We arrived at Zurich Airport from London in the evening. After clearing immigration, we walked towards the train station which is at the airport itself (there are plenty of signs). The automated kiosks and ticket booths are at the ground level and the train platform at the lower levels. This was the only train journey (Zurich Airport – Lucerne) for which I didn’t have a reservation and so we paid the regular fare which came out to be 24 Euro/person.
The train journey from Zurich Airport to Lucerne train station only takes about 1 hour. Some trains go directly from the Zurich Airport station to Lucerne. An alternate way is to take a train from the airport to Zurich Central Station and then take another train from there to Lucerne.
We were staying at the Radisson Blu Lucerne which is only about 10 minutes walk from the station. The lower level of the train station has lots of shops, the most important among them being the Coop chain of grocery stores. Switzerland is definitely one of the more expensive destinations in an already expensive continent. One way to minimize the dent in your dining budget is shopping at grocery stores for breakfast supplies (bread, jam, yogurt, salad) and lunch/dinner entrees such as sandwich, pizza, chicken etc. The Coop store at the station is pretty huge and has an extensive supply of groceries to keep even the most picky of people happy !!
After checking in at the hotel, we went back to the station but unfortunately the Coop store was closed by this time so we had to make do with Burger King at the station (2 meals for approximately 16 Euro total).
Day 1:
In the morning we walked over to the Coop store at the train station and picked up our breakfast supplies. Next we went to the tourism department at the train station where I purchased the Silver Round Trip tickets to Mt. Pilatus. The only difference between the Silver Round Trip and Golden round trip is that the journey from Lucerne to Alpnachstad is on a boat ride for the Golden round trip instead of a train in Silver Round trip.
It was a short 20 minute train ride and before we knew it, we were in Alpnachstad.
The weather had been uncooperative right from the beginning of our Lucerne trip. By this time it was pouring really heavy. We were quite sad realizing that our 1 day stay in Switzerland was going to be ruined by this weather. Nevertheless, we were here and we were going to make the most of it.
To get from Alpnachstad railway station to the top of Mount Pilatus, you get to take the world’s steepest cogwheel railway.
While slowly going up the mountain, you see some wildlife, waterfalls and steep ravines. In some portion of the journey, you realize that the train actually is climbing right along the ledge of the mountain. Scary and exhilarating at the same time. Two thumbs up for Swiss engineering !!
When we got up to the top of Mt. Pilatus it was fog all around and you couldn’t see anything.
We ended up walking around for about 3-4 hours checking out various trails (with minimal visibility) and then decided that our time in Switzerland was better served just getting down the mountain and exploring the town of Lucerne.
To get down to the town of Kriens, we took the aerial cableway for the first part of the journey and then switched to a panorama gondola. The aerial cableway is a big cable car with a capacity of 40 people and the panorama gondola is smaller (capacity 4 people each) which is way better for sightseeing. By the time we were at the smaller cable cars, the visibility had greatly improved due to lower altitude and we got to enjoy some beautiful scenery regardless of the crappy weather outside.
After getting down the mountain at Kriens, we took the #1 bus from the bus station to right in front of the Lucerne train station. After getting back to the hotel, we had some lunch followed by rest.
In the evening we went for a walk around the city. Very close to the Lucerne train station is one of the the top attractions of the city of Lucerne, the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke). The Chapel Bridge spans the Reuss river and connects the new side and old side of Lucerne.
After crossing the Chapel Bridge, we walked around in the Old Town of Lucerne.
It was great walking on cobblestone streets and seeing the houses with artwork on the walls.
After walking around for about 3 hours we finally called it a day and returned back to the hotel. The next day we went back to the station and boarded the Intercity train to Milan.