Discover Lucerne and its charming Old Town on a full-day tour from Zurich. With a guide, embark on a short sightseeing tour of Lucerne and then spend some free time exploring independently. Admire popular attractions like Chapel Bridge and Lion Monument, and browse the artistic exhibits within the Picasso Museum.

Full-day city tour of Lucerne from Zurich
Zurich day trip includes a drive over Albis Pass
See Lucerne's top attractions like the Lion Monument and Chapel Bridge
Free time to explore on your own; visit the Picasso Museum or take a boat ride

What's Included

Partly guided tour by professional multilingual guide
Transportation in comfortable coach with AC
Carbon-balanced operations certified by myclimate

Gratuities
Food and drinks
Hotel pick-up and drop off
Personal expenses

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Best of Switzerland Tours AG
Sihlquai Coach Parking, Limmatstrasse 4, 8005 Zürich, Switzerland
The official departure point for all tours departing from Zurich is Sihlquai Coach Terminal, close to Zurich’s main train station (Zürich HB). Please check in at least 15 minutes prior to departure at the white ticket office marked with “Best of Switzerland Tours” or “City Tours & Excursions”.

Start time

09:30 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Depart from a centrally-located pickup point in Zurich and relax during the scenic journey to Lucerne by air-conditioned minivan. Get acquainted with the city’s rich history on a short sightseeing tour and visit monuments like Chapel Bridge and the new Concert and Congress Hall. See, too, the Lion Monument before exploring the rest of the day independently.

Receive recommendations from your guide and customize your itinerary according to your interests. Stroll through the streets of Lucerne’s Old Town and check out museums like the Picasso and Transport Museum to discover more of Lucerne’s culture and history.

In summer, ride the new City Train for an alternative perspective of Lucerne. After thorough exploration, reconvene with your group and guide and relax during the journey back to Zurich, where the tour concludes.

Zurich (Pass By)

Lake Lucerne

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Old Town Lucerne

6 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Lucerne (Pass By)

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
The tour is accompanied from Zurich to Lucerne and from Lucerne to Zurich. For the individual stay in Lucerne, a written itinerary is provided.
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed

Near public transportation
Infant seats available
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Please note that some shops in Lucerne are closed on Sundays.
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.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Tammy_M

Lucerne is an absolutely beautiful city! The views of the water and mountains were amazing. The town is so quaint with lots of shopping and restaurants along the water. The tour guide spoke during the ride there giving us interesting information about Switzerland. Then we had lots of free time to explore the city on our own. My teen daughter and I had a great time. I highly recommend this tour!

Reviews

4.0

134 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 134 reviews

Amazing tour!

Tammy_M, Aug 2023

Beautiful and heavenly scenery

docklowdoves, Aug 2023

Beautiful day trip. The lake boat trip was very relaxing however nothing major to see so for those who do not wish to spend the extra I would say you are not missing too much. The day can be easily spent walking around this lovely town and seeing the other points if interest.

Lucerne July 2023

Patricia_R, Jul 2023

I need a refund. I was put out of the bus in Lucerne and left to wonder around by myself for 6 hours.. I thought I was getting a guided tour.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Dear Patricia, Thank you very much for your feedback about our partly guided tour to Lucerne. The tour description in Viator clearly states that this is not a fully guided tour. Meaning, our guests are accompanied by the tour guide from Zurich to Lucerne and return in the evening. This tour is designed for guests who are interested in exploring the city of Lucerne at their own pace. The 6 hours of free time are ideal to discover the old town, embark on a boat ride, visit the Swiss Museum of Transport and much more! We regret that the information of the tour went unnoticed and thus your expectations were not met. Please understand that we cannot offer any refund as the services included in the tour rate were used. We thank you for your understanding hope that you still enjoyed a nice stay in Switzerland. Kind regards Ambika from Best of Switzerland Tours

Just a transportation

Patty_B, Jul 2023

The bus was old and dirty. It had a weird smell. This tour is just transport from Zurich to Lucerne so it this is what you are looking for then this will work

