24 Hours in Lucerne: How To Spend One Day in Lucerne

Wondering how to spend 24 hours in Lucerne? This itinerary shows you how to make the most of your time in this beautiful city in Switzerland!

Lucerne is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. When I went to Lucerne for the first time, the beauty of the city amazed me. Lake Lucerne is one of the most gorgeous lakes I ever saw, and the Kapellbrücke was breathtaking as well. It's definitely one of my favorite cities in Switzerland!

As Lucerne is close to Zürich, it's perfect to do a day trip to Lucerne from Zürich.

Spending 24 hours in Lucerne is an amazing experience. You'll have enough time to see all highlights and have a wonderful time.

In this itinerary, I'll show you exactly how to spend one day in Lucerne! First, I'll why you should definitely spend a day in Lucerne. After that, the itinerary begins.

Why Spend 24 hours in Lucerne?

Lucerne is an incredible city to see. It’s one of the most romantic towns in the country. 

One of the reasons why you should visit Lucerne is that there’s a lot of old architecture. Seeing old buildings and bridges is incredible. 

Besides that, Lucerne has a wonderful lake that's amazing to see. The blue water of the lake and the beautiful mountains in the background are very idyllic.

The city is close to other places in Switzerland, such as Zurich. Lucerne has a train station. There are great train connections between other cities and Lucerne. So it's easy to spend one day in Lucerne if you're in Switzerland.

Furthermore, there are many amazing things to see and to do in the town. If you're in Switzerland, you should definitely visit this city. 

Spending 24 hours in Lucerne is perfect, as this is a great amount of time to explore the city.

Itinerary for 24 hours in Lucerne

Now you know why you should definitely visit Luzern! So it's time for the itinerary. If you follow this itinerary, you'll make the most out of your time in this wonderful city. Have fun!

One Day in Lucerne: Morning

This is the beginning of your 24 hours in Lucerne! Today, you're going to see amazing things, so let's start!

See the Sunrise at Seebrücke

Your one day in Lucerne starts with a beautiful sunrise. The best place to do so is at the bridge Seebrücke. It's very close to the train station, so that's convenient if you arrive there!

This place is the best place to see the sunrise, as you have an incredible view of the water and mountains. Seeing the sun appear between the mountains is so magical.

Furthermore, the sunrise in Luzern is one of my favorite experiences in Switzerland. I arrived in Lucerne very early, only about an hour before sunrise. And when the sunrise happened, I almost couldn't believe my eyes!

Breakfast

After seeing the sunrise, it's time for breakfast! A great place for breakfast in Lucerne is Mill'Feuille. You can get delicious coffee here. Also, there are plenty of choices for bread here. Furthermore, you can choose from a variety of pastries, fruit, falafel, and other food items. All breakfast items are fresh every day.

Kappelbrücke

After breakfast, it's time to see the Kappelbrücke, also known as the Chapel Bridge. This is a must-see when you're one day in Lucerne!

The Kappelbrücke is a wooden footbridge in the center of Lucerne. This is definitely a must-see when you’re in Luzern.

One of the reasons why the Chapel Bridge is so special is that it's the oldest wooden covered bridge of all countries in Europe. Besides that, it's a truss bridge too, and it's the oldest surviving one on earth.

There are some beautiful interior paintings that are from the 17th century. In the 20th century, a fire destroyed some parts of the bridge, but the city rebuilt it again.

The bridge is very pretty because of the flowers on it. Furthermore, it's one of the most photogenic places in the city!

It’s still early when you’re going to the bridge, which means that it’s less busy. So you can enjoy the bridge when it’s still quiet! If you go here later in the day, it’s more crowded.

Old Town

After seeing the Kappelbrücke, it's time to wander around the Old Town of Lucerne.

The Old Town looks beautiful and it's a lovely place to see architecture. There are many old buildings you should definitely see! So if you like admiring the architecture, wandering around here is one of the best things to do in Luzern.

Furthermore, there are many shops in Old Town Lucerne. Thus if you want to go shopping during your 24 hours in Lucerne, you can do it in the old town. You can also find several restaurants here.

