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Legends of Lake Lucerne: 5 Hours of Steam, Wine and Swell

Walter SchaererBy 06 Mins Read
Two men on the deck of a steamboat, one in historical costume; both are looking through telescopes

Legends of Lake Lucerne: 5 Hours of Steam, Wine and Swell

There are invitations* I don’t hesitate over for even two seconds. “A day on a steamship, including a look inside the engine room” – and I’m already half in the car before Katja has finished reading the sentence.

Lake Lucerne had invited us to “Legends of Lake Lucerne,” the exclusive experience aboard the steamship “Gallia”: five hours, six courses, a handful of legends and – a Chardonnay with side effects.

Table of Contents

Cast off in Lucerne at Pier 5, right by the KKL

At 9:00 a.m. sharp we board the ship at Pier 5, right by the KKL in Lucerne.

Instead of the up to 900 guests the Gallia could actually hold, “Legends of Lake Lucerne” caps it at 65.

You notice it immediately: no elbows, no jostling, and instead a crew who make you feel like you’re the only guest on board.

The historic steamship Gallia, adorned with colorful signal flags, is docked at the pier in Lucerne on Lake Lucerne
The Gallia Steamship

At 9:35 a.m. the captain welcomes us aboard, and at 9:45 a.m. the Gallia steams off. And barely is Lucerne behind us when our host appears.

Enter Knörr, steamship pioneer

Casimir Friedrich Knörr – merchant, banker and visionary – began his journey as a pioneer of steam navigation on Lake Lucerne in 1835.

Knörr is played today by Tony Steinmann. With mischief, charm and a bowler hat, he tells of himself as a shipping pioneer, of railway pioneer Alfred Escher – his business partner – of Mark Twain, Schiller and William Tell. Even Queen Victoria’s incognito excursion up Mount Pilatus earns an episode.

I was always convinced that the lake is more than just a trade route!
An actor in period costume, holding a microphone, stands on the deck of a steamboat; in the background is a woman in uniform
Casimir Friedrich Knörr
Gespielt von Tony Steinmann
An actor dressed in light-colored clothing performs, gesturing, on orange benches in front of a lake and mountains
Tony Steinmann plays the pioneer Casimir Friedrich Knörr in "Legends of Lake Lucerne"
A person in an unusual costume stands on a boat overlooking Lake Lucerne and the surrounding mountains
Tell's Apple is also part of the Legends of Lake Lucerne
An actor in period costume tells a story to a woman on the open deck of a steamboat on Lake Lucerne
On the steamboat, Knörr regales everyone with historical legends about Lake Lucerne. Katja is fascinated.

For boys of all ages: the engine room

While Katja reels off the spectacular scenery – Rigi, Pilatus, Bürgenstock, Fronalpstock, Kleiner and Grosser Mythen, the fjord-like arms reaching toward Lake Uri – I slip off downstairs. To the pounding steam engine.

And gentlemen, this is no museum display piece. This is a steam engine that has been roaring for over 100 (!) years.

With 1,085 horsepower, the “Gallia” is still the fastest steamship on inland waters in Europe.

She’s also the first scheduled passenger ship in the world to run on sustainable solar diesel from the company Synhelion. Nothing had to be converted for it: the fuel runs in the century-old engine exactly as it is. From 2027 the “Gallia” is set to run on it entirely.

A man operates the large red engines of a historic steamship in the engine room, surrounded by spectators on the gallery
A break to oil the engines in the engine room of the historic steamship Gallia
Two men are standing on the deck of a historic steamboat, looking into the engine room
Tony explains the asymmetrical three-cylinder marine engine to Walter in the Gallia's engine room
A view into the running engine room of a red-painted paddle steamer with a wooden deck
The engine room of the paddle steamer Gallia at full speed

6 gourmet courses across 3 decks

The gourmet menu comes with meat or vegetarian, served “flying service” style: three of the appetizers you enjoy on the panorama deck, the upper deck or – yes, really – in the engine room, with the main courses in the elegant salon.

