What's left: Wed, Thu, Fri

Nine medieval towers on the ridge above the old town. Four are climbable: Männli, Zyt, Wacht, Schirmer. Free, no ticket, best view in Lucerne and almost nobody up there at this hour.

Hard close at 19:00. Go here first, everything else stays open later. The Zyt tower clock strikes one minute before every other clock in the city, a right it's had since 1535.

Drop off the wall into Weinmarkt and Hirschenplatz, the frescoed guild facades. Five minutes and you're at the Reuss.

Ten minutes east. Open air, always open, and quiet in the evening once the coaches have gone. Mark Twain called it the saddest piece of stone in the world and he wasn't overselling it.

Skip if the sky looks like it's about to open. It's a five minute stop, not worth getting soaked for.

Schützenstrasse 1, five minutes from the hotel. Fourth-generation Lucerne cooking, the kind locals book and tourists walk past. Call now, it's small: +41 41 240 10 02.

Backups: Pfistern for the terrace over the river, or Rathaus Brauerei under the arcades if it's pouring.

Sunset is just before 21:00, so by the time you're out of dinner the Kapellbrücke and Water Tower are floodlit and the crowds are gone. This is the shot for the channel, not the daytime one.

Out of the hotel at 09:00, Bahnhofquai Pier 1, arrives Vitznau 10:09. Fifty-seven minutes down the lake and often one of the five historic paddle steamers. Free with the pass.

Be honest about this one: the walk is about nine minutes, so 09:00 on the dot leaves roughly a three minute buffer. If anyone is still looking for sunglasses at 09:05, don't sprint. The 09:24 train and bus via Küssnacht gets you to Vitznau at 10:34, only 25 minutes later, and it's the better miss than waiting for the 10:12 boat.

Europe's oldest mountain railway, running since 1871, 32 minutes to the 1,798 m summit. Arrive 10:47. The station is right at the Vitznau landing stage, so the six minute connection is genuinely six minutes of walking.

The Kulm terrace gives you the whole lake on one side and, on a clear one, thirteen lakes and the Black Forest. The Staffel walk is 25 easy downhill minutes on a graded path, and it's where the ridge views actually are.

This is the one loose thread on the trip. Waldfondue is winter and groups only, so it's the Rigi Kulm Hotel sun terrace instead: +41 41 848 30 30. Call today.

If Rigi says no, the backstop is Fondue House du Pont in Lucerne, outdoor tables, year round, five minutes from the Wilden Mann. Not the same view, same dinner.

Cogwheel down to Kaltbad, then the aerial cableway drops you into Weggis on the shore. Different scenery than the way up, which is the whole reason to loop it.

Weggis to Bahnhofquai, 42 minutes, in at 17:47. Later departures at 18:05, 19:05 and a last one at 20:57, but the 17:05 is the one that gets you back in time to clean up before dinner.

Nothing on the mountain closes early: last train off Rigi Kulm is 20:00. If the day is going well and you'd rather stay up there, the 18:05 still lands you at the table by 19:30.

No walking, no booking a stranger's dining room, straight down from the room. Three options under one roof and they share a kitchen and hours: hot food runs 18:00 to 21:30, Monday through Saturday.

Burgerstube is the one with the reputation. Neo-Gothic room from 1908, dark wood and bottle-glass panes, Michelin-listed, and the house dish is Luzerner Chügelipastete. Sauvage is the French bistro side, lighter. The terrace looks out over the old town roofs at the Musegg Wall you'll have walked the night before, which is the pick if the evening holds.

One thing: if the Rigi fondue happens at lunch, that's a lot of cheese in one day. Sauvage or the terrace is the kinder second act. Ask the front desk to hold a table when you get in tonight, or call +41 41 210 16 66.

Out of the hotel at 09:00, Bahnhofquai Pier 2, arrives 10:49. This one is relaxed: a nine minute walk against a 38 minute window, so nobody is running.

The 09:38 takes 1h11 rather than the 47 minutes the earlier boat does, because it works the shoreline stops. If you'd rather buy that hour back on the summit, the S5 train at 09:35 from the main station is 23 minutes and puts you at Alpnachstad by 09:58. Boat for the trip, train for the mountain. On the clearest day of the week I'd take the train and spend the hour up top.

Steepest cogwheel railway in the world, about half an hour to Pilatus Kulm at 2,132 m. The railway station is a two minute walk from the boat landing. Last train up is 17:30, so a late start costs you nothing here.

A level path cut into the cliff face that gets you away from the summit terrace crowd into the actual view. Easy underfoot. This is where the footage is.

Also the Dragon Path, a short gallery walk through the rock with windows blown out over the lake. Ten minutes, do it on the way back.

Nothing gastronomic, but on a cloudless day the terrace is the reason you came.

Aerial cableway Kulm to Fräkmüntegg, then the Dragon Ride gondola down to Kriens. Bus 1 back into Lucerne, about 15 minutes, covered by the pass.

Last cableway off the summit 17:30, last gondola into Kriens 17:45. Miss those and your only way down is the cogwheel back to Alpnachstad, last one 18:04.

Bags mostly packed tonight. Saturday you want to be out of the hotel by 08:30.