Things to do on Mount Rigi

Rigi earned the nickname Queen of the Mountains after Europe's first mountain railway reached its summit in 1871, and two separate cogwheel lines still climb it today: the Vitznau-Rigi from Lake Lucerne and the Arth-Rigi from Arth-Goldau on the Lucerne-Zug side.

A return ticket from Vitznau to Rigi Kulm (1,798 m) costs around CHF 78, and the ride takes about 30 minutes each way. From Interlaken, reckon on roughly 1 h 50 to Lucerne via the Brunig line, then a further hour to Vitznau or Arth-Goldau by train and boat. Rigi Kaltbad, a stop partway up, has a public thermal bath complex with mineral pools from CHF 26 entry.

The sunrise trains that made Rigi famous in the 19th century still run on selected summer mornings, weather and demand permitting.