Central Switzerland

The birthplace of Switzerland around Lake Lucerne, where the Old Town of Lucerne and three famous mountains, Pilatus, Rigi and Titlis, are all within a day’s reach.

This region includes the cantons of Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zug, the cradle of the Swiss Confederation. It borders the canton of Bern (the Bernese Oberland) to the west, Aargau and Zurich to the north, Glarus and Graubünden to the east, Ticino via the St Gotthard Pass to the south, and Valais via the Furka Pass to the southwest.

Highlights: Lucerne’s Chapel Bridge, Water Tower, Lion Monument and Musegg Wall; Lake Lucerne boats linking the lakeside towns; Mount Pilatus, with the world’s steepest cogwheel railway, and the Rigi, known as the “Queen of the Mountains”; Mount Titlis at Engelberg, with its rotating cable car, glacier and suspension bridge; in Schwyz, the Federal Charters Archive, and the Rütli Meadow, regarded as the place where Switzerland was founded; in Uri, Andermatt, a ski and hiking town at the crossroads of Alpine passes, which the Glacier Express passes through; and the town of Zug on Lake Zug is also worth a visit.

Classic itinerary: 1 day in Lucerne, 1 day on the Golden Round Trip (boat, cogwheel railway and cable car up Pilatus), and 1 day on the Rigi or Titlis, for 3–4 days in total; you can take the GoldenPass line to Interlaken or the Wilhelm Tell Express south to Lugano.

Getting there: Lucerne is about 1 hour by train from Zurich, and lake boats are covered by the Swiss Travel Pass.

Note: Visibility on the summits is poor in fog, so check the live summit webcams before deciding.

Destinations

Itineraries