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Dear Patty_B, Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on your Lucerne day tour experience. We are surprised to hear that the bus was old, dirty, and with a weird smell as our bus partner is committed to strive high-quality standards. For example, to avoid bad smells or dirtiness, food and drinks are not allowed in the bus and every day the drivers check and clean the bus before the tour starts. As officially stated in the tour description in Viator, our guests are accompanied by the tour guide from Zurich to Lucerne and in the evening from Lucerne back to Zurich. The available time in Lucerne of approx. 6 hours is unguided since it is designed for our guests to explore the city at their own pace. Nevertheless, all our guests receive a comprehensive information booklet at check-in with recommendations of sights and activities and upgrade options. As any other destination in Switzerland, Lucerne can be visited individually by train. While a return ticket to Lucerne would cost CHF 50, our tour is only CHF 9 more expensive. We believe this is a very considerable price as our guests have a tour guide explaining the history and culture of our country and sharing personal anecdotes. This is the main reason why our guests opt to join a guided tour instead of an individual visit. Again we are very sorry to hear that your trip did not live up to your expectations and hope that you were still able to enjoy a great stay in Switzerland. Best regards, Magdalena from Best of Switzerland Tours

Excellent

Naima_Q, Jun 2023

Fatima was very friendly and easy to talk too. Had a great time! Very punctual and organized tour. Thank you

Rip off

Patricia_G, May 2023

Very expensive for what was provided. Just a simple bus ride to Lucerne city and back was not the deal. We were expecting much more out of the trip. It's a rip off. I bought 4 tickets for $67 just for a ride, could have used train or simple bus for far cheaper price. Not worth it.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Dear Patricia, Thank you very much for joining our partly guided tour to Lucerne and rating your experience with us. As officially stated in the tour description in Viator, our guests are accompanied by the tour guide from Zurich to Lucerne and in the evening from Lucerne back to Zurich. The available time in Lucerne of approx. 6 hours is unguided since it it designed for our guests to explore the city at their own pace. Nevertheless, all our guests receive a comprehensive information booklet at check-in with recommendations of sights and activities and upgrade options. As with any other destination in Switzerland, Lucerne can be visited individually by train. While a return ticket to Lucerne would cost CHF 50, our tour is only CHF 9 more expensive. We believe this is a very considerable price as our guests have a tour guide explaining the history and culture of our country and sharing personal anecdotes. This is the main reason why our guests opt to join a guided tour instead of an individual visit. We are very sorry to hear that you felt our tour was not worth your money but hope that you keep beautiful memories from your stay in Switzerland. Kind regards, Ambika from Best of Switzerland Tours

Great bus trip, friendly guide

Penelope_G, May 2023

Enjoyed the commentary by Fatima and the journey down to Lucerne. Six hours was a little long in Lucerne but we saw many of the local highlights and also enjoyed a boat cruise on the lake. Very expensive for food and we had to pay 1.5CH each to use public toilets!

This tour is a must...

Wafa_M, May 2023

This tour is a must because its one of the prettiest towns near Zurich, and the nice thing is they give you plenty of time to do so much. You can go to the top of the mountain which I highly recommend, you can do the lake cruise, go visit that Fancy resort, or go shop in old Town. The bus ran late coming to get us unfortunately due to traffic but highly recommend.

Lucerne

Erik_H, Mar 2023

Loved this town. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and the tour allows for more than enough time to see this beautiful town, take lots of pictures and enjoy good food.

Waste of money, utter rip-off

Edy_S, Dec 2022

Incredibly misleading. The 'partially guided day trip' was simply the bus driver giving a little bit of commentary on the way out, and then just dumping us in Lucerne to find out own way and do our own thing for six hours. The brochure claimed that the art gallery was free, do we headed there, only to be told we had to pay 15 Francs each to enter. Booking the day trip was pointless, and we may as well have just got public transport out that way and go off our own bat.

