Lucerne is a beautiful lakeside city in Central Switzerland with mountain views and many charms. The main attraction is the much photographed wooden bridge that crosses the large river cutting through town. It also has brightly decorated fountains scattered around the old town, the old castle wall looming over the city, the waterfront for strolling, and interesting churches and museums to visit.
It’s well worth doing a guided or self-guided tour of the city for a half day. I have a suggested route below for families, a mini tour that hits the main highlights without exhausting the kids.
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| Location: | Central Switzerland |
| Car: | 45 mins from Zurich Parkhaus Altstadt (Baselstrasse 4, 6003 Luzern) |
| Train: | 1hr10 from Zurich to Luzern, Bahnhof |
| Services: | cafes and shops in city center |
| More Info: | www.luzern.com |
Location
Lucerne is located in central Switzerland, about 40mins southwest of Zürich and about 1hr east of Bern. It’s a good home base for exploring a wide variety of many beautiful destinations in Switzerland. See our Lucerne & Central Switzerland Guide.
City overview
Below is the official city map you get on the free brochure available at any tourist information desk. You can also download it. The historic old town is mostly pedestrian-only, making it fun and easy to explore with kids. Most points of interest are clustered around the old town and can be easily reached by foot.
How to get there
I prefer to take public transport to Luzern because traffic can be bad in the city center. But I have some tips for you below.
By train: Take the train to Luzern, Bahnhof. Everything is within walking distance of here.
By car: Drive to Luzern. We prefer to park at Parkhaus Altstadt (Baselstrasse 4, 6003 Luzern), which is a bit more affordable and more importantly, has easy access to the freeway without having to drive through the city. As an example, it costs CHF 12.50/ 6 hours. It’s a pretty walk along the river, about 15 mins, to reach the piers, as shown below.
If you prefer to park more in the center, you can park at the P1 or P2 underground parking at the train station (Bahnhofpl. 1, 6002 Luzern). After parking, you walk through the train station and exit to the city above. But these parking lots are the most expensive, CHF 16.50/6 hours. When you drive in, you’ll see P1 and P2 to your left and P3 to your right, a bit farther away. They all start at CHF 4 for the first hour, but P1 & P2 are slightly more expensive at CHF 2.50 for each additional hour, while P3 is CHF 2 for each additional hour.
See all Luzern parking options and download a PDF with a price comparison between all garages.
Walking tours
There are many walking tour options. Here are just a few to get you started.
- Lucerne has a free audio tour that you can download on your phone. It has suggested routes or you can plan your own.
- Lucerne tourism offers a guided walking tour in English on Fridays at 9:45. It costs CHF20/adult, CHF5/child, discounted with a Lucerne visitor card free from your hotel. They also have themed tours, like the FoxTrail treasure hunts and “city of water” tour.
- Free Walk does a 2 hour tour around the city. It’s free, but tips are expected (I would tip about CHF 5-10 per person).
- GPSmyCity has a few different self-guided tours with different themes.
- If you want to minimize the walking, you can ride the tourist train, which runs daily April to October, hourly from 11:00. It’s a 40 min tour and costs CHF 12/adult, CHF 5/child
Although I certainly suggest the longer tour so you can see everything, kids usually have little tolerance for walking tours. So here’s my shorter 2km route for families that hits several highlights and includes a stop for gelato. Generally, the town is possible with stroller, but the cobblestone streets are bumpy and there are a few stairs.
If you have time and energy, I definitely recommend walking up to the city wall and climbing up to the ramparts. I’ll show that detour below.
Tower Bridge
I won’t repeat a full walking tour here but merely mention a few highlights. The wooden bridge is a must-do, so drag your stroller up the few stairs and enjoy the stroll. If the kids need motivation, there is a Dieci gelato shop on the east side of the river, between the wooden bridge and the metal bridge.
Most of the bridge and the paintings inside were destroyed in the 1993 fire. Since then it has been rebuilt and restored. Learn more about the bridge and the fire.
Historic Old Town
The old town has lots of elaborate wall paintings. It can fun to have the kids look for things in the paintings. But some of them are a bit scary, so consider yourself warned.
Luzern is famous for its elaborate fountains (see online fountain guide). Most have drinkable water.
The river flows very fast and the gaps in the barrier are very wide so a child could easily flop right in if they start climbing on the railings. So watch those little ones carefully.
I recommend stepping inside the Jesuit church on the river.
It has a similar super elaborate style to the Einsiedeln monastery but unlike that one, you can take pictures inside here.
Other pretty bridge across the river.
City wall
If you have time and energy, I recommend the short walk up to the city wall and climb up the ramparts if it’s open. Both times we’ve been there the ramparts were closed, so check the website. It’s usually open April through October, 8:00 to 19:00.
I’ve shown a route leaving from the train station, but you can start anywhere in the city.
This is path is not possible with strollers because of all the stairs.
It’s very green and quiet up here, a nice break from the city.
Lion monument
This is not on my mini-tour because it’s outside the pedestrian-only city center and you have to walk on busy city streets to get there. With little kids, this was asking too much. But if you have time and energy, you should visit this iconic spot. Next door is the Gletschergarten museum (glacier garden) which I haven’t visited and therefore have no opinion.
According to their website: «The dying Lion of Lucerne» is one of the world’s most famous monuments. It’s not in the old town, you have to walk a bit through the not-particularly attractive commercial part of town to get there.
4 Responses
Will be coming by car on 28/08/23 from Rhinefall to Lucerne. where do we park the car to avoid long walk (1 or 2 Km walk is ok) and cover the kapeli bridge, lion monuments , bucherer watch shop and lake opposite . Also how far is Lake of Four Cantons from Kapeli and is it possible by walk or we can take car. we shall reach at around 3.30 Pm At lucerne.
The Lucerne train station parking garage is the most convenient. It is very close to the lake and wooden bridge, a 15 min walk to the Lion Monument. Another option would be the City Parking garage, which is close to the Lion Monument – Zürichstrasse 35, 6004 Luzern. In any case, there is a fair amount of walking to see all sites in Lucerne city. Good luck!
It's possible, but it is bumpy. A sleeping baby might wake up. Good luck!
hi,
do you think its possible to walk around old town with a stroller? or will it be too bumpy?