Lucerne · Queen of the MountainsLucerne to Mount Rigi: boat, cogwheel train, cable car

Three ways up Rigi, one of them straight from the pier

Rigi lies between Lake Lucerne and Lake Zug; its highest point is Rigi Kulm at 1,797 m. Four railways of Rigi Bahnen AG go up: the cogwheel railway from Vitznau, the cogwheel railway from Arth-Goldau, the Weggis – Rigi Kaltbad cable car and the Kräbel – Rigi Scheidegg cable car. From Lucerne the first three matter. Vitznau and Weggis are reached by boat, Arth-Goldau by train.

The day pass also costs CHF 84 and is valid for any number of rides on all four railways in one day – so for the round trip up via Vitznau and down via Weggis, at no extra charge. A single route there and back costs the same. There is no reason to buy anything other than the day pass.

Rule of thumb: With a Swiss Travel Pass, Swiss Travel Pass Flex, GA or Lucerne Travel Pass you ride all Rigi railways free, no ticket needed. The pass covers the boat too. A day on Rigi then costs you nothing – on Pilatus it would be CHF 42.

Children up to and including 15 travel free with an adult, Half Fare Card and Interrail pay CHF 42, dogs ride free. The railways run 365 days a year; the Weggis cable car closes for maintenance in 2026 only from 16 to 20 and 23 to 27 November.

Timetable: boat from Lucerne, train from Vitznau

The boat to Weggis and Vitznau leaves from pier 1 in front of Lucerne station, hourly at twelve past. It reaches Weggis after 41 minutes and Vitznau after 57. In Vitznau the cogwheel railway's valley station is 50 metres from the pier, and the train leaves at quarter past – six minutes after the boat. In the autumn timetable to 18 October a day looks like this:

Going down, the cogwheel train leaves Rigi Kulm on the hour and is in Vitznau at 40 past; the boat to Lucerne leaves at 49 past and is in town at 47 past. The last descent with a boat connection leaves Kulm at 17:00: boat 17:49 from Vitznau, 18:47 in Lucerne. The 18:20 train from Kulm reaches Vitznau at 19:00 – after that the autumn timetable shows only one late boat at 20:26, otherwise it is bus 502 or 508 to Küssnacht or Brunnen.

Rule of thumb: Boat at 09:12, Kulm at 10:47, two to three hours at the top, then back via Kaltbad and Weggis. If you want the cogwheel train both ways, take the 15:00 or 16:00 from Kulm and you are in Lucerne at 16:47 or 17:47.

The round trip: up via Vitznau, down via Weggis

Returning via Weggis turns the ascent into a round trip. From Rigi Kulm the cogwheel train runs to Rigi Kaltbad-First in 15 minutes; from there the cable car floats down to Weggis in ten, every 30 minutes until 19:10. From the cable car it is ten to fifteen minutes on foot to the boat, which leaves for Lucerne at five past and takes 42 minutes. The day pass covers both railways, the Swiss Travel Pass covers everything.

Kulm – Kaltbad

15 min

Cable car Kaltbad – Weggis

10 min

Walk to the boat

10–15 min

Boat Weggis – Lucerne

42 min

Last cable car

19:10

If you would rather book the round trip than assemble it: it exists as one ticket, with boat, train and cable car. The operator calls it the Royal Round Trip.

Honestly: This is the round trip with boat, converted and marked up. Without a pass or Half Fare Card it is convenient; with a pass it is money thrown away, because then the whole day costs nothing.

Honestly: Matches the operator's CHF 84 day pass, which you can also buy at the valley station or in the online shop. According to the operator, individual travellers do not need a reservation.

Up via Weggis: cable car and mineral baths

If you do the round trip the other way, take the boat to Weggis, 50 minutes, walk ten to fifteen minutes to the cable car and float up to Rigi Kaltbad in ten. From there the cogwheel train at 35 past takes you to the summit in twelve minutes. Rigi Kaltbad has the mineral baths with a view over the lake; the railway day pass does not cover admission, but the baths come as a combined ticket.

Honestly: With a pass you ride free and only buy the baths admission on the spot. The combined ticket pays off for people without a pass who want boat, railway and baths, all three, anyway.

Via Arth-Goldau: the train variant

Arth-Goldau is on the Gotthard line; the cogwheel railway's station adjoins the main station directly, and the train takes around 40 minutes to the summit. This is the way if you are coming from Zurich or do not want the boat. From Lucerne it is the detour: train to Arth-Goldau, up, down to Vitznau and home by boat – the day pass covers that too, and with the pass everything is free.

Rule of thumb: According to the timetable, passengers for Goldau change trains at Rigi Staffel, departing at 53 past. The two cogwheel railways are two lines sharing one summit station.

By car: car parks in Vitznau and Weggis

Vitznau has two multi-storey car parks, one on Seestrasse 100 metres from the valley station, one on Altdorfbachweg 250 metres away. In Weggis two open car parks sit right by the cable car. The rate is the same everywhere: up to 30 minutes free, up to 2 hours CHF 6, then CHF 1 more per hour up to CHF 13 for 8 to 24 hours. Approach via the A4, exit 36 Küssnacht, then the Seestrasse along the shore. No road leads up the mountain.

Honestly: By car you lose the boat and the round trip, because you have to get back to the car. Rigi is the mountain that starts best from the water.

Rigi or Pilatus?

Lucerne's two home mountains are not the same thing. Pilatus is higher, steeper and dearer: 2,132 m, the steepest cogwheel railway in the world, CHF 84 up and down and still CHF 42 with the Swiss Travel Pass. Rigi is lower, gentler and free with the pass; its cogwheel railway runs all year, the one on Pilatus only from May to November. If you travel in winter or with a pass, go up Rigi. If you want the gradient, go up Pilatus. The full comparison follows as its own page.