Day Trip From Basel To Lucerne, Switzerland

Lucerne, or Luzern as the Swiss spell it, is a beautiful and vibrant city with historic charm and modern conveniences, such as their local tram system.  Unfortunately we only had a day to explore Lucerne, during our stay in nearby Basel--depending on your departure time, the trip can take one hour to an hour and a half, and you may have no stops or 1-2.  The non-discounted fare, each way, is $34/person--which is not a crazy price but if you're planning to visit a few cities in Switzerland and use their local metro/tram systems, it is worth having either the Swiss Travel Pass or Half Fare Card  (see our post on visiting Interlaken for more info).  The main station is right along Lake Lucerne, which feeds the Reuss river that divides the city in half, and upon exiting the station you're immediately in the midst of the prettiest part of town.  It's very easy to explore and enjoy most of central Lucerne on foot, so it's not necessary to use the tram system unless you wish to explore the outer parts of the city.  In fact, the modern art museum is right next to the train station--it is located in a stunning modern building that also contains the performing arts center.

The two most famous and often visited landmarks in Lucerne, both a short walk from the train station, are the Lion Monument and the two wooden bridges that cross the Reuss (Spreuer and Kapell), all of whom are hundreds of years old.  The bridges offer great photo opportunities and so can be crowded at times, but try to slow down and appreciate their history and beauty.  Then, continuing north on foot for about 20-30 minutes you'll find the Lion Monument, carved in a mountainside in 1820-21 as a tribute to the Swiss soldiers who gave their lives in the French Revolutionary War in the late 1700s.  Along the way here there is a Coop grocery store, and countless restaurants, if you need to stop for a bit to eat.  Just north of the monument is the Glacier Garden Museum (Gletschergarten), which is worth a visit and free to enter if you have the Travel Pass--this museum doesn't actually have a glacier in it, but reveals where a glacier once existed some 20,000 years ago through archeology.  The property also has a local history museum, a bizarrely fun mirror maze, and a wooden tower that offers a great view of Lucerne.

At this point you might think, I guess I've seen the main sights here, seems like the rest is tourist shops and restaurants along the river.  Worry not!  Look into the distance and you'll see some of the old ramparts, called the Musegg wall--if you have the energy you can walk along this historic structure and even up into some of the towers.  Another building you'll notice, reminiscent of Neuschwenstein in Germany, is the Chateau Gutsch Hotel, which is over 100 years old, has its own private funicular, and is way out of our price range!  You should also explore some of the side streets on both sides of the city around the river, and enjoy some of the funky shops and murals plus historic churches.

And don't forget all the beauty that the surrounding lake has to offer--you can rent pedal-boats for 30 minutes, or even take the local ferry boat (free with the Travel Pass) across Lake Lucerne to a few different towns.  This was fun for us, and despite it being a hot and sunny day you can get some great views of the city and mountains around the lake.  If you have the time, taking the ferry for about 45 minutes to Vitznau allows you to ride one of the oldest cog-wheel trains up to Mount Rigi (also free with Travel Pass).  If Rigi isn't a high enough elevation for you (about 5,000 ft), you can instead conquer Mount Pilatus (about 7,000 ft) via short bus to Kriens and a few stunning gondola rides up the mountain. 

Delicious water taps hidden around town

 

We realized during our ferry ride that we wouldn't be able to get to any of the nearby mountains in time during our one-day visit, so we decided to end the day with a quick train ride to Zurich!  This trip takes about an hour, and we then had another one hour train back to our hotel in Basel.  Even though most shops were closed by the time we got to Zurich, it is a beautiful river-split city (much like Lucerne) perfect for taking in a sunset while window shopping and exploring quiet side-streets.  Zurich seemed a more modern version of Lucerne, having lots of riverside restaurants and historic churches but also more upscale shopping (and missing centuries-old wooden bridges).  Seeing Basel, Lucerne and Zurich during an admittedly short period of time made me wish we'd been able to stay in Lucerne rather than Basel--it was definitely a highlight of our trip--but we were certainly happy with everything Basel offered us, too.

 

Thank you for reading about our trip to Switzerland in August 2018--check out our other posts for tips on visiting Basel and Bernese Oberland Alpine area around Interlaken.  We hope the information here is helpful and fun for you, please comment if you have any questions and travel safely!