Spend an afternoon in the Swiss Alps during this seasonal trip to Mt Pilatus from Lucerne. Your 5.5-hour round-trip journey includes a 30-minute panoramic gondola ride from Kriens to Fräkmüntegg terminus plus an ascent by aerial cableway to the peak of Mt Pilatus. After free time at the summit, take the world's steepest cogwheel train down to Alpnachstad, where you’ll board a boat for a 1-hour scenic cruise on the tranquil waters of Lake Lucerne. Enjoy commentary from your guide and coach transport from Lucerne.

Take a panoramic gondola ride to the Fräkmüntegg terminus
Hop aboard the aerial cableway to the summit of Mt Pilatus at 7,000 feet (2,132 meters)
Descend from the summit via the world's steepest cogwheel train
Cruise out onto Lake Lucerne during a 1-hour boat ride (May to October)

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

If the weather doesn’t cooperate for a lake cruise, this Mt. Pilatus tour offers complimentary lunch instead.

What's Included

Panoramic gondola and aerial cableway Dragon Ride (except during maintenance)
Steepest cogwheel train in the world (from early May to early November)
Boat ride on Lake Lucerne (from 18 May - 22 Oct 2023)
Transportation in comfortable coach with AC
Fully guided tour by professional multilingual guide
Carbon-balanced operations certified by myclimate

Gratuities
Food and drinks, unless specified
Hotel pickup and drop off
Personal expenses

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Frankenstrasse 2
Frankenstrasse 2, 6003 Luzern, Switzerland
Our meeting point is located at Frankenstrasse 2-4, 6003 Lucerne, a side street next to the Lucerne train station. Please wait there on the sidewalk, your tour guide will pick you up.

Start time

12:30 PM

End point

Pier 3
Landungsbrücke 3, 6006 Luzern, Switzerland
The tour ends at the pier in Lucerne, only 7 minutes walking distance from the meeting point.

What To Expect

Climb aboard your coach in central Lucerne for an afternoon excursion to the top of Mt Pilatus, situated at a dizzying altitude of 7,000 feet. You’ll make the brief journey to Kriens where your guide accompanies you aboard the panoramic gondola for a 30-minute ride to the Fräkmüntegg summit terminus.

Look down upon forested views, then swap your gondola for the aerial cableway at Fräkmüntegg — it's a quick 3.5-minute ride to the summit. The cabin’s spacious and sleek design on this ‘Dragon Ride’ affords more magnificent views over the Alpine lakes and rugged peaks seen from your vantage point high above.

During your free time atop Mt Pilatus, you can venture on a high-altitude hike, grab lunch (own expense) or enjoy the vista from the terrace. Then meet up with your guide for the descent to Alpnachstad aboard the world's steepest cogwheel train. Ride past sheer rock faces and pretty mountain streams toward the fertile meadows below.

On arrival, enjoy a 1-hour boat ride across picturesque Lake Lucerne and view the scenery from a different angle before your tour concludes here in the evening.

Please note: The aerial cableway is under maintenance between late October and mid-November. In this case, you will ascend and descend Mt Pilatus by cogwheel train. The Lake Lucerne boat cruise operates from early May until late October; if you are traveling when the boat is no longer in operation, you will instead receive a complimentary lunch and return to Lucerne by train.

Lucerne (Pass By)

Pilatus Luzern

3 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 1 day of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
From October 23 to November 10: ascent and descent by cogwheel train, no boat ride but lunch voucher included
From November 11 to 19: Ascent by cable car, descent by cogwheel train, no boat ride but lunch voucher included
Boat ride available until October 22. From October 23 onwards a lunch voucher will be provided as compensation
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible

Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Infant seats available
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 48 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Finola_M

This was AMAZING ! Great tour wonderful guides would HIGHLY recommend! We were so lucky weather was fantastic our guide Isabel was very informative and. made our day most enjoyable.

Reviews

4.5

614 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 614 reviews

Wow!

Danny_D, Nov 2022

On-time at meeting point, nice ride to mountain, Gondola ride up is the best, and the cog-wheel train ride down was cool. The best sights of the region for the peak. Would go again

Our trip to Mt. Pilatus...

