Rigi is an quick day trip from Zurich or Lucerne with outdoor activities for families year round.
Known as the “Queen of the Mountains,” Mount Rigi is a beautiful mountain in the Swiss Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and is known for its stunning views, hiking trails for all levels, and mountain biking paths. There are a number of hotels and guesthouses on Mount Rigi, making it also a convenient place to stay for nature lovers.
When to go
Rigi is open year round. There are a lot of activities to do on Mt. Rigi from hiking, skiing, to thermal bathing. They provide an interactive map here, and clicking on the icons on the top left allows you to choose the season and activity. Here are three tips we learned to be aware of before heading out:
🚧 Maintenance for mountain transportation lines are often conducted in the fall. Therefore, if you go in late autumn, be sure to check Rigi’s website to see if anything is closed. Live closure statuses for all the mountain train/lines to Rigi can be found here.
🌤 It is also more enjoyable to head up on a clear day to soak in the views. Take advantage of the webcams they provide here and pair it with the MeteoSwiss forecast. (MeteoSwiss also has a mobile app, which is highly recommended.)
⌚️Unless you are staying up there, be sure to pay attention to the times for the last train/cable car down. View timetables here.
Getting to Rigi from Zurich
Using the SBB app, we selected to go from Zurich main train station (“HB”) to Rigi Kulm (the peak of Rigi) via Arth-Goldau station (#1 above), which is the quickest route if time is of concern. On the train from Zurich to Zug, most of it runs along Lake Zurich, so it’s a nice lake view sitting on the left in the direction of travel. After Zug, the train runs along Lake Zug, and there are nice views sitting on the right in the direction of travel.
After getting off at Arth Goldau (#1), it was a short walk over to the nearby station for the Arth-Rigi mountain train. (There is also a parking lot here if you prefer driving in from Zurich to catch the mountain train up to Rigi.)
The cogwheel mountain train can get pretty full during high season but they also usually run additional lines then too. We went in fall and the train was full of senior citizens headed up for hiking. Everyone had on hiking shoes, walking sticks, and trekking backpacks. We got the impression we were in for a more laid back day than they were. 😂
Sitting in the reverse direction of travel on the cogwheel train allows you to seeing the views open up below you as the train climbs up.
For those wary of heights, coming from the Arth-Goldau direction is a nice easy ride up the mountain. There are several stops along the way up for folks to head out for the trails.
Rigi Kulm
41 minutes later, we arrived at Rigi Kulm, and it’s a beautiful view. To get to the peak, there’s a shorter/steeper path or longer/flatter path that takes you past some beautiful views. Rigi is surrounded by Lake Lucerne, Lake Zug, and Lake Lauerz, each of which is beautiful in its own right. We enjoyed meandering along the longer path.
After soaking in the views at the top, it was lunchtime. There was a restaurant at the top, but we preferred bringing a picnic lunch so we could eat along the trail. (Tip: stop for lunch a little early so that you can get a table or spot on a bench.)
Afterwards, it was a 20 minute walk to the next stop, Staffel (#3 above).
The trail was a bit uneven at the start, but it was manageable with my sneakers. If we had gone for a longer or more demanding hike or the day had been wetter, we would not have minded walking sticks for some parts of it just to help the knees a bit downhill.
At Staffel, there was the option to take the cogwheel train down the mountain in the direction of Vitznau. The latter half of the ride is considered a prettier ride than the one from Arth-Goldau to Rigi, and Vitznau has a small parking lot for drivers from Zurich and Lucerne if they get there early enough). But we wanted to add a cable car to the day so we headed to Kaltbad First (#4 on the map) for the transfer. It’s possible to take the train or walk another 40 minutes down to it.
Cable car down to Weggis
Kaltbad First was worth a stop and for those who want some pampering, it also had a thermal bath resort, Mineralbad & Spa Rigi Kaltbad. There were also playgrounds and family-friendly activities such as miniature golf available at this stop. For anyone planning to stay in the hotel, drop off the luggage there first before heading further up to Rigi Kulm.
The signage to get to the Weggis cable car was well-marked and we were there within a few minutes. There were stairs/elevator for getting down to the level of the cable car. Like all cable cars, if you want to have your choice of spot in the cable car, it’s a good idea to get there well before the departure time as it’s first come first served.
We’ve ridden on a lot of cable cars over the years, and this one was one of the highlights!
Weggis
At the Weggis cable car station (#6), it’s about a 10 minute walk to the town center, Weggis Dorfplatz (#7) and boat dock (#8). There was also a bus available but it ran once an hour depending on the day.
Weggis was a beautiful and charming town along Lake Lucerne, and there were shops, restaurants, and hotels around.
Returning to Zurich via Brunnen
Many take the boat to Lucerne and sometimes Vitznau from here and then take the train to Zurich. Buses are also available to either. As the bus schedule fit our times better than the boat ones, we decided to take one to another side of Lake Lucerne to the beautiful town of Brunnen (B on map above) to catch the train back to Zurich. Brunnen had a beautiful dock, lakeside views, a lot of restaurants and shops. We grabbed some delicious gelato at Gelateria Artigiana on our way to the train station.
From the train station in Brunnen, we had a quick train ride back to Zurich HB.
Practical tips
A popular route to experience Rigi is the “Classic Round Trip,” which consists of a boat ride from Lucerne to Vitznau, mountain train up to Rigi, cable car ride back down to Weggis, and then boat ride back to Lucerne. While most mountain trains, gondolas, and cable cars in Switzerland require a supplement to the Swiss Travel Pass (and the GA card used by locals), Rigi’s entire journey is included, and it makes for a popular trip for visitors and locals alike.
But as you can see from this article, visiting Rigi can be experienced in various different ways as everyone has different traveling styles (and depending in what region you are staying, you could receive a tourist discount transportation card.) Besides visiting Rigi on your own, there are also options to visit with guided private or group trips.
If you need help building your trip together, just contact us and we are happy to assist you.