Welcome to the Stanserhorn, an amazing mountain peak between Mt. Pilatus and Mt. Rigi that you can reach in less than an hour from the city of Lucerne!
We’re going to show you what to do here and how to get up here. Plus, a visit to the Stanserhorn pairs perfectly with a trip to the Bürgenstock, so that’s where we’ll end our day. But first, let’s admire the views.
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Stanserhorn 30-minute Circular Loop
From the Stanserhorn cable car station, there’s an easy 30-minute circular summit trail with jaw-dropping views along the way of Lake Lucerne, the village of Stans, Engelberg Valley, and beyond.
The trail here to the top is fairly easy and a decent gravel trail. And since we’re just below 1900 meters of elevation, you shouldn’t be too winded as you walk! 🙂
Not to mention that the Stanserhorn has more than 200 different kinds of alpine flowers, including more than 13 orchid varieties, which should distract you if the walk starts to feel too difficult.
There are 2 more neat things along this circular loop. First is a madness of marmots. And yes, I had to look up what a group of marmots is called, and apparently it’s a madness. There’s been a madness of marmots here since 1912. In the summer you’ll see them running and playing and building their houses so they can hibernate all winter. I just think they’re fascinating to watch!
I also love to learn so here’s your fascinating fact of the day. Marmots whistle when they sense danger. So if you start to whistle a tune while you’re watching them, they will all run away and hide. I actually don’t recommend that because one, you’ll scare them all, and two, then you won’t be able to see them!
The second neat thing along this circular loop is that you can meet a Stanserhorn ranger! There’s a team of 17 volunteer rangers, and everyday one of them is hanging out along this walk between 10am and 4pm, available to answer your questions about the plants, animals, or history of the Stanserhorn.
We met Ranger Gerhard and asked him to tell us what he likes most about the Stanserhorn. He said the mountain views! We also asked how many peaks and lakes you can see from here, and he said over 600 mountain peaks and about 10 different lakes (although we only spied 7).
Now we’re back at the cable car station, so here’s what else you can do up here.
Stanserhorn Revolving Restaurant
First up is the revolving restaurant! This star-shaped self-service restaurant opened in 2001 as the first revolving restaurant in Central Switzerland. As you sit and enjoy your meal, you can watch the landscapes go by while the restaurant completes one revolution every 43 minutes.
Speaking of food, of course you can taste classic Swiss dishes here, but they’re particularly known for their alpine macaroni made with 100% Swiss ingredients, as well as spelt fruit bread, local sparkling wine, Streckwurst sausage with Stanserhorn apples and herbs, and cremeschnitte (which we hear always sells out fast, especially when Brett’s here!).
Naturally we ordered a plate of alpine macaroni and cremeschnitte — both of which did not disappoint. And then we plopped down for 43 minutes to see an entire rotation of the views.
Before we leave the restaurant, we wanted to mention that on Fridays and Saturdays in the summer, you can enjoy a special candlelight dinner because the lift stays open late until 11pm.
Other things to do at the Stanserhorn
Of course you could bring your own picnic up to the Stanserhorn, and there are even 2 barbeque areas with complimentary firewood.
There’s also a viewing pod off the restaurant’s terrace if you wanna glimpse one more view before you leave.
You can go paragliding from most mountains in Switzerland, but here you can actually go tandem hanggliding, if that’s interesting to you.
And last but not least is the Grand Tour Photo Spot just below the panoramic terrace (follow the hiking signs near the viewing pod, then walk 1-minute down the ramp).
How to reach the Stanserhorn
We might be done with our adventures at the top of the Stanserhorn, but there are still more adventures coming — such as riding on top of the cable car! The only other place we’ve seen this is the Royal Ride from Wengen to Männlichen in the Jungfrau Region, so this is still a fun new experience for us.
You can easily take a train from Lucerne to Stans, where you’ll hop on the first electricity-powered funicular, which also happened to be the steepest when it was built in 1893. After 9-minutes, you’ll transfer to the CabriO Cableway, which opened in 2012 as the world’s first double-decker aerial cableway. This is where you can ride on top of the cable car for no extra charge. But of course, you’ll have to get up there before everyone else!
We love how all the transportation in Switzerland has won awards like the first, steepest, oldest, newest, etc. It just keeps things interesting, ya know?!
The Stanserhorn is open from mid-April to mid-November from 8:15am to 5:15pm, although it does run until 11pm whenever they host the Candlelight Dinner evenings. Departures happen every 30 minutes, but run as frequently as every 10 minutes on busy days.
Stanserhorn Tickets
You can buy tickets online, on the SBB app, or from the Stanserhorn station.
