In the heart of Switzerland: A week on the banks of Lake Lucerne

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Switzerland had long been a dream destination of mine. I first visited the country in the summer of 2020, but only very briefly and without going near the Swiss Alps. My mum and I chose Switzerland as our destination for our 2020 mother/daughter trip, but as you might’ve guessed, we were unable to go because of Covid. In fact, we tried to go three times throughout 2020 and 2021, but had to cancel all three trips due to bad Covid timing. Finally, in November 2022, our dream trip happened.

My mum chose our accommodation, and found us a nice airbnb in Vitznau overlooking Lake Lucerne. The lake is located in the central part of Switzerland and is the fourth largest lake in the country – and arguably the prettiest! It’s known for its unique shape with many bends and side arms, as well as for its gorgeous mountainous backdrops.

While we were out and about most days, we also spent a few relaxing days around the lake. We split our first day between the village of Weggis and the medieval city of Lucerne, the latter of which is the most popular destination on the lakefront.

Weggis is a cute little picturesque village with a gorgeous view of the lake and surrounding snow-capped mountains. We spent a while wandering about its streets and shopping in its little craft shops and bakeries with delicious breads and Swiss chocolates.

Then the time had come for Lucerne, the cultural and commercial centre of central Switzerland. During our week in the country, we explored four cities (Lugano, Zürich and Bern besides Lucerne), and Lucerne was my favourite of the four. I enjoyed its cobbled streets and small-town feel, and especially loved the beautiful views found throughout the city!

We spent a few hours wandering around Lucerne, and explored most of the main sights. We walked along the historic Kapellbrücke and Spreuerbrücke, two of the world’s oldest covered wooden footbridges, originating in the early 15th century. We explored the old town and marvelled at the murals that cover many of its old buildings. We strolled along the Museggmauer, the city’s preserved medieval walls and towers, and enjoyed a gorgeous view over the city. We visited Jesuitenkirche, a beautifully decorated baroque church from the late 17th century. Lastly, we strolled along the river Reuss and enjoyed stunning views of the old town on the other side of the river.

After a few days out and about, we decided to spend another day by the lake, this time exploring our own little village, Vitznau.

We walked along the side of the road that hugs the lake until we reached the centre of the village but found it too busy to go the same way home. After exploring the village which is home to just 1300 people, we followed a road that took us high above, and continued along a trail back to our airbnb. This turned out to be a wonderful route, not least because we met a cute cat on the way, but also because the views were breathtaking. The trail took us through an autumnal forest, and Vitznau and the calm lake came into full view. The snow-capped mountains beyond completed the fairytale image.

It wasn’t long after we got home that we set out again, this time on a little roadtrip up a very steep road to Gätterli Pass. I had chosen this spot randomly as I wanted to get up high, and it looked like the highest point in the area that was reachable by car. We got up there just in time for golden hour, but decided to head down before sunset as the road was quite dodgy. It wouldn’t have been fun in the dark!

The spot was absolutely gorgeous and well-worth the drive, especially to beat the overly expensive cable car and cogwheel train prices that offer the only other ways of getting up into the mountains in this part of Switzerland.

Back down by the lakefront, we drove to the village of Gersau and watched the last moments of the sunset with the mountains reflecting in the lake!

A few days later, we spent another day by the lake. We decided to visit a town we’d passed by many times, always saying how cozy and beautiful it looks. That town was Brunnen, a resort town with one of the prettiest views over the lake.

We arrived just in time for the shops to close for lunch so we didn’t hang around a lot before setting off again. I’d struggled to find a good place to hike without paying the excruciatingly high prices for cable cars in the region, so without a better option, we opted for the Seelisberg peninsula which we could see across from us, on the other side of the lake from Brunnen. The drive there was surprisingly long despite its short aerial distance from Brunnen, but we were awarded with more beautiful views as we headed up on the hilly peninsula towards the town of Seelisberg. We didn’t stop, but continued on the main road that – to our great surprise – suddenly started going downhill, eventually ending at the little marina of Treib, a cozy and very quiet place.

Back up again, we parked the car near the town of Seelisberg and set off on a short hike through the a scenic forest with autumnal colours and nice viewpoints of the lake. However, we both agreed that “our” side of the lake had much prettier views!

We headed back to Brunnen to visit the shops, and found a few Christmas gifts and enjoyed some ice cream before walking down to the shore to watch the most beautiful sunset we saw while in Switzerland. A great way to end the day and our explorations of the region around Lake Lucerne!

While Vitznau and Lake Lucerne served as a gorgeous base during our week in Switzerland, we explored so many incredible places in this beautiful country. Stay tuned for more stories from the Italian part of Switzerland, from villages high up in the Alps, from the quaint capital city, and so much more!