary pretty quickly from cold and windy to sunny).
• What's needed to spend the night there.

 

HOW MUCH IT WILL COST YOU:

The organization of this event will cost:

Luzern:

If you plan your trip well in advance, don't forget to look at discounts for train tickets/ day-cards on the website (Travel at the lowest fares with supersaver tickets).

• Lausanne-Luzern: 
  • 65 chf (Half-fare: 32.50 chf) → Whole trip:  130 chf (Half-fare : 65 chf)
  • OR, if you don’t plan to stay the night there, day-card from 70 chf (Half-fare: 45 chf),
• 1 night: around 40 chf per person. You could for instance stay in a youth hostel (Lucerne | Swiss Youth Hostels) or check Airbnb.

Hiking :

It could be advantageous to take the day-card! For example, you go to Luzern, visit the city one day and then sleep there. The next day, you take the day-card, use it to go hiking and then use the same day-card for the train Luzern-Lausanne.

Otherwise, you can still pay the individual prices for each train / boat.

WHO TO CONTACT FOR MORE INFO:

Lorena Egger at lorena.egger@epfl.ch or on telegram at @LorenaE98

Other hiking ideas available here.