The beautiful lakeside city of Luzern is just a short train ride away from Engelberg. Luzern is one of the most visited places in Switzerland, and with good reason.

Luzern city

On a visit to Luzern you can enjoy the beautiful lakeside views, cross it’s famous bridge, the Kapellbruecke, the oldest wooden bridge in Europe (built around the year 1300), or simply stroll around the charming car-free old town which dates back to the Middle Ages, admiring the handsome Renaissance architecture (guided tours can be arranged through the tourist office). There are many excellent cafes and restaurants to enjoy along the way.

The city is also a centre for Swiss culture. Luzern’s Culture and Convention Centre hosts all kinds of concerts and cultural events, and is especially busy during the Luzern Festival, which takes place at three different times of the year.

Excursions on Lake Luzern

One of the main attractions of Luzern is its beautiful lake. With five traditional paddle steamers and another 15 motorised boats, Lake Luzern has the largest inland navigation fleet in Europe. A ride on one of these boats is worth an excursion in itself, giving a different perspective of the city and surrounding mountains, and we would thoroughly recommend such a trip.

The lake’s ferries are also an excellent and enjoyable way to access some of the region's other sights. You can either join an organised trip, which can be arranged through the Luzern tourist office, or travel independently.

One such possibility is to take a trip on the old-fashioned paddle ferry to the lake-side village of Vitznau, from where you can ride on the cog railway up to the 1800 metre peak of Rigi mountain (known for any centuries as “the Queen of the Mountains”). From here there are spectacular views over 13 lakes, reaching as far as France and Germany. There are also 150 kilometres of marked walking trails around Rigi’s wooded mountainside. On the return journey you can descend by cable car to the traditional 19th century resort of Weggis and then catch the boat back to Luzern for a truly memorable day trip.

Another worthwhile excursion from Luzern is to the Pilatus mountain which towers over the city. From the lake shore, a cog railway climbs to the 2132 metre summit, tackling gradients of up to 48 per cent - making it the steepest cog railway anywhere in the world.

Families

Lake Luzern is also perfect for a family day out. There are paths along the lake shore which are ideal for walking or cycle rides, or you can hire a motorboat for a trip on the lake itself. There are also a number of outdoor lidos dotted around the lake, many of which have water slides, which are great for children.

A further attraction for families is the Swiss Travel Museum. Transportation has always been important in Switzerland, and the museum showcases the ingenious ways in which the industry has overcome the difficulties posed by Switzerland’s topography. We would thoroughly recommend a visit to the museum, which can be reached on foot or by bus from the centre of Luzern. Alternatively, you can catch a ferry from Luzern rail station all the way to the museum, which has its own ferry stop.

Information

For more information about visiting Luzern and its many surrounding attractions, we recommend that you look at the Luzern tourist office’s website (www.luzern.org), which can be viewed in several languages. They can advise you on how to arrange your own independent day trips, or how to join one of the many tours, which they organise. You can also find out about the “Tell Pass” (named after William Tell who is said to have lived nearby), a travel permit you can purchase which gives you savings on all of your rail, bus, boat and cable car journeys in Central Switzerland.