Lucerne, Switzerland: Plus the Lake Lucerne Area

2nd Edition - Updated April 2025
A beautiful city surrounded by breathtaking scenery. Lucerne is a popular destination for many reasons. Located in central Switzerland, this historic city has much to offer just by itself. When adding in the incredible mountains, lake journeys, and outdoor activities, the area provides amazing experiences at every turn.
This Starting-Point Guide covers Lucerne, much of the Lake Lucerne area, and many mountain adventures ranging from tall mountain peaks to low-key family adventures. You will find details in this guide on suggested day trips, Lucerne city attractions, where to stay, which mountain to explore, and much more.
A guide for travelers who wish to use one city such as Lucerne as their base camp to travel the area and not move from town to town as they travel through Europe.
You will find numerous graphs, maps, and photographs to help orient you to this historic area. Guidance on how to get around town and an orientation to the most popular sites is included.
This guide focuses on the city and nearby attractions. This is not a complete guide to all of central Switzerland. Such a guide would go beyond the suggested scope of staying in one town and having enjoyable day trips from there.