The Complete Guide to Visiting Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

How to Get from Lucerne to Mount Pilatus

Most people go to Mount Pilatus while vacationing in Lucerne. To get to Mount Pilatus from Lucerne, you can either hike up, or use a combo of different transportation options. The latter is broken down into two options that are referred to as the Golden Round Trip and the Silver Round Trip. It’s a little overwhelming at first, but I’ll break down everything you need to know about all of these options. 

The Mount Pilatus Golden Round Trip vs. Silver Round Trip

Both the Golden Round Trip and the Silver Round Trip are great options for getting up and back down the mountain. With both of these trips, you’ll take a half hour ride up the mountain in a cogwheel that dates back to 1889. It’s the steepest cogwheel in the world! On your way back down, you’ll take an aerial cableway and a panorama gondola. All three of these rides offer incredibly scenic views. 

However, keep in mind that these trips are only possible from around mid/late May to mid October, as this is when the cogwheel and boat (more on that below) are operating. If you aren’t visiting during this time, we’ll talk about alternative options below. 

Below is a photo of the map you’ll receive when you buy your tickets for Pilatus. If you’re a visual learner like me, it will help you make a bit more sense of the round trips I outline below.

Mount Pilatus Golden Round Trip from Lucerne

Here’s an overview of this trip: 

Boat (To Alpnachstad) → Cogwheel (From Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm Up the Mountain) → Aerial Cableway (From Pilatus Kulm to Fräkmüntegg Down the Mountain) → Panorama Gondola (From Fräkmüntegg to Kriens Down the Mountain) → Bus (Back to Lucerne)

This trip starts with taking a boat from Lucerne to Alpnachstad. The boat departs from the pier that is located directly across from the train station, and drops off at a pier that is a quick walk to the cogwheel station. Depending on which boat you take, this ride will take approximately an hour to an hour and a half. You can check out the timetable (and purchase tickets in advance, if you’d like) on the Lake Lucerne Navigation Company website (FYI: the acronym is SGV AG!). 

At Alpnachstad, you’ll purchase your ticket for getting up and back down the mountain at the booth (if you haven’t already). Next, board the cogwheel train to take it up to the top of the mountain.

After exploring Mount Pilatus, you’ll board the aerial cableway, and take it down to Fräkmüntegg, where you may decide to stop to enjoy some of the activities in the area (more on that later). From here, you’ll switch over to the panorama gondola, and take it down to Kriens. 

Once in Kriens, you’ll walk about 10 minutes to the Kriens, Zentrum PIlatus bus stop. From there, take bus line 1 back to Lucerne. There are a ton of blue “Luzern” signs along the path, so it’s easy to find the bus stop.

The bus drops you off at the Lucerne train station, and the ride takes about 10 minutes. You can buy a ticket at the machine at the bus stop. Note: if you have a Lucerne Visitor Card (which you’ll receive from your hotel via email if you’re staying in Lucerne), this ride is free!

Mount Pilatus Silver Round Trip from Lucerne

This trip isn’t actually that different from the other option – you simply aren’t taking a boat. Here’s an overview: 

Train (To Alpnachstad) → Cogwheel (From Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm Up the Mountain) → Aerial Cableway (From Pilatus Kulm to Fräkmüntegg Down the Mountain) → Panorama Gondola (From Fräkmüntegg to Kriens Down the Mountain) → Bus (Back to Lucerne)

Rather than taking a boat, this trip starts off with a train ride from the station in Lucerne to Alpnachstad. Just like with the boat, it drops passengers off right by the cogwheel station. The ride is about 17 minutes, and you can easily buy tickets at the station. At the time of writing this, a train departs every half hour, but check the SBB website for current times. Once you get to Alpnachstad and walk over to the cogwheel station, everything is the same as it is in the Golden Round Trip!  

Which Trip is Best?

Ultimately, these are both great options – it just comes down to whether you want to take the boat. The Silver Round Trip saves you a lot more time getting to the cogwheel station and up the mountain, since it’s a less than 20-minute train ride over to Alpnachstad. It’s also the cheaper option. We paid 7.80 CHF per ticket for the train, but a one-way boat ticket currently costs around 28.00 CHF. 

For reference, we went for the Silver Round Trip (meaning we didn’t end up doing a boat ride) and had a great experience! While the boat ride is undoubtedly gorgeous, I’m ultimately glad we had a bit more time to spare up on the mountain. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to save a bit of money (Switzerland isn’t cheap!). 

When to Buy Tickets

While there are options to buy these tickets in advance online directly from the Mount Pilatus site, you don’t have to. In fact, I’d recommend waiting until the day of and just buying them in person. Weather can be unpredictable in the area, and you may decide to switch around your itinerary last minute to have the best visibility when you’re on the mountain. Waiting to buy your Mount Pilatus tickets until you’re actually there (or online the morning of) will give you more flexibility. 

Note: if you end up buying tickets for either of the round trip options online on the Mount PIlatus site, you’ll only be able to purchase your rides for the cogwheel, aerial cableway, and panorama gondola. Boat tickets can be purchased in person or from the SGV AG site. Train and bus tickets can easily be purchased in person at one of the machines.  

View from Tomlishorn, which you can also hike to on The Flower Trail (more info below!)

Getting to Mount Pilatus in the Off-Season

If you’re visiting Pilatus in the off-season, you’re still in luck! In the late fall, winter, and early spring, you can get up and down the mountain via the panorama gondola and aerial cableway. If you’re coming from Lucerne, take the bus line 1 from the train station to the Kriens, Zentrum PIlatus bus stop. This takes about 10 minutes. From there, walk over to the Kriens gondola station, which will take about another 10 minutes. Here, you can buy your round-trip tickets and board the first gondola up the mountain. 

