15 Things To Know Before You Visit LucerneSwitzerland

Planning a trip to LucerneSwitzerland? Here are 15 things to know before you go!

We’re Jana and Brett. We’ve spent loads of time exploring and researching Lucerne so you don’t have to! Which means you really can arrive here—even if it’s your first time—and feel like a confident traveler.

So get readybecause here are 15 practical tips about arriving by traingetting a feel for the cityusing the local guest cardand more!

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#1 | Where is LucerneSwitzerland?

For startersLucerne is located in the Canton of Lucerne in Central Switzerland. It’s the largest city in Central Switzerland and the 6th largest city in the country. It sits at the northwestern tip of Lake Lucernewhich happens to be the second largest lake in Switzerland as well.

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#2 | How far is Lucerne from the Swiss Airports?

Since most of you are likely to arrive in Switzerland by planeyou’ll be happy to hear that Lucerne isn’t too far from any of the Swiss airports. In factits central location makes it easy to reach no matter where you are in Switzerland!

• From Zurichit takes about an hour by train or a little less than an hour by car.
• From Baselit takes about an hour by train or an hour and fifteen minutes by car.
• And from Genevait takes about three hours by train or by car.

If you’d like more help navigating from a Swiss Airportyou can find specific directions in our Lucerne Travel Guide.

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#3 | What language do they speak in Lucerne?

Switzerland has four national languageswhich as you dive deeperreally represent the fact that it’s made up of four linguistic and cultural regions: GermanicFrenchItalianand Romansh.

Lucerne is located in the Germanic part of Switzerlandso we find it helpful and fun to brush up on a few German words before visiting. For examplehallo (hello)danke (thank you)bitte (please)and schönen tag (Have a nice day) are easyfriendly words you can use to connect with locals.

But keep in mind it’s really Swiss German that the locals speakand a dialect at that! So even if you learn some Swiss German greetingsexpect to hear different ones depending on where you go in Switzerland!

Howevermost everyone will understand your “high German,” and you’ll find plenty of English speakers tooespecially in the tourist areas.

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#4 | Lucerne or Luzern?

One byproduct of having 4 national languages is that there are often different ways of spelling and pronouncing the cities and towns.

So in Germanit’s called Luzernand in French it’s Lucerne—and this is the form adopted by most English speakers. But which one is correct?

Since it’s in the Germanic Region of SwitzerlandLuzern is the form you’re most likely to hear and read while you’re there. But either is totally acceptable. In factthis dual-language spelling is even adopted by the official Lucerne tourism logo.

So what’s the lake called? Wellin German it’s Vierwaldstätterseeand in French it’s lac des Quatre-Cantonsand both names represent the fact that this sprawling lake actually stretches into 4 different Swiss cantons: LucerneSchwyzNidwaldenand Uri.

But since both of those are rather complicated to non-native speakersyou have full permission to use the much simplified English name: Lake Lucerne.

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#5 | Lucerne BahnhofBoat Dockand Bus Station

If you come to Lucerne by trainyou’ll arrive at the central train stationcalled Luzern Bahnhof. It’s located right next to the lakedirectly across from where the boats dockwhich is called Bahnhofquai. This is also where you’ll find the main bus stationwith stops for all the important bus lines.

Lucerne is beautifully situated with the Reuss River running right through the middle of the citydividing it into Altstadt or old town to the northand Neustadt or new town to the south. And the train station is just a 5-minute walk from the old town.

Choosing to stay in either Old Town or New Town is one of the most important decisions you’ll have when you visit this Swiss city.

But thankfully Lucerne is pretty compact and easily walkable. And with plenty of buses running between the two parts of the cityeither area can work as a sightseeing base.

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#6 | Lucerne Luggage Storage

As a central hubyou may find yourself passing through Lucerne on your way to another Swiss destination. So even if you’re not spending the night hereconsider stopping for a few hours to explore.

This is made so much more practical by the abundance of luggage lockers available at the Lucerne train station. They come in a handful of sizes and are available 24 hours/daystarting at just 5 CHF for a small locker for 6 hours.

So you really could leave one part of Switzerland in the morningstop off in Lucerne for a few hours of luggage-free sightseeingand find yourself in an entirely different part of Switzerland by the evening. Gosh I love this country!

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#7 | Lucerne Visitor Card

But if you are staying overnight hereyou’ll benefit from the Lucerne Visitor Card. And this gives you 3 important benefits:

First is free use of buses and trains within zone 10 of the city network. Nowyou could theoretically enjoy the sights near the Old Town without ever riding transportation within the city. But there are actually quite a few spots worth visiting just a bit outside of the city center that are still within zone 10.

Another plus is the flexibility this gives you in choosing lodging. You could find a cheaper place to stay a little outside the citybut still just a 5-minute (free) train ride away from the heart of Lucerne.