Mary_S, Nov 2022

Our trip to Mt. Pilatus was phenomenal The views were breathtaking, and our guide,Conrad, was exceptional. He kept us informed on everything we needed to know and gave us tips to make the most of our time on the mountain. I would recommend this excursion for everyone.

Fantastic Views - Highly Recommend

Linda_O, Nov 2022

This was a fun excursion with fantastic scenery. Restaurant food was delicious. We had ample time to enjoy the sites.

The views were...

daniel_u, Oct 2022

The views were spectacular ..the guide was very informative..the boat ride was great and the cog train was fun

Outstanding

Finola_M, Oct 2022

This was AMAZING ! Great tour wonderful guides would HIGHLY recommend! We were so lucky weather was fantastic our guide Isabel was very informative and. made our day most enjoyable.

Great Story!

KennethC_P, Oct 2022

Very good guide; enjoyed the cable car and cogwheel train rides, and great vistas when not too cloudy.

Don't hold back.

Lorraine_P, Oct 2022

Well worth the time and money. A once in a lifetime experience. The trip was just as advertised by Viator, the tickets came promptly after payment.

Excellent excursion

jh8c7rnngx, Oct 2022

Awesome experience that far exceeded our expectations and tour guide Lars was phenomenal. Good for someone 8 to 80.

Gorgeous views (but weather dependent)

Wendy_D, Oct 2022

A fantastic experience! Unfortunately, the weather was super cloudy for the first half of our trip so the visibility was really poor. Luckily the clouds moved away and we had the most spectacular views from the top of Pilatus! If the weather had not cleared up, it would have been a big disappointment. Our guide was friendly and informative.

Low visibility but still worth it

Kip_R, Oct 2022

The only reason I’m rating this 4 stars is because our personal experience was on a rainy day (we only had one day in Luzern) and we really couldn’t see anything at the top. That said, it’s worth a roll of the dice because the experience going up and down is really cool! Also, the boat ride afterward made up for everything. Our guide, Monica, was great! Recommend doing this if you’re in Lucern.

Great views from the top....

GaryNishikawa, Sep 2022

Great views from the top. The ride up by cable car and gondola and the ride down by train were spectacular. The boat back to Lucerne was relaxing.

Don’t let rain deter you

Liz_G, Sep 2022

Even in a steady drizzle the trip to Mt Pilatus was a great adventure. Four modes of transportation : cable car, gondola, cogwheel railroad and boat! My highlight was the Dragon Tunnel at the top. The entire experience was an engineering feat. Amazing views despite the clouds.

Awesome experience

Sam_Y, Sep 2022

Visiting the mountain snd Lake Luzern on the same excursion was very enjoyable. The guide was organized and knowledgeable.

A must do if in Lucern

Nestor_V, Sep 2022

Absolutely wonderful. Our guide Yolanda was very very helpful and was an excellent source of information and travel tips. Highly recommend this trip! A+++

Great tour

Denise_K, Sep 2022

The tour was wonderful. The trip up Mt Pilatus was scenic and fun. We spent 2 hours on the mountain and the trip down was equally scenic. The boat tour was also lovely. Highly recommend!

Amazing trip out second time in two months!

Linda_K, Sep 2022

Rolf was an amazing tour guide. Everything went great! He was there to answer any questions we had. We took our son in Aug and did same trip with sister in law yesterday.

Good trip to take while in Luzern

Thirumal_T, Sep 2022

With the weather it is always a touch and go, whether one will get to see Mount Pilatus or not. Our guide was very knowledgeable and made every effort to keep us on top/track of the tour

Amazing!!

Gary_G, Sep 2022

Amazing!! Breathtaking views. Worth the time to enjoy. Loved cogwheel car down. Tour guide was great.

Lovely afternoon!!

Richard_M, Sep 2022

Nice mix of gondola ride to mountain, panoramic view from the mountain, cogwheel ride and Lake Lucerne boat ride. Well organized by our attentive guide Robert. Made for a beautiful afternoon.

My Pilates exceeded our expectations

Mariana_A, Aug 2022

Our guide, Rita, was so informative. And interesting! The gondolas, cable car, cogwheel train and boat ride on Lake Lucerne were highlights of our trip. You cannot capture the beauty in pictures. It was stunning! Highly recommend this tour.

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