How to Spend 2 Days in Lucerne Switzerland with Kids

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I fell in love with Switzerland during a European tour that Hubby and I went on several years ago. I loved the architecture, the beauty of the city, and the mountains and lakes which beckoned at every turn. So when planning a European road trip for the family, we made sure to include 2 days in Lucerne Switzerland in our itinerary.

Although we covered most of the country on our road trip, there was one city I knew I wanted to spend some extra time in Lucerne. Picture perfect, quaint, with gorgeous views – it has everything you need to have the perfect Swiss experience.

How to get to Lucerne

Lucerne is located in central Switzerland. If you are coming from a distance, the closest international airport is Zurich.

You could then either drive or catch a bus or train to Lucerne from the airport. Travel time from Zurich to Lucerne would be as follows: 50 minutes by train (running on the half-hour), 55 minutes by bus, and 1 hour by car.

With excellent road and rail connections throughout Switzerland, it is relatively simple to reach the city from most areas of the country. In fact, you could easily do a day trip to Lucerne from almost anywhere in Switzerland, if you only have limited time.

Day 1

Mount Stanserhorn

As I mentioned, Switzerland has the most beautiful mountains and lakes. What better way to see them than to take a cable car to the top of a mountain, and spend the morning soaking up the amazing views?

Located just 15 minutes outside of Lucerne in the village of Stans, the Mt Stanserhorn CabriO station is easily accessible by car, train or even boat!

The first portion of the journey to the summit is by the Oldtimer Funicular Train. Built in 1893, the train originally consisted of 3 sections of track to reach the top of the mountain.

Nowadays, only the bottom portion which was restored in 2009, is still in operation. The middle and top portions were replaced by the CabriO Cable Car in 1975.

The CabriO

The CabriO cable car is the world’s first cable car to offer a roofless upper deck. Coupled with a lower level that is almost completely wrapped in windows, what more could you ask for?

The 360-degree panoramic views are absolutely breathtaking!

We spent most of our ride to the top outside, on the observation deck. The fresh mountain air and beautiful vistas were beyond compare! The ride to the top takes 24 minutes, with the cable car travelling at approximately 8 meters per second.

At the Top

Once you leave the cable car, you can make your way over to a couple of different observation areas. You can also find a full-service restaurant with a rotating floor here.

From this area, there is a walking loop that takes you around the summit. Or if you prefer, you can continue to the peak. The walk takes about 30 minutes and is not very difficult.

At 6, 227ft, the peak offers amazing views on a clear day, which is luckily what we had! You can even see as far as the Black Forest in Germany! Not only that, but you can also see a total of 10 different lakes from that vantage point.

Amazing! Just make sure you bring a sweater. Even on the warmest day, it gets a little breezy up there!

Tickets

As far as ticket options go, you can get a round-trip fare (74.00 CHF), or a one-way ticket (37.00 CHF). Just be forewarned… if you decide to hike to the top, you will need a minimum of 4 hours, with travel over a steep and narrow path.

We saw more people choosing to make the trek downhill, to be honest! You also have the option of purchasing a Boarding Pass for 5.00 CHF, which allows you specific boarding times.

This makes sense if you want to avoid waiting in long lines during peak times.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the morning on Mt Stanserhorn. Although on the more costly side (especially with the exchange rate), it would definitely be something I recommend.

Lake Lucerne Cruise

From the CabriO, it was a short walk over to the pier. Here, we boarded a boat for our cruise of Lake Lucerne.

After settling into our seats on the outer deck, a pre-recorded message provided us with the area’s history and interesting sites we could see from the boat.

The cruise was about an hour and a half in length, ending right in the heart of Lucerne Switzerland. The cruise was relaxing, and informative, and allowed us to see things from a different perspective, than if we had only been driving through the area.

With various tour companies operating out of Lucerne, you have a good range of options and prices to choose from. Some of the cruises are geared toward families, while others are more adult-oriented.

Walking Tour – Lucerne Switzerland

Our last activity of the day included a short walking tour through the main streets of Lucerne Switzerland. Here we learned all about the history of the city, discovered the various companies that make timepieces, learned of the famous Swiss chocolatiers, and of course, the cheesemakers.

It was difficult to walk past a chocolate shop, without getting lured in by the intoxicating aroma of melted chocolate!

Again, with a variety of companies offering walking tours, you are sure to find one that suits the needs of your family. We chose to keep our tour short, opting to just walk around and enjoy the more historic parts of town on our own.

Dinner

For dinner that evening, we wanted to make sure that the kids could try an authentic Swiss Fondue. Many restaurants offered every kind of fondue you can imagine, so it was only a matter of finding the one that appealed to your palate.

Since it was later in the evening, and the kids were getting hangry, we stopped in at the first place which looked decent.

So let me tell you about our experience. Restaurants charge per person for fondue, and the prices are pretty steep in Lucerne Switzerland.

We ordered a serving for 3 (Miss Sunshine was with us, so she was an added adult), and a side order of fries (presumably for the younger two kids to share).