Things to do on Mount Pilatus

Ok, now let’s talk about what to do once you’re actually on the mountain. There’s a surprising amount of activities to do on Mount Pilatus, but I’ve broken down the things that (in my opinion) absolutely can’t be missed. These are particularly great for those visiting in the late spring, summer, or early fall!

Note that there are plenty of additional things to do, including season-specific and kid-friendly options. Be sure to check out Mount Pilatus Experiences page for more information. 

Take in the View from One of the Observation Decks

Once you get off the cogwheel or aerial cableway, you’ll immediately get incredible views of the area. These views alone are breathtaking. However, if you’d like to get to a slightly higher viewpoint, do a climb up a few flights of stairs to one of the observation decks.

There are two observation decks at Mount Pilatus. The one we climbed up is on the Oberhaupt peak. From this lookout, you can see Lucerne and the surrounding lakes and mountains, as well as Klimsenkapelle – a tiny chapel set on what is probably the most scenic plot of land ever. The other lookout spot is on the Esel peak, which also offers views of Lucerne and the gorgeous surrounding landscape. 

If you’re able to, I’d highly recommend making your way up to one of these peaks. This is especially true if you won’t be doing any additional hiking while on Mount Pilatus. The views are truly incredible!

Hike the Flower Trail to Tomlishorn 

Anyone visiting Mount Pilatus between June to October should absolutely add this 2-mile out-and-back trail to their itinerary. The Pilatus – Tomlishorn trail (which is also referred to as the Flower Trail) leads you to Tomlishorn, which is the highest peak on Mount Pilatus. Once you make it up to Tomlishorn, you’ll get breathtaking 360-degree views of the area. As the name suggests, you’ll also see plenty of alpine wildflowers along the way. They even have signs to help you identify them. 

This was truly one of my favorite hikes that I’ve ever done. I highly recommend it for anyone visiting in the summer or early fall. 

Keep in mind that you don’t need to go all the way to Tomlishorn if you don’t have the time. As soon as you start on the trail, you’ll get sweeping views of the valley and mountains and see plenty of different wildflowers. Even just going out half a mile or so is worth it! The first portion of the trail is also fairly flat and easy (the elevation gain doesn’t really happen until you’re closer to Tomlishorn), so this works for anyone who doesn’t want to do anything too strenuous. 

Walk Along the Dragon Trail

This is a great option for anyone who doesn’t want to do a full-on hike. The Dragon Trail leads you through a cave with a ton of window-like openings. As you walk through, you’ll see Lucerne, Klimsenkapelle, and the surrounding mountains and scenery. At the very start, you can also see the aerial cableway cars making their way up and down the mountain. 

The start of the trail is easy to find. Just look for the signs when you’re in the welcome center building (where the aerial cableway and cogwheel board and drop off passengers). 

Ride the Toboggan at Fräkmüntegg 

As mentioned earlier, the aerial cableway stops in Fräkmüntegg, where you’ll get off and then board the panorama gondola down to Kriens. However, rather than immediately continuing your journey down, I highly recommend taking a moment to explore Fräkmüntegg. 

There are lots of activities to do in Fräkmüntegg (including some fun winter season options), and you can check out the website to see the full offerings. For those visiting sometime between the late spring to early fall, the activity that absolutely can’t be missed is the summer toboggan. It’s open daily from approximately mid-April to the end of October, as long as the weather is dry. 

At 1350 meters, the Fräkmüntegg toboggan is the longest summer toboggan run of its kind in the country. As you ride down, you’ll see Lake Lucerne right in front of you, as well as Mount Pilatus to your right. You have full control of the speed, so you can go as fast or as slow as you’d like! Once you get to the bottom, they hook your toboggan to a lift that slowly pulls you back up to the start (so you’ll continue to enjoy the views!). 

Currently, a single ride costs 9 CHF, and tickets can be purchased at the machine right by the entrance. 

Eating on Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

It’s also worth noting that there are a few places to get some food on Mount Pilatus. On the top of the mountain, you’ll find these options:

• Restaurant Pilatus-Kulm (in Hotel Pilatus-Kulm): We stopped here for lunch and ate on the patio, which offers (even more) incredible views. While the restaurant inside seems a bit more formal, the outdoor dining is casual. I honestly didn’t have super high expectations, but the food ended up being very good. It’s also vegan-friendly!
• Restaurant Bellevue (in Hotel Bellevue): This self-service spot isn’t quite as well-rated as Restaurant Pilatus-Kulm, but people still seem to like it. It has hot entrees (including some traditional Swiss food), salads, sandwiches, desserts, and more. 
• Panoramagrill: This casual to-go spot (which is located inside the main building) doesn’t exactly have glowing reviews. My favorite sassy comment: “Good for not aware tourists from outside EU.” That said, sometimes you just need something to eat. This works if you aren’t trying to have a sit down meal. They have sausages, french fries, sodas, beer, and more. 

If you stop in Fräkmüntegg, there are also two more food spots. There’s another self-service spot serving Swiss cuisine called Restaurant Fräkmüntegg. There’s also a casual food stand (think hot dogs, soft pretzels, etc.), right by the toboggan.

Helpful Links for Visiting Pilatus

As a final note, there are two helpful links that are worth checking out. The first is this interactive map, which shows transportation stations, activities, lookout points, restaurants, and much more.

The second is the Pilatus live website, which is super helpful to look at a couple days out from your visit. It shows the weather, as well as the status of all of the activities, transportation options, and restaurants in the area. 

Planning the perfect Switzerland vacation? Here are some of my other guides you might find useful:

• The Best Things to Do in Lucerne, Switzerland
• The Perfect Day Trip to Lauterbrunnen and Mürren, Switzerland
• What to See in Zurich in Two Days: A Complete Itinerary