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.