[Tyw567]

30 July 2022 at 20:24:21 #827922

I’m planning to be in Lucerne on the 7th-9th August and so far it’s scheduled to rain and be cloudy. I was originally planning to go to Jungfraujoch however I’ve now realised I need a back up plan incase the weather doesn’t allow for this.

I really want to go up one of the mountains in the Lucerne area, I was wondering if the cloudy weather wouldn’t be as bad for certain mountains as they’re not as high altitude places like Jungfraujoch? For eg I was thinking of going up Mt Pilatus regardless of the weather (within reason), but is it really not worth it at all if the weather is bad?

I don’t think I’ll be able to come back to Switzerland for a long time after this trip so just want to see what I can. Can anyone give any recommendations for cloudy/rainy weather when I’m here?

thanks!

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[Arno]

31 July 2022 at 7:03:25 #944957

Hi Tyw567, thanks for joining MySwissAlps!

Some reassurance first: current forecasts for August 7-9 aren’t reliable at all yet. Swiss forecasts start to become somehwat reliable about 3 days ahead, and even then a lot can change. If rain is forecasted, this usually doesn’t mean it will rain all day long. Here’s some more information about weather and interpreting forecasts:

• https://www.myswissalps.com/weather
• https://www.myswissalps.com/weather/forecast

If it’s clouded, this doesn’t necessarily mean that lower mountains are better than higher ones. Sometimes a layer of clouds hangs at relatively low altitude. You can rise above them on the higher mountain peaks, which causes breaththaking views over a deck of clouds and a brilliant sunny sky above that. This is more common in fall than in August though (https://www.myswissalps.com/besttimetovisit).

In any case, it’s worthwile to focus on the mountains close to Lucerne. A visit to Jungfraujoch is doable (https://www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch/gettingthere), but it will take a long time of traveling and there are many alternatives at closer distance. As long as a mountain top isn’t covered in clouds, which blocks all the views, it can still be very pretty to get up there. You can check weather forecasts shortly before leaving and have a look at webcams showing the views from the top. More information is at

• https://www.myswissalps.com/pilatus
• https://www.myswissalps.com/rigi
• https://www.myswissalps.com/stanserhorn
• https://www.myswissalps.com/titlis
• https://www.myswissalps.com/burgenstock

Usually boat and train rides are still very enjoyable if it’s cloudy or drizzling. Lucerne has a beautiful town center to explore. The Swiss Museum of Transport (https://www.myswissalps.com/museumoftransport) is very interesting too. You’ll find all of our personal tips at https://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne and https://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne/activities.

Will you be having a railpass for unlimited traveling in the Lake Lucerne area (e.g. the Tell-Pass: https://www.myswissalps.com/tellpass) or entire Switzerland (e.g. the Swiss Travel Pass: https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass)? If so, that means you can be flexible and change your plans at the spot without needing additional tickets. That’s easy in case weather is changeable.