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Dear Edy, Thank you very much for joining our partly guided tour to Lucerne and taking the time to share your experience with us. We are very sorry to hear that the tour didn’t meet your expectations and that the information you had in the brochure was not correct. As we communicate in Viator, this is a partly guided tour where our guests will be accompanied by a multilingual guide from Zurich to Lucerne, and return. Once guests arrive in Lucerne, they enjoy approx. 6 hours of leisure time to explore the beautiful city and visit the different attractions. While it is true that guests can go by themselves to Lucerne by train, the service we provide with a tour guide is an asset highly appreciated by our guests. They opt for a partly guided tour to learn more about our history and culture and see landscapes that are not possible by train. Furthermore, the return ticket by train to Lucerne costs CHF 50, whereas our tour provides a tour guide additionally for only CHF 9 more. Our guests obtain a leaflet at check-in time with recommendations to make the best out of their stay in Lucerne. The Rosengart Collection Lucerne is indeed one of them, but it states that admission costs are CHF 16 per adult. We are sorry if the leaflet mentioned it was free and kindly ask you to email us a picture to info@switzerland-tours.ch so that we can adapt the information accordingly. Hopefully, the views and visited sites have partly made up for the inconvenience and you will keep a good memory of your visit in Switzerland. Best regards, Ambika from Best of Switzerland Tours

Nothing but a ride

Paul_P, Oct 2022

Essentially, this was just a bus ride to Luzern. The impression was that there would be a short guided tour, but we were completely on our own. One needs to compare the cost to a daily car rental. We did have a lovely day in Luzern.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Dear Paul, Thank you very much for joining our partly guided tour to Lucerne and for sharing your experience with us. As officially stated in our programme, the tour is accompanied by a professional multilingual guide from Zurich to Lucerne and back to Zurich in the evening. In between, our guests discover the city at their own pace with the help of a comprehensive information booklet including recommendations of sights and activities provided. While Lucerne can also be visited individually by train (CHF 50.- per adult), many guests appreciate the historical information and the personal anecdotes provided en route by our tour guides. We are sorry to hear that the tour did not meet your expectations and hope that you will keep your visit to Lucerne in fond memory! Best regards, Amanda from Best of Switzerland Tours

Left Abandoned on the Sidewalk in Lucerne by Tour Leader

Newart01, Oct 2022

We had less than 45 minutes in Lucerne, unguided, which is not enough. My friend and I got lost trying to find where the bus had parked, after our very quick walk thru Lucerne. We were 5 minutes late in getting to the bus, and it left without us. We were stranded in Lucerne on a rainy Sunday. We finally found an Uber to take us to Mt. Pilatus, where we arrived 1 hour late. The tour guide said that he thought eveyone was on the bus when the bus left. He said that there were (3) separate tour groups with (3) different destinations on the same bus, and he got confused about who was where. No reimbursement for our Uber ride = CHF 38.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Dear Newart, Thank you very much for joining our tour to Lucerne and Mount Pilatus and for sharing your experience. We are sorry to hear that you missed the onward journey from Lucerne to Pilatus and had to take a taxi to the cable car station in Kriens. Depending on traffic conditions, we include a stop of 45-60 minutes in Lucerne, during which our guests can explore the Old Town of Lucerne individually with a map provided. Before every departure, our guides are instructed to do a headcount and to report any missing guests to our office. We always try to call missing customers on the phone number provided to find out about their whereabouts. If necessary, we can hold the bus for 5 minutes after the scheduled departure time, but all guests that arrive later will have to make their own arrangements for the onward journey. We very much regret to hear that your tour guide was not aware of your party going missing. Unfortunately, we were not able to find any booking under your name, so we would kindly ask you to reach out to us at info@switzerland-tours.ch with the details of your tour to evaluate a possible refund. We look forward to hearing from you soon and are always happy to help in case of any questions or doubts. Best regards, Amanda from Best of Switzerland Tours

A beautiful day in Lucerne

Anita_M, Aug 2022

Conrad was a wonderful guide with a great sense of humor. Lucerne was beautiful. We walked through the covered bridge, took a beautiful lake cruise, and enjoyed good food and a yodeling concert!

Great Tour of Lucerne district

Nila_C, Jul 2022

It was a great day and we saw so much. Trudy the tour guide was the best! Would definitely recommend this tour!

