- Summits
- Mount Pilatus
Lucerne · 2,132 mMount Pilatus
A mountain that begins in the middle of a city. Up on the world’s steepest cogwheel railway, down by aerial cableway and gondola, Lake Lucerne in between. Here is what the Golden Round Trip costs in 2026, why a rail pass halves the price – and when to stay down.
with Half Fare Card, GA or Swiss Travel Pass CHF 42 · children 6–15: CHF 42 · round trips from 119.80
- Lucerne boat
- Alpnachstad cogwheel
- Kulm 2,132 m
- Kriens cable car
- Lucerne bus
- Cogwheel railway
- 11 May – 29 Nov
- First ascent
- 8:10
- Departures
- every 35 min
- Cable cars
- all year*
Fares checked on 22 September 2026 · Source: Pilatus-Bahnen AG price list 2026 · *maintenance closure 19 Oct – 27 Nov 2026 · Photo: Maria Feofilova, CC BY-SA 4.0
Three tips before you go
Reserve a seat.
The cogwheel cars hold 46 people each and leave every 35 minutes. The operator itself recommends a seat reservation in fine weather – without one you queue in Alpnachstad on a sunny day while the boat has long gone.
Do the sums with your pass, not the list price.
Half Fare Card, GA and Swiss Travel Pass halve the mountain railways to CHF 42. With the Swiss Travel Pass the boat and bus are free on top – the Golden Round Trip then costs 42 instead of 119.80.
In winter only Kriens works.
In 2026 the cogwheel railway runs from 11 May to 29 November and the boat to Alpnachstad until 18 October. From December to April the cable-car side from Kriens is what remains – CHF 60 instead of 84, but no round trip.
The red dot in the wall.The Eselwand just below Pilatus Kulm. Trains have run here since 1889 – with horizontal cogwheels so they cannot climb out of the rack at 48 percent.
Where are you starting from?
Pilatus has two valley stations and three railways. What you pay, and whether you get a round trip at all, comes down to where you set off.
Golden Round Trip: boat out, cable car back – or the other way round
The boat to Alpnachstad leaves from pier 2, opposite Lucerne railway station. From the landing stage to the cogwheel railway is one railway underpass. You come back via Kriens, where VBL bus 1 takes you into town – it is included in the ticket. The Silver Round Trip swaps the boat for the Zentralbahn train, twenty minutes along the lakeshore, and costs CHF 94.20.
- Golden, 2nd class
- 119.80 CHF
- Silver, 2nd class
- 94.20 CHF
- with Swiss Travel Pass
- 42 CHF
Honestly: First class exists only on the boat (upper deck) and on the train – the mountain railways have no classes. A CHF 17 supplement for one deck higher is worth it only if you see the crossing as part of the day, not as a transfer.
All year: gondola and Dragon Ride from Kriens
Kriens is a suburb of Lucerne; the valley station is five to ten minutes’ walk from the bus stop “Kriens, Zentrum/Pilatus”. From here you float up in four-seater gondolas to Fräkmüntegg and on by aerial cableway to the summit. At Krienseregg and Fräkmüntegg you may get off and carry on later.
- Return, summer
- 84 CHF
- Winter, Dec–Apr
- 60 CHF
- Half fare / child
- 42 / 30 CHF
Kriens: Mt. Pilatus by Panoramic Gondola and Aerial Cableway
Honestly: The “from” price matches the winter fare of CHF 60. From May to November the operator charges CHF 84 – check which price applies to your date before you book. You cannot save with this offer, only pay in advance.
By car or train straight to the cogwheel railway
Alpnachstad is on the Zentralbahn line, twenty minutes from Lucerne; a railway underpass links the landing stage and the cogwheel station. If you come by car you go up and down from here – or combine: up by cogwheel, down via Kriens, for the same price. Then, of course, you still have to get back to the car.
- Alpnachstad – Kulm – Alpnachstad
- 84 CHF
- one way
- 42 CHF
- dog, return
- 14 CHF
Honestly: The cogwheel railway only runs from mid-May to the end of November. None of the three railways carries bicycles – if you are cycling round the lake, the bike stays down here.
From Zurich: Lucerne & Mount Pilatus Day Tour
Honestly: On your own the same day costs a good deal less: Zurich – Lucerne by SBB train and the Golden Round Trip for CHF 119.80. The tour is worth it if you don’t want to plan a single connection – and not if you hold a Swiss Travel Pass, because then most of it is already paid for.