In 2024, an adult round-trip ticket costs 82 CHF, and you get a 50% discount with the Half Fare Card, or a 25% discount with the Eurail or Interrail Pass. Better yet, this ride is completely free with the Tell-Pass, Swiss Travel Pass, SBB Day Pass, or Saver Day Pass. Personally, we highly recommend the Tell-Pass when you’re in Lucerne because it provides free transportation to basically every peak in the area!
Kids under the age of 6 and small lap dogs ride for free. Kids between the ages of 6 and 15 are 75% off when accompanied by a parent, or free with the Swiss Family Card. Larger dogs are also 75% off.
And finally, the Stanserhorn is proudly accessible to handicap travelers and families with strollers.
And here are two more bonus tips: if you aren’t traveling with some sort of train pass or just have the Half Fare Card, the Stanserhorn Breakfast Package is an amazing deal that includes your ascent, descent, and breakfast for 83 CHF full price or 46 CHF with the Half Fare Card. If you fall into this category, you basically get a free breakfast with your ride!
And second, you can buy an optional Online Boarding Pass for 2 CHF which gives you a specific reservation time for the journey from Stans. If you don’t have a train pass and need to buy a ticket, we recommend that you buy it online through their website, since this timed Boarding Pass is included for free with online ticket purchases.
Online Tickets and the Online Boarding Pass need to be booked before 9:00am on the day of your visit. So if you’re wanting to do this, we recommend getting it booked at least by the night before.
Traveling from the Stanserhorn to Bürgenstock
Alright, we’ve made it down to the village of Stans. From here, our Tell-Pass fully covers the 3 minute-train ride to Stansstad, and then an 18-minute bus ride to…Bürgenstock Resort!
Hang on, we’re not gonna schmooze you with luxury at this 5-star resort once frequented by famous folks like Audrey Hepburn and Sean Connery. We’re just here to do a few things, including a cliff walk and the highest outdoor elevator in Europe.
But real quick, if you want to come here from Lucerne, you can take a boat across the lake to Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock, and then ride Switzerland’s first electric cable car up to the Bürgenstock Resort, which is also included in the Tell-Pass. Or you can ride a train to Stansstad and then the bus like we did.
Bürgenstock Resort
The resort includes 4 hotels, 10 restaurants, and the largest spa in Europe, as well as a variety of lounges, a movie theater, tennis courts, and a super cool infinity pool overlooking Lake Lucerne. Not to mention there are vineyards, gardens, dairy farms, and beehives up here too.
We’re first heading to the suspension staircase, located just behind the main building, which was built using former suspension cables from the Stanserhorn railway. It’s an interesting swinging staircase, but really I just wanted to see it because we’ve been on swinging bridges but not swinging staircases. And we were just on the Stanserhorn so it’s cool that this was made with the Stanserhorn cables.
Another thing to see at the Bürgenstock Resort is the chapel because apparently this is where Audrey Hepburn got married! Unfortunately it was locked during our visit, but still a beautiful sight to see. If you wanna see it, it’s located just next to the start of the Felsenweg trail to the Hammetschwand Lift.
Hammetschwand Lift
Okay, now we have a 20-30 minute walk along the Felsenweg. This 2.2km panoramic cliff walk was opened in 1905 after 5 years of blasting rocks, drilling tunnels, and erecting retaining walls. But the owner of Bürgenstock Resort didn’t just want his guests to enjoy the cliff views — he wanted to give his wealthy, luxurious visitors a way to reach the summit.
So that same year, he opened the highest and fastest outdoor lift in Europe — the Hammetschwand Lift.
This special elevator is only open in the summer from 9:30am to 6pm and when the weather is good. It costs 18 CHF round trip for adults, 9 CHF for kids, and 8 CHF for dogs. It’s free with the Tell-Pass — our favorite train pass for the Lucerne and Central Switzerland region. But beyond that, it unfortunately doesn’t offer any discounts for other train passes.
Once you step inside the elevator, you skyrocket up 152 meters total at a speed of 3.15 meters per second!
To be honest, we don’t mind hiking to see landscapes like this, but I understand why the rich and famous folks didn’t mind being pampered with an easy cliff walk and an elevator.
And not surprisingly, there’s a restaurant on top. (Unfortunately it was closed on the day of our visit!) I feel like it’s just so standard for the Swiss to build hotels and restaurants on the top of every peak. And ya know what, the Swiss Alps aren’t a bad place to dine with a view.
(Wanna read the full history of the Bürgenstock Resort? This is a great read!)
I know we’ve already had great views from the Stanserhorn earlier today, but these are completely different, and just as good — if not better! That’s what I love about this area of Lucerne, there are endless peaks and viewpoints and unique activities.
If you’re looking for more things to do near Lucerne, check out our Lucerne Travel Guides, or read this next for more ideas. And we’ll see you in Switzerland!
