Lucerne · live plan

What's left: Wed, Thu, Fri

Andrew, Dad & Dylan · Wilden Mann, Bahnhofstrasse 30 · out Saturday 14:34 from Basel
FriCLEAREST DAY
Thu–SatPASS VALID
5THINGS TO BOOK
Lake Lucerne seen from above

Wednesday, Aug 5 Tonight

30°C · storms possible after dark
The travel pass doesn't start until tomorrow. Tonight is a walking night. No boats, no mountains. That's fine, the old town is the point. Every leg below is under fifteen minutes on foot.
The Musegg Wall and its towers above Lucerne
The Musegg Wall. Nine towers, four you can climb, and it shuts at 19:00 sharp.

Thursday, Aug 6 · Rigi

28°C · partly cloudy, ~50% rain
Right day for Rigi. It's the softer mountain and it's the softer weather. Rigi reads well in mixed light; Pilatus at 2,132 m does not. Keep the order the plan already had.
The paddle steamer Stadt Luzern on Lake Lucerne
The Stadt Luzern. The 08:12 is often one of the five steamers.
Cheese fondue cooked in a pot over an open wood fire
The fondue you're chasing. Still needs a phone call.

Friday, Aug 7 · Pilatus

28–29°C · cloudless, no rain
Cloudless and reliable. Both forecast models agree on Friday, which is unusual. This is the day the Golden Round Trip is worth the money, so protect it.
Reserve cogwheel seats tonight. Pilatus is actively recommending advance seat reservations to cut the queue at Alpnachstad. It's free to do and it's the difference between walking on and standing in the sun for an hour. Also: canton-wide fire ban is on, so the fire pits at Krienseregg and Fräkmüntegg are cordoned off. Drachenalp barbecue is still open.
View of the Alps from the summit of Mount Pilatus
What Friday buys you from 2,132 m. This is why the clear day goes here.

Handle tonight

All five take about fifteen minutes total.

  1. Table at the hotel for tomorrow night Easiest one: ask the front desk when you walk in tonight. Burgerstube if you want the room, Sauvage or the terrace if lunch was fondue. +41 41 210 16 66.
  2. Lucerne Travel Pass, 3 days, Aug 6–8 CHF 240 each, three people. The Rigi and Pilatus days both assume it. Buy in the SBB app if it isn't already done.
  3. Fondue for Thursday Rigi Kulm Hotel, +41 41 848 30 30. The only thing on the whole trip that was never actually confirmed.
  4. Pilatus cogwheel seat reservation for Friday pilatus.ch. Free, and they're explicitly asking people to do it.
  5. Galliker for tonight +41 41 240 10 02. Small room, and it's Wednesday in August.