Vitznau Travel Guide

 
by sandysmith
  •   Vitznau
    by sandysmith
  •   Vitznau
    by sandysmith
  •   Vitznau
    by sandysmith
  • boat at Vitznau landing stage
      boat at Vitznau landing stage
    by sandysmith
  •   Vitznau
    by sandysmith

Explore Vitznau

Things to Do  

Kurpark

Kurpark, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  Walking along from the boat station, towards the Park hotel you come to the Kurpark, a small peaceful park on the lake shore. Lovely views and a tea house just above make it an idyllic place to linger and chill out, watching the boats come and go. I was fascinated with the... 

Town Walk

Town Walk, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  The tourist board (just by top steps of Rigi Station) has produced a handy leaflet of a circular walk around Vitznau giving info on the local buildings plus either end of the walk leads up through forest paths to the high path above the village giving lovely views over the... 

Rigi Hiking

Rigi Hiking, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  There are umpteen hiking options on the Rigi - just get a map and follow any number of the well marked paths. An easy option is to hike down from the summit station - Rigi Kulm to Rigi Kaltbad - a mountain village in its own right with shops and another hotel with an... 

RigiBahn Trip

RigiBahn Trip, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  The ride most people arrive at Vitznau for is for the mountain train ride up to the Rigi Kulm - the boats arriving at the landing stage are timed to perfection to co-incide with the train ride. On Sundays throughout the summer there is a special nostalgic steam train making... 

Waterfall and Fortress

Waterfall and Fortress, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  On part of the Vitznau circular town walk it heads up to the Muhlebach Waterfall, flowing over the Nagelfluhsteon and forming the backdrop of this village. By the waterfall is a swiss flag on the rock. This denotes the Vitznau Artillery Fortress which has umpteen tunnels... 

Vitznau Harbour

Vitznau Harbour, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  Just before the deluxe Park Hotel (see hotel tip) is a small harbour (not to be confused with the boat station for the navigation on LAke Lucerne service. A pretty little place to admire the views across the lake and colourful with the flowers and small coloured boats. Oh... 

Evangelical Church

Evangelical Church, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  The increasing population and visitors to Vitznau created the neeed for an evangelical church - the first in the Lucerne area in a dominantly catholic country of Switzerland. Its a vey pretty building with its rustic stonework and steps up to it. The catholic parish church... 

Vitznau Museum

Vitznau Museum, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  The Rigi Bahn - Europe's first mountain railway had a huge influence on the village of Vitznau as visitors flocked here to ascend the hills by the steep cog wheel railway and the village grew according in popularity and population.Today the old school house houses a small... 

Rigi Kulm

Rigi Kulm, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  Just a few metres up from the top Rigi station to the actual summit of the Rigi - Rigi kulm. Here a wonderful 360degree panorama can be enjoyed, impossible to do it justice with a few pictures. A whole range of mountains can be seen, including Titlis and my favoured Bernese... 

Historical Boat House and Tells Workshop

Historical Boat House and Tells Workshop, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  The boat house at the landing stage of Vitznau is an historical building and at the side of it is a replica of Tells workshop - of the longbow fame. At certain weekends demonstrations of the construction of the crossbow, using 20 different skills that a craftsman mastered in... 

Hotels  

Hotel FloraAlpina

 13 Opinions

Restaurants  

Hotel Rigi: Hotel Rigi
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3.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

sandysmith 5725 reviews

As well as hotel the Rigi Hotel's restaurant is also open to non-residents and there is a varied and excellent menu. Elizabeth and Remo joined us for dinner here on our last night.

Favorite Dish: I enjoyed Wild Duck in a port sauce, Dave had non-wild duck in blackberry sauce both with Rosti. I had strudel for desert but Remo's carrott cake was huge and looked equally delicious.

Updated Sep 22, 2006

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Nightlife  

lakeside: Sunset Spectacular
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sandysmith 5725 reviews
sunset from Vitznau

Not much nightlife to write about in Vitznau - mainly the hotel bars and few restaurants ..but after a days sightseeing and hiking we were content to stroll down to the lakeside and watch the spectacular sunsets over Lake Lucerne.

Written Sep 23, 2006

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Transportation  

Tell Pass

Tell Pass, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  If you are staying in a lakeside resort on Lake Lucerne and aim to use the lake steamers, cog wheel trains, funicular, cable-cars plus the ordinary train and post bus services to explore the attractions of central switzerland then invest in a Tell Pass - although not in... 

Arth Goldau Train

Arth Goldau Train, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  Another train ascends the Rigi - this one from the opposite side of the mountain to Vitznau at Arth Goldau on the Zugsee. These trains are blue (RigiBahn are red) The tracks merge towards the top near to Rigi First. 

Private Gondolas

Private Gondolas, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  Towards the back of Vitznau village are two privately owned gondolas which ascend to restaurants perched high on the cliff faces above overlooking the lake. One goes to Hinterbergen and the other to Wissfluh - also good starting points for hikes. The gondolas run on demand... 

Arriving in Vitznau from Basle

Arriving in Vitznau from Basle, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  Arriving in Vitznau involved a bit of a journey for us. BA no longer have the Manchester to Zurich route and landing fees for Zurich are too expensive for Easyjet so our best option was an Easyjet flight from Liverpool to Basle. From Basle EuroAirport you have the option of... 

Boat Trips

Boat Trips, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  Vitznau is handily placed for exploring other resorts on Lake Lucerne - the boat staion is right by the train station too. Boats ply the lake and there is a large selection of craft, if you time it right you can enjoy a ride on on the several paddle steamers too. 

Tourist Traps  

Photo Opportunity
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sandysmith 5725 reviews
1 more image

As on most peaks in Switzerland you'll find these figures with cut outs for the faces so you can pose in them for a pic - always good for a laugh and there was no charge so here's Dave and I in our local swiss outfits on the Rigi Kulm (summit) ;-0

Updated Sep 23, 2006

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Sports & Outdoors  

Classic Hike

Classic Hike, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  A rewarding scenic 5 hour hike from Rigi Kaltbad - Scheidegg - Burggeist -Hoecheli- Soeren - Chellensack - Gaetterli - Rohrboden - Egg-Gottertli/Schwand to Urmiberg. Start can be reached by Rigi Bahn and the end stop is a restaurant with a wonderful view and a handy... 

Wissifluh Hike

Wissifluh Hike, Vitznau

 sandysmith Says:  A shorter hike this time - took the private Wissifluh gondola up to the restaurant of the same name (see transport tip) and then walked down and around to Gersau - resort around the Vitznauerstock hill from Vitznau, that dominates the landscape here. Just over an hours hike.... 

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Map of Vitznau