Get a view at Museggmauer

One of the most fun things to do in Lucerne at the end of the morning is visiting the Museggmauer. This is a wall from the 14th century. This is one of my favorite things to do during one day in Lucerne!

In the past, it protected the city of Lucerne from enemies. Nowadays, it is one of the most recognizable sights in the city.

The historic wall surrounds the old town of Lucerne, as it did in medieval times. That makes the Museggmauer a great place to learn about history.

There are nine towers that are part of the Museggmauer. Because the towers are very tall, you can see them from many places in the city. Over time, as the old town expanded, Lucerne added more towers to the wall.

What's great is that besides the historic aspect of the wall, you can also get a beautiful view from here. You can access the towers and go to the top of the wall.

From there you can see the whole city, the lake, and the mountains surrounding Lucerne. It is one of the most beautiful viewpoints in Lucerne for sure! This also makes it a great place for photography!

24 Hours in Lucerne: Afternoon

Lake Lucerne

This afternoon, it's time to explore Lake Lucerne! This is one of the largest lakes in Switzerland. The fourth-largest to be precise. You have to see the lake if you're 24 hours in Lucerne!

It is a very beautiful lake with amazing blue water and scenic views of the mountains surrounding it.

What's great is that the lake is next to the city of Lucerne. Because of that, you can walk to the lake. That makes a visit to the Lake very easy to combine with a visit to the city center.

But if you want to explore other parts of the lake, you can do so too! There are many buses that can take you to other beautiful spots near the lake.

Besides seeing the beautiful lake, you can also do amazing things at Lake Lucerne.

For example, you can go swimming at Lake Lucerne. There are many spots where you can do that. One of the best spots for swimming is near the city center of Lucerne, so you can walk there. There is a beach called Ufschötti Strand.

You can also do lots of water sports at the lake. For example, you can go kayaking, windsurfing, and wakeboarding.

Lunch at Lake Lucerne

Also, there are many places where you go for lunch at a restaurant near the lake. A great place is Seebistro LUZ. This restaurant is next to the lake. The place serves a variety of dishes, including burgers and sandwiches. Also, the dishes have reasonable prices, which is great when you are in this expensive Swiss city.

Moreover, if you like a place for lunch that's even fancier, you can also do so at Lake Lucerne. You could do a lunch cruise on Lake Lucerne, where you sail on the lake while having delicious food.

The lake is also great to see from above. That's one of the reasons to do the next activity of this itinerary. From Mount Pilatus, you can see the lake in all its glory from above.

Visit Mount Pilatus

You can't spend one day in Lucerne and don't visit Mount Pilatus! That's why you should definitely go here during the afternoon.

Mount Pilatus is the mountain next to Lucerne, and you can see it from everywhere. The highest peak of the mountain is 2129 meters.

There are a lot of things to do at Mount Pilatus. For example, there are lots of hiking trails. But the journey to the mountain is wonderful alone!

In summer there is a special route you can take to reach the top of the mountain. It is very popular with tourists and you will definitely enjoy it!

This route starts in Lucerne. From there you take a ferry over the lake of Lucerne to Alpnachstad.

In Alpnachstad you can take a cogwheel railway to reach the top that is very steep. In fact, it is the steepest of its kind in the world.

From the top of Mount Pilatus, you go down with an aerial cableway and gondolas to Alpnachstad. From there you ride a bus back to the city of Lucerne.

One Day in Lucerne: Evening

Dinner at Stern Luzern

Now it's time for dinner!

Stern Luzern is a great place for having dinner. The restaurant focuses on typical Swiss food, but with a modern twist. Stern Luzern tries to improve traditional Swiss dishes. The food here is very delicious!

Moreover, the ingredients come from local sources, are fresh, and are of great quality. Keep in mind that this is a very popular place for those who visit Lucerne, so making a reservation is important.

See the sunset at Lake Lucerne

After having dinner, it's time to see the sunset! This is an amazing way to end your day. Sunsets in Luzern are magnificent. Especially at Lake Lucerne, they look amazing. So walk to Lake Lucerne, find a nice place to sit down, and enjoy the sunset!

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