Lucerne Day trip

Angela_D, Jun 2022

While we absolutely loved getting to visit Lucerne and would go back for a visit in a heartbeat I honestly think you should just take the train over yourself and not even bother with going with this tour. We were happy to get to have 6 hours to ourselves getting to do whatever we wanted through the city, that is why we booked the tour but all it really was, was transportation. What really disgusted us with the trip was when we arrived at the meeting point before we were sent off from the “tour guides” we asked MULTIPLE times if we would meet at this point so we could pin the location on our phones for an easy way to get back when it was time to leave. We arrived 15 minutes early and the only person to show up was the one other person in our group. (This tour bus had about 4 different tours going on) we waited together and nobody showed up when all of a sudden we saw our bus fly past and go way up the street a far walk from where we were told to meet. When we looked up the street all of the guides and all of the other people on the other tours were waiting to get on the bus. So to sum it up they told us the wrong meeting point or just never bothered to let us know that it was maybe changed and the guides did not care one bit if we were left behind. Again. We wanted time to explore and got that, but could have easily just taken a train for ourselves.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Dear Angela, Thank you very much for participating in our day trip to Lucerne and for taking the time to share your experience! While Lucerne can certainly also be visited individually by train from Zurich (from CHF 50.- per adult), the historical information and personal anecdotes shared by our tour guides are the main reason why guests opt for a guided tour rather than an individual visit. We are sorry to hear that you had difficulties finding your way back to the meeting point at Frankenstrasse 2-4. Like all other guests on your tour, you had been provided with a brochure including a detailed map of the meeting point as well as an emergency number to call in case you need any assistance. Please rest assured that our tour guides are instructed to report all missing guests to our office, from where we call the guests to find out about their whereabouts before authorizing the departure of the bus. If guests are running late more than 10 minutes, we assist them to return to Zurich by public transport, but anyone that is close by will still make it to the bus and will not be left behind. We hope that you will still keep your visit to Lucerne in fond memory and hope that you will give us a second chance to convince you of the quality of our tours during your next visit to Switzerland! Best regards, Amanda from Best of Switzerland Tours

Day with daughters

gina_b, May 2022

Had a wonderful time!! Many beautiful views, town was so charming!! I would maybe add on paper for meeting place McDonald’s is on the Corner. Great day.

Lucerne Day trip was fantastic

Debra_L, Mar 2022

Much to our surprise we actually had a tour guide in Lucerne even though the description said we would be on our own. Our guide (Ralph) was extremely knowledgeable and walked us smartly to all the highlights - he gave us time to have lunch on our own and free time after he had pointed out all the highlights. He made it an absolutely delightful day.

Well worth it!

Elizabeth_B, Oct 2021

We loved the guides insights and information shared during the ride to Lucerne. We loved the drive up to Lucerne through the countryside! Fernando was delightful and interesting!

Perfect trip to explore Lucerne

Tanumita_D, Oct 2021

Awesome trip. The best part was that it was a partly guided tour, just what we wanted. We could explore Lucerne at our own pace and utilized all the 6 hours of the trip. Google map did help a lot to direct us to the various spots we wanted to visit in Lucerne including the Chapel Bridge, Jesuit Church and Lion Monument. Perfectly timed trip.

Good transport to Lucerne

Nancy_R, Oct 2021

Pleasant way to get from Zurich to Lucerne, taking the scenic route (freeway route back). Not really much of a tour of Lucerne as we were the only ones staying there for the day while the rest of the travelers on the coach went on to Mt Titlus etc, but we were prepared to guide ourselves with our Rick Steves book.

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Dear Nancy, Thank you very much for participating in our tour to Lucerne and for taking the time to submit your review. As officially stated in our programme, our tour is accompanied by a professional multilingual guide from Zurich to Lucerne and back to Zurich in the evening. In between, the guests discover the city at their own pace with the help of a comprehensive information booklet with upgrade options as well as recommendations of sights and activities. We hope that you enjoyed your stay in Switzerland and look forward to welcoming you back on our tours soon! Best regards, Amanda from Best of Switzerland Tours

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