It’s also worth knowing you can take advantage of the free local transportation on your arrival day before you check indeparture day after you check outand any days in between. So if you require an extra train or bus ride to reach your accommodationyou can do this for freetoo.

Just show your Lucerne Guest card (if you received it by email) during ticket inspectionor if you don’t have it yetyour confirmation of lodging will work instead.

A second benefit of the visitor card is access to Free WiFi hotspots throughout the city. In our experiencethe wifi just worked okaybut some wifi is better than none!

And finallythere are lots of discounts available on museumsexcursionsmountain railways and cablewaysand other activities throughout the entire Lucerne/Lake Lucerne Region.

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#8 | Lucerne Train Pass

Speaking of mountain railways and cablewaysthere’s a regional train pass available here called the Tell-Pass.

It covers just about any transportation you could imagine using during a visit hereincluding all the major mountain excursionsboat rides on the lakeand travel between Lucerne and nearby towns.

It starts at 190 CHF for 2 daysbut you really need to do lots of day trips and mountain adventures to make this worth your money.

We’re not going to do a deep dive on Swiss Train Passes in this postbut we have another one where we do just that. And all of our Swiss Travel Guides discuss train passes too. So be sure to check those out later if you need more help.

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#9 | Lucerne Opening Days & Times

Be mindful of opening and closing hours and days for shops and restaurants. It’s still pretty normal for lots of places to close down on Sundays. And plenty of stores are closed during the lunch hour on weekdays as well.

In factthere are enough differences from one restaurant or shop to another—or even one day to the next—that it’s just best to get in the habit of checking opening days and times before you visitespecially if you’re coming between the summer and winter seasons.

For exampleone of our favorite restaurants stops serving hot food after 3:30 in the afternoonand Brett’s top coffee spot is only open Monday – Thursday.

But the main tourist attractions are open dailyand stores in and near the train station tend to have longer hoursso if you really need somethingyou shouldn’t have trouble finding it.

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#10 | Lucerne Weekly Market

But if you plan wellLucerne will reward youand a perfect example of this is the weekly market.

The Wochenmarkt takes place every Tuesday and Saturday until noonand is filled (in their words) with “fresh breadtangy mountain cheesefreshly picked flowersand crisp vegetables.”

It’ll be hard to miss this marketwith market stalls spreading out along both sides of the river. So show up hungry to eat fresh and local!

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#11 | Lucerne Water (and Toilets!)

All that bread and tangy cheese is gonna make you thirsty. And while Swiss water is some of the best in the worldwhere can you find drinkable water when you’re out exploring?

Nonot at the grocery store! Skip the bottled waterand insteadfill up at one of the hundreds of fountains mapped by Lucerne Water.

For each fountain listedyou can see if the water is drinkablewhen the fountain was builtand even learn a little bit of history if you’re interested.

And—uh—public bathrooms are on the map too. So now nothing should stop you from staying hydrated on your trip to Lucerne. How helpful is that?!

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#12 | How far is Lucerne from other Swiss destinations?

It’s highly unlikely that Lucerne is the ONLY place you’ll be visiting on your trip to Switzerland. Beyond the easy connections to ZurichBaseland Geneva that we mentioned earlieryou can also reach Interlaken in 1:50 by train (or 1:15 by car) or Bern in as little as one hour.

But it’s also strategically positioned for traveling to Southern Switzerland and Italy as well.

Getting to Lugano—the largest city in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino—takes just 1:40 by trainthanks to the Gotthard Base Tunnelthe longest railway tunnel in the world with a length of 57km!

But Como is just another 30 minutes past thatmeaning you could go from the north side to the south side of the Alps—and from Switzerland to Italy—in just a little over two hours.

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#13 | Scenic Train Rides to LucerneSwitzerland

We can’t discuss Interlaken and Lugano without also mentioning the scenic trains connecting them both to Lucerne.

The route between Lucerne and Interlaken is part of the GoldenPass scenic trainand along the way you’ll pass 3 beautiful lakes—SarnenLungernand Brienz—and head up and over the Brünig Pass as well.

Between Lucerne and Luganoyou can enjoy the Gotthard Panorama Expressan underrated scenic journey that includes a leisurely boat ride across Lake Lucerne and a first-class train experience along the Gotthard route to Southern Switzerland.

Which basically means you can choose the efficient and economical route OR the scenic and experiential way of going just about anywhere from Lucerne.

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#14 | How many days should I spend in Lucerne?

We think Lucerne is worth a 2-4 day visit. We like to avoid one-night stays when we travelso we recommend spending at least two nights here so you have one full day to explore the city.

But with so many day-trip and excursion possibilitiesyou’d have no problem filling up to four daysespecially if the weather is nice.

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#15 | Things to do in LucerneSwitzerland

So what should you do while you’re here? Our Lucerne Travel Guides give you those answers. They are filled to the brim with insider tips to help you travel Lucerne with confidence.