Mount Pilatus Guide

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Mount Pilatus Guide

One of our favourite excursions from Lucerne in Switzerland is the golden round trip to Mount Pilatus. This is one of the best day trips from Lucerne and involves trains, boats, gondolas and more – a truly wonderful way to see and appreciate the Swiss countryside and a real Swiss bucket list experience!

If this is a trip you are considering taking you will find everything you need to know about it in this post. This includes the various options you can choose to take this trip independently or with a tour.

Why visit Mount Pilatus?

Located near Lucerne, Mt Pilatus is a great introduction to the Swiss Alps.

Lucerne has plenty of mountains in the area: Pilatus, Stanserhorn, Bürgenstock, Rigi to name a few.

Rigi and Stanserhorn mountain access are both included free in the Swiss Travel Pass, whereas Pilatus access is a 50% discount.

We think Mt Pilatus is the best of the bunch because:

It’s the tallest of the four mountains and has an incredible view with plenty of things to do at the top.
It’s quickly accessible from the train station in Lucerne. A lovely boat ride takes you to the funicular.
Because I’d read about the Golden Tour and fell in love with the idea of going to Pilatus!

What is the Mount Pilatus Golden Tour?

There are two mechanical modes of transportation to get to the top of Mt Pilatus: gondolas (aerial cable cars) and cogwheel train. The world’s steepest cogwheel train, to be exact.

Both offer spectacular views all the way up the mountain.

The Golden Tour is the most scenic way to see Mt Pilatus and includes trip by boat, cogwheel train, and gondolas.

Gondolas depart from Kriens, a town about a 15 minute bus ride from Lucerne’s main train station.

The Pilatus cogwheel train departs from Alpnachstad, a small town across the lake from Lucerne. To get to Alpnachstad from Lucerne, either take a regular train around the lake or take a ferry across the lake.

You pick which direction you want to travel. Start on the ferry, hop on the cogwheel train up the mountain, ride the gondolas down, and bus back to Lucerne.

Or, do it in reverse: bus out to Kriens, fly up the mountain on gondolas, descend via the cogwheel train, and sail back to Lucerne via ferry.

Not a fan of boats? Try the Silver Tour instead. Experience the gondolas and cogwheel train, but skip the ferry and take a regular train between Lucerne and Alpnachstad.

This is also a slightly faster option. The train ride is only 20 minutes, but the ferry ride is 50-90 minutes depending on weather.

What to Expect on the Golden Tour

Sail across Lake Lucerne

Enjoy a lovely ferry ride across Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad. Exit the Lucerne train station and the lake is directly in front of you, past all the buses.

Purchase your Mt Pilatus Golden Tour ticket at the kiosks right by the lake and hop on a ferry to start your adventure.

The ferries have indoor and outdoor seating. Always recommend sitting outside when the weather is nice!

While gliding across the lake, look for the gondolas and cogwheel train in the distance. You appreciate the steep slope of the cogwheel train better from this perspective!

Transfer at Alpnachstad

The ferry will dock in Alpnachstad, and everyone will head for the train station. Seriously, it’s a straight shot through the pedestrian tunnel under the roadway to the plaza across the street. Follow the crowd. You’re all going to Mt Pilatus.

Ride the World’s Steepest Cogwheel Train to Pilatus Kulm

Time for a scenic trip up the mountain! You have some say in which section of the train car you ride in and which side of the car you sit on, assuming you’re not the last one through for your group.

Every car and seat has amazing views, so don’t be the jerk that holds up the train leaving because you refuse to take a middle seat.

Sit at the top by the conductor if you want to beat the crowds once you get to the station at the top.

Sit at the bottom if you want a wide open view down the mountain throughout your ride.

The side closest to the stairs gets great views of Lake Lucerne. The opposite side gets great views of Mt Pilatus and the mountains. Both sides have plenty of Swiss cows!

At the Top!

Enjoy the views while you eat lunch.

Both the Hotel Pilatus Kulm (yellow brick to the left) and Hotel Bellevue (cylindrical gray to the right) have restaurants.

There is also a quick eats spot inside and a take-away grill outside during the summer months. Something for all pocketbooks.

You could also pack your lunch and eat wherever you like the view best. Just be sure to keep ahold of your trash so the wind doesn’t blow it off the mountain.

Listen to the cows.

Swiss cows roam freely about the mountain, and if you hike up or down Mt Pilatus from Alpnachstad, you can walk right up to them.

You can also hear the cow bells echoing up the mountain from the observation plaza at the top!

Take a hike.

To the right, past the gondola station and Hotel Bellevue, is a short path to Esel. It is a short hike, but it is like climbing a staircase.

Let yourself adjust to the thinner air! Enjoy the beautiful views while you catch your breath.

To the left by the Hotel Pilatus Kulm is the Dragon’s Walk, a short loop that passes through the mountain and gives views of the other side before circling back.

Also to the left, but past the hotel, is the Flower Trail to the Tomlishorn. Wildflowers are labeled all along this path as it winds along and sometimes through the mountain.

The edge has a rail and much of the path is paved, but it does end with a very rough, rocky, and steep section right before the Tomlishorn summit.

Stunning views of snow-capped mountains (even in the summer!) and lakes on all sides are your reward, as well as bragging rights for actually reaching the 7000 ft elevation!

Once you’ve had your fill of alpine activities, head back to the panorama gallery building and get in line for the return gondola.

If you’re on a tight schedule, leave yourself some buffer time for waiting in line. Gondolas operate frequently but have limited capacity. At least the line is inside and temperature controlled.

Descent via Panoramic Gondola

Feel like a dragon flying from Pilatus Kulm to Fräkmüntegg. The Dragon Ride panoramic gondola is larger than average with floor to ceiling windows for optimal views.

It is standing room only, and everyone will have their cameras out. Even if you get packed into the middle, you’ll still get good views and most people are willing to temporarily switch spots so you can take some pictures.

At Fräkmüntegg, you’ll disembark the panoramic gondola and queue up for the normal 4-person gondolas.

If you have some time, Fräkmüntegg has a luge track in the summer as well as a restaurant and other activities. Its fantastic!

The 4-person gondolas showcase wonderful alpine scenery, as if you haven’t had enough of that so far today, while whisking you down the mountain in 30 minutes or less.

Be prepared to divide your group for this part of the journey if you have more than 4 people. You’ll regroup at the bottom.

From the Kriens Pilatusbahn, exit the gondola and walk 10 minutes downhill to the Kriens bus stop.

A 15 minute bus ride puts you back at the Lucerne train station, where you can easily start a Lucerne adventure or catch a train back to your point of origin.