🇨🇭 Lucerne

Mount Pilatus — Golden Round Trip

viewmust-seephoto spotkid-friendly

Address: Pilatus-Bahnen, Schlossweg 1, 6010 Kriens, Switzerland
Hours: Cogwheel: ~11 May–29 Nov 2026, departures every 35 min; gondola: year-round
Price: ~CHF 120 Golden Round Trip 2nd class (free or 50% off with Swiss Travel Pass)
Website: https://pilatus.ch/en
Map: Open in Google Maps ↗

Medieval Lucerners thought Pontius Pilate's ghost lived up there, blaming the storms on him. The cogwheel railway is still the world's steepest at 48% gradient.

The classic Lucerne day-trip: lake steamer to Alpnachstad, the 48% gradient cogwheel up to Pilatus Kulm at 2,128 m, a couple of hours of ridge walks and views over the whole of Central Switzerland, then panorama gondolas back down to Kriens and a short bus to town. Book the cogwheel time slot online — it sells out on summer weekends. Go the moment the weather looks clear; clouds ruin it.