Lucerne Travel Guide — JUST JESSICA

Jul 15

Jul 15 Lucerne Travel Guide

First stop on our whirlwind vacation, Lucerne!

This was the perfect start to our trip. Aside from never having been to Switzerland before, it was unlike anywhere I’d ever been. It set the tone for a great vacation.

Once we decided we wanted to include Switzerland in our vacation, we set out to look for the perfect place to spend our three days there. Some of our options were Zurich, Geneva, Interlaken and Lucerne. We ultimately landed on Lucerne because of it’s less populated, countryside vibe. Scroll through to check out my recommendations on things to do, eat and see!

Activities

Unlike our stops to London and Paris, sightseeing here was a bit different. There were no “major attractions” we needed to see, but rather activities we wanted to do and views we wanted to take in. Mt. Titlis was the first mountain we went to and this is my top recommendation. Take the beautiful train ride thirty minutes outside of Lucerne and Mt. Titlis is right there. You take a gondola up to the top of the mountain, and through the clouds which was terrifying at first, but really breathtaking once I was able to open my eyes! Once you're at the top you have the option to do a glacier cave walk, cross the highest suspension bridge in Europe (also terrifying but well worth it), and take in some really beautiful views of the Swiss Alps.

The next hike we did was Mt. Pilatus. To get to the top, you ride a cable car up the side of the mountain, which again provided great views. Unfortunately, a lot of the trails were closed when we were there. But they had a lot of small walks to scenic overlooks which were stunning. On your way down, stop at the half way point for a ride on their alpine slide or zip line. Aside from hiking, strolling around the town, across the old bridge, and to the Lion statue were all some of our favorite activities.

Make sure to take a quick stop into the Jesuit Church when you’re in Lucerne because the architecture was really something.

Food

Our first night in Switzerland, we made a stop at one of the fondue houses there. While it definitely wasn’t the most elegant meal, I love cheese and chocolate so it hit the spot for me. I could have skipped the meat portion and just had the cheese and chocolate! Speaking of chocolate, make sure to stop in one (or all) of the chocolate shops. Swiss chocolate lives up to it’s name, that’s for sure. But by far our favorite meal there was at La Terraza. Phenomenal Italian food with a beautiful view of the water. We loved everything from the food to the atmosphere.

Stay

We stayed about 10 minutes outside of Lucerne in a cute little hotel, the Gasthof Rossli. It was so quaint and looked straight out of a fairytale. They put out a great breakfast every morning. They had all the amenities we were looking for. Only weird thing, there’s no doors on the bathrooms in the rooms? Just a dividing wall or a dividing curtain. But everything else made that such a minute detail in comparison to how great it was.