What Pilatus costs
The list price is only half the story. Anyone holding a Swiss rail pass pays CHF 42 for the mountain railways – whichever route.
| Ticket | Full | Half Fare | Travel Pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up and down Kriens or Alpnachstad, May–Nov | 84.00 | 42.00 | 42.00 |
| Up and down from Kriens, Dec–Apr | 60.00 | 30.00 | 30.00 |
| One way Kriens or Alpnachstad – Kulm | 42.00 | 21.00 | 21.00 |
| Golden Round Trip boat 2nd class + bus, May–Oct | 119.80 | 59.90 | 42.00 |
| Golden Round Trip boat 1st class | 136.80 | 68.40 | 42.00 |
| Silver Round Trip train 2nd class + bus, May–Nov | 94.20 | 47.10 | 42.00 |
| Interrail / Eurail Golden / Silver Round Trip | 60.90 / 45.40 | ||
| Fräkmüntegg – Kulm – Fräkmüntegg Dragon Ride only | 38.00 | 19.00 | – |
Rule of thumb: with a Swiss Travel Pass every route costs CHF 42, because boat, train and bus are free anyway. With a Half Fare Card the Golden Round Trip at 59.90 is only CHF 17.90 more than the plain mountain ride – a fair price for boat and bus. Without a pass the gap is CHF 35.80.
Honestly: Municipal day passes, SBB Supersaver tickets and promotional day passes are not valid on Pilatus. Groups of ten or more get 30 percent, but only on the day at the desk. The operator shows the cogwheel seat-reservation fee only inside its online shop – so we don’t quote it.
Book ahead?
Round-trip tickets are sold in the operator’s online shop and by resellers. Two routes that do not exceed the operator’s price:
“My other trips are already on GetYourGuide.”From Lucerne: Mt. Pilatus Gondola, Cable Car, and Boat Trip
Honestly: The euro price roughly matches the operator’s CHF 119.80 but moves with the exchange rate. There is nothing to save here – and the cogwheel seat reservation is not included in either offer. If you hold a Swiss Travel Pass, buy the CHF 42 ticket directly from the operator instead.
First the lake. Then the mountain.The boat leaves opposite the railway station. In Alpnachstad the cogwheel railway waits beyond the underpass.
48 percent. Since 1889.
The Pilatus Railway is, according to its operator, the steepest cogwheel railway in the world. On a gradient like that an ordinary cogwheel would climb out of the rack – so Eduard Locher had two cogwheels turn horizontally, gripping a central rack from both sides. The system exists only here.
Since 2023 new Stadler railcars have run the line, 46 seats each, 27 minutes uphill via the Ämsigen stop and along the Eselwand. Downhill takes 33 minutes because the train is held to 9 km/h on the steepest stretch. The view begins after the first bend.
- 4,618 mAlpnachstad – Pilatus Kulm
- 1,635 mheight difference
- 48 %maximum gradient, 38 % average
- 1889opened with steam, electric since 1937
- 27 minuphill, 33 down
Arrived.Mountain restaurants, a hotel and the ridge where all the railways meet – with easy and alpine trails across the massif.
This is what you go up for.
The operator promises 360 degrees. In clear air that is true: Lake Lucerne beneath you, the city on its shore, the Alps all round. The rest is down to the weather.
← Drag the picture · the view is wider than your screen →Photo: Christian Hoffmann, CC BY-SA 3.0
Is it worth it tomorrow?
The same ridge, photographed twice. At 84 to 120 francs the question is not a side issue.
Tobi 87, CC BY-SA 3.0Go up if …
- the summit is clear. Then the whole lake with all its arms lies beneath you – the view the railway was built for.
- there is fog in the valley and the summit webcam shows sun. In autumn that is the best day of the year: a sea of fog below, Alps all round.
- you have a pass. For CHF 42 even a half-clear day is a good deal.
Gdmolena, CC BY-SA 4.0Stay down if …
- the Kulm is in cloud. CHF 119.80 for grey is too much – the cogwheel railway is just as steep in fog, but no longer beautiful.
- you want the round trip and it is December. Without the cogwheel railway and the boat, only Kriens up and down remains.
- you turn up without a reservation on a sunny Saturday. Then the queue for the cogwheel railway, not the view, takes centre stage.