The Fondue

We ordered the basic white wine fondue, which is served with chunks of bread, plus five glasses of tap water (which we were told by a rude waitress that we would be charged for).

The bill came to an astronomical 65.00 CHF, which converted to Canadian Dollars was more than I care to mention.

Not only was the fondue only so-so, but there was definitely NOT enough for three people, so the kids were forced to share their fries with us! We ended up leaving hungry, as our budget for the meal had now been exceeded!

What a fiasco! I accept part of the responsibility for not doing my research ahead of time, which is definitely out of character for me! Miss Sunshine still refers to it as the F*ing Fondue incident, years later! Ha!

Day 2

The Lion Monument

Our second day in Lucerne Switzerland was all self-guided. We started out by visiting the Lion Monument. Hubby and I had been here on a previous trip to Lucerne Switzerland, and I had just fallen in love with this spot.

The monument itself is in a small enclave of trees with a reflection pond. It’s not far from the main road, making it easy to walk to.

But even with its proximity to traffic, and even with the large group of tourists that were also visiting at the time, the enclave was so peaceful.

The Lion is absolutely gorgeous too! His mournful expression, exquisite detail and expressiveness, make him my absolute favourite monument. I wish my photography skills had been better at the time because he is a dream to capture.

The Lion of Lucerne (is) the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.

– Mark Twain –

Have you heard the story behind the Lion Monument? The purpose of the Lion of Lucerne is to commemorate the Swiss Guards who lost their lives in 1792 during the French Revolution.

The inscription reads, “Helvetiorum fedei ac Virtuti,” which translated, means “To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss.”

Designed by Bertel Thorvaldson, and carved by Lucas Ahorn, the 10 meters by 6-meter sandstone monument was completed in 1821.

The dying lion is a symbol of the soldiers’ strength, courage, and willingness to die rather than betray their oath of service.

Fun Facts

There are a couple of facts that I found interesting when studying the history of the Lion. Firstly, Thorvaldson had never actually seen a lion in real life before.

Instead, he based his sketch and models on a funerary monument for Pope Clement XIII, which is installed in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Secondly, a member of the Swiss Guard himself, Carl Pfyffer was the one who originally commissioned the Lion.

He agreed to pay Thorvaldson a certain amount of money for the monument. When Pfyffer refused to pay for the finished piece in full, Thorvaldson decided to get even.

Not wanting to alter the sculpture itself, out of respect for the soldiers, he instead changed the alcove where the lion lay, to resemble the outline of a pig.

Chapel Bridge – “Kapellbrücke”

From the Lion Monument, it is a short walk to Chapel Bridge. Although we had walked briefly across it the night before, I wanted to have a closer look.

Considered Europe’s oldest covered bridge, it was built in 1332 as part of the fortifications for Lucerne.

The bridge zigzags across the Reuss River, connecting the New Town on the southern bank, to the medieval Old Town on the north side.

What really makes this bridge special, are the paintings that hang inside along the roofline. The paintings depict historical events and legends from Lucerne.

Out of the 158 paintings which were originally hung, damage caused by the passage of time, as well as a fire in 1993, have left only 47 originals still hanging today. You can even see the char marks on some of them if you look closely.

The Tower which sits midway across the bridge is approximately 30 years older than the bridge and was once used as a city treasury, a prison and even a torture chamber for criminals. Yikes!

The octagonal-shaped “Water Tower” as it is known today, now houses a small gift shop and is closed to the public for viewing.

Musegg Wall and the Nine Towers

Our last stop of the day was to hike the Musegg Wall. Just a 5-minute walk from the Lion Monument, you can access the raised walkway.

Another part of Lucerne’s fortifications, the 9 towers (originally there were 10) and walls were constructed in the 14^th century.

Today, you can walk along the wall and enter 4 of the towers. The stairways are pretty steep, so it may not the best idea for people who are not able-bodied.

The Zyt Tower

One of the towers you don’t want to miss is the Zyt Tower. This tower features the oldest clock in Lucerne Switzerland.

It was built by Hans Luter in 1535 and is still working. In fact, the clock in the Zyt Tower, which is around 3 to 4 meters tall, has the privilege of chiming the hours one minute before all the other clocks in town!

We worked up quite a sweat making our way across the wall. However, the views from the towers made it all worthwhile!

You have an amazing vantage point to see all of Lucerne, the Reuss river, as well as Lake Lucerne.

Definitely, a great photo op if you are up for the climbs. The kids not only got some fresh air and exercise from this little excursion, but they hit pay dirt when one of the towers had a pressed coin machine inside!

Final Thoughts on Our 2 Days in Lucerne Switzerland

And that was how we spent 2 days in Lucerne Switzerland with kids! Of course, we did visit the Lion Monument several times, did some souvenir shopping, took a quick swim in Lake Lucerne, and tried some Swiss chocolate as well! But whatever adventure you find yourself on, you will not regret visiting this beautiful city.

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