Burgenstock

The Burgenstock ridge stands some six hundred metres above Lake Lucerne, and its two features are engineering. The Felsenweg is a walkway cut and bolted into the vertical rock face, running along the cliff with the lake directly below. At its end the Hammetschwand lift, built between 1902 and 1905, runs up the outside of the cliff in a steel shaft to the summit at eleven hundred and thirty metres - a hundred and fifty-two metres of open-air ascent in less than a minute, and the tallest exterior lift in Europe. The resort on the ridge drew Audrey Hepburn, who married here in 1954, and Sophia Loren among others; it was rebuilt as a large hotel complex in 2017.

Highlights

• The Felsenweg - a walkway bolted into the vertical cliff above the lake.
• The Hammetschwand lift - 152 metres up the outside of the rock, built 1905.
• Lake Lucerne from 1,130 metres - the summit view over the whole basin.
• A rebuilt resort - the 2017 complex on the ridge.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Good to know

The lift closes in winter and in high wind. The cliff path has exposed sections with railings but real drops. The resort is expensive and its restaurants are not casual. Boat plus funicular takes planning around timetables.

Nearby

Lucerne is across the water; the Rigi and Pilatus are nearby peaks.

Key facts