Fasnacht
Some cities of switzerland including lucerne and basel celebrate a rousing carnival just before lent each year. the version celebrated here is famous for its chaotic "march any direction you like" street parades of the so called guugemusig band of wind instruments and drummer, typical to the carneval of central switzerland and elaborate masks. the carneval week of lucerne starts on the fat tuesday and ends at ash wednesday. the programm in short: fat tuesday, urknall big bang at 5am is the official beginning, music on the streets all the day in the city, mask parade from 2pm along the lake, music on the steets in the evening; friday to sunday music and masksparades in all the towns and villages of the region; gã¼dis monday, second urknall at 6am, rest dito fat tuesday; thursday big street concert in the whole old town and surroundings, end of the official carneval at midnight... but it continue in the bars until morning of ash wednesday. as with carnival elsewhere the exact date on the calendar is variable according to the phase of the moon. you find the date of the next fat tuesday schudo, schmutziger donnerstag here: (http://www.luzerner-fasna...). if you don't want to be recognised as a tourist, put on some colorful clothes. most of the people are dressed in colors or in masks. in the last years, the cities of zurich and berne started to copy central switzerlands carneval. at the moment mood and music isn't half as good as in lucerne.
Mount Pilatus
Ascend Mount Pilatus (http://www.pilatus.ch/def...) - a famous mountain overlooking the city of Lucerne. Its peak can be reached by the world's steepest cogwheel railway from Alpnachstad not operating in wintertime and all-year-round by cable-car in three sections from Kriens 10 minutes by trolley bus no. 1 from Lucerne as far as 'Linde'. This trip is definitely a must and gives you a good impression of a wild and rocky peak with a marvelous view to the "real" Alps. Of course you can walk to the top on foot, which takes at least 4 hours from Kriens. A pleasant alternative is to walk down to Kriens from the bottom of the middle cable-car section. In addition to hiking, there are several other activities, including a suspension rope park and a 1,350 m long toboggan both at the second stop of the cable-car from Kriens. Even if you don't plan to hike, allow for at least three hours to spend on Pilatus.
Explore the Old Town
One of the main reasons that lucerne attracts so many travelers is its small but remarkably preserved old town. you can get lost for a few minutes anyhow in its maze of streets, passages, and squares, admiring the many and varied murals painted on what seems like every other building. a nice short walk on the museggmauer starts at the schirmer-turm, walk up the road near jazzkantine, open only at daytime.
Take a boat tour
(http://www.pilatus.ch/con...) from lucerne to alpnachstad or back when you go to mt pilatus.