Before buying your ticket: check the live images and which lifts are open on the operator’s site ↗
Three and a half minutes in mid-air, then eighteen through the forest.
The “Dragon Ride” aerial cableway swings down 646 metres to Fräkmüntegg in 3 minutes 39 seconds – two cabins of 55 people, big panoramic windows, a single pylon. At Fräkmüntegg you change into the four-seater gondolas of the panorama gondola: 18 minutes through forest and over meadows to Kriens, looking out over the Lucerne basin.
Stopovers allowed. At Fräkmüntegg and Krienseregg you may get off and take a later gondola. In Kriens it is five to ten minutes on foot to bus 1 into Lucerne – included in the round-trip ticket.
Fog below. Sun above.The days when Lucerne is grey and the mountain is not – worth a look at the webcam before you buy the ticket.
If you have another day
From Lucerne: Classic Rigi Round Trip
Mount Titlis: Admission Ticket
Lucerne: Round-Trip Catamaran Cruise on Lake Lucerne
Honestly: Rigi and Titlis are days of their own, not add-ons to Pilatus. With a Swiss Travel Pass the Rigi is entirely free and Titlis half price – then you need none of these tickets. Pages on both are coming.
Where the figures come from
| Figure | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| All fares: up and down summer 84 / winter 60 CHF, Half Fare, GA, Swiss Travel Pass, Interrail/Eurail, Golden and Silver Round Trip 1st/2nd class, sections, groups 30 %, children, no bicycles | Pilatus-Bahnen AG, price list 2026 (PDF, German/English) | 22 Sep 2026 |
| Dog fare CHF 14, Lucerne Travel Pass, invalid day passes, intermediate stations, SBB Junior Card | Pilatus-Bahnen, fares and ticket FAQ (German) | 22 Sep 2026 |
| Golden Round Trip: itinerary, both directions, pier 2, underpass at Alpnachstad, VBL bus 1 included, 5–10 minutes’ walk in Kriens, classes only on the boat, Swiss Travel Pass, reservation advice | Pilatus-Bahnen, Golden Round Trip | 22 Sep 2026 |
| Silver Round Trip: Zentralbahn 20 minutes, classes only on the train | Pilatus-Bahnen, Silver Round Trip | 22 Sep 2026 |
| Cogwheel railway: 1889, 1937, 2023, 4,618 m, 1,635 m, 48 % / 38 %, 27 and 33 minutes, 9–15 km/h, 8 railcars of 46 seats, Locher system, Stadler, Ämsigen, Eselwand, “steepest cogwheel railway in the world”, 2,132 m | Pilatus-Bahnen, cogwheel railway | 22 Sep 2026 |
| Dragon Ride: 1,387.6 m, 646.6 m, 3 min 39 s, 2 cabins of 55 + 1, one pylon, all year except maintenance | Pilatus-Bahnen, Dragon Ride aerial cableway | 22 Sep 2026 |
| Panorama gondola: 899 m, 18 minutes, 132 cabins of 4, Kriens – Krienseregg – Fräkmüntegg | Pilatus-Bahnen, panorama gondola | 22 Sep 2026 |
| Season 2026: cogwheel 11 May – 29 Nov, boat until 18 Oct, cable-car maintenance 30/31 Mar and 19 Oct – 27 Nov, 35-minute interval, first ascent 8:10 (until 24 Oct) or 8:45, Kriens operating hours | Pilatus-Bahnen, timetable | 22 Sep 2026 |
| Offer prices, durations and reviews | GetYourGuide partner data | 22 Sep 2026 |
Calculated, not documented: the altitudes of Alpnachstad (497 m), Fräkmüntegg (1,485 m) and Kriens (586 m) follow from the height differences of the three railways and the summit altitude of 2,132 m; the operator does not state them directly. Not quoted: the seat-reservation fee (visible only in the online shop).
Image credits
- Title image, Pilatus Railway: Maria Feofilova, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Eselwand: Herbert Ortner, CC BY 4.0
- Paddle steamer Schiller: Leiju, CC BY 3.0
- Summit from above, Dragon Ride, gondola: Mboesch, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Panorama: Christian Hoffmann, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Clear view from the Esel: Tobi 87, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Railway in fog: Gdmolena, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sea of fog: JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Rigi Kulm in winter: Gestumblindi, CC BY 3.0
- Ice Flyer on Titlis: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
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