A woman is sitting at a set table with coffee and flowers on a steamboat on Lake Lucerne near Lucerne
Katja is ready to go
An elegantly plated gourmet dish and coffee on a white table with a view of the lake, with flowers in a vase and a champagne glass in the background
Uri Alpine Lamb with Sbrinz, Thyme Vinaigrette, Swiss Alpine Salmon, and Horseradish
Two white bowls with mushroom-shaped pastries and spoons on a table; in the background, orange benches on a ship
Second appetizer: Mushroom puff pastry pie served during the gourmet cruise on the Gallia
Two small bowls of regional stew with a creamy sauce, served on a white cloth napkin
A Delightful Fondue Tasting Aboard the Gallia, Legends of Lake Lucerne
A table set in white with a gourmet main course served on a round plate, with a panoramic view of the mountains along Lake Lucerne in the background
Stuffed dumplings with lake char. The "Legends of Lake Lucerne" steamboat cruise serves Swiss haute cuisine with a view of the lake.
An elegant gourmet dish featuring vegetables and meat on a white plate, with a window in the background offering a view of the mountains
An Exclusive Fine Dining Experience Featuring Beef Tenderloin During a Cruise on the Legends of Lake Lucerne
A small dessert creation featuring berry sorbet and a waffle on a plate, with a lake and mountains in the background
Gourmet dessert aboard the steamboat Gallia on Lake Lucerne

The wine pairing packs a punch – beware the Eichberg Chardonnay

Every course comes with a matched drink pairing, all included.

Things start with a Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut champagne, which lifts Katja’s already good mood even higher.

Whatever tension I arrived with dissolves at the latest with the Eichberg Chardonnay AOC Luzern. The grapes ripen above Lake Sempach on gravel and moraine soils, then the wine spends ten months in barriques.

When the ship starts rocking noticeably more than it did at the start, that must be the swell. I’m now planting my feet a little wider as I stride across the deck planks.

Label of a bottle of Eichberg Chardonnay from the Lucerne AOC, produced by Brunner Weinmanufaktur, on a set table
The exclusive Eichberg Chardonnay comes from the Lucerne region and is the perfect accompaniment to a boat trip. Almost too perfect...
A man in a pink shirt looks at a bottle next to a yellow barrel inside a historic steamboat on Lake Lucerne
Walter compares the white wine to Synhelion's innovative solar diesel

The legends of Lake Lucerne

Along the way come the legends you can see from the water: the Bürgenstock, the Schillerstein, the Rütli boat station with the Rütli meadow, and finally the Tellsplatte, where Tell made his legendary leap.

View from the lakeshore of a densely forested hillside, with steep cliffs above it near Seelisberg
Rütli Meadow above Lake Lucerne
A small chapel with a pointed tower stands on the shore of the turquoise-blue Lake Lucerne, set against a dense forest
Small lakeside chapel on Tell's Plateau at Legends of Lake Lucerne near Sisikon

And between them, again and again, the mountains: Rigi, Bürgenstock, Grosser Mythen, Fronalpstock, Pilatus. We know them all from the top, as you can read in our Swiss hiking tips.

The most comfortable way up Pilatus, by the way, is the Golden Round Trip from Lucerne – that one also starts with a boat from Lucerne, except you change to the cogwheel railway in Alpnachstad instead of staying seated and sipping Chardonnay.

At 1:30 p.m., during the chapter on “Queen Victoria and Mount Pilatus,” the voyage draws to a close. The Queen was here incognito in 1868 and had herself taken up Pilatus without anyone being supposed to know who was travelling.

So feel free to feel royal when you follow our Travelmemo up Pilatus. We were up there incognito too.

1:45 p.m. back in Lucerne, 2:00 p.m. end of announcements.

And there I sit, half blissful from the Chardonnay, half overwhelmed by the fact that five hours felt like ninety minutes.
A steamboat flying the Swiss flag sails on Lake Lucerne off the town of Weggis, with green mountain slopes in the background

Our verdict on this insider tip

“Legends of Lake Lucerne” promises a top-tier experience of history, cuisine and the simply magnificent backdrop of Lake Lucerne.

Entertaining, engaging, informative – carried by a likeable crew and an actor playing Casimir Friedrich Knörr in top form.

Legends of Lake Lucerne – Good to know

  • When: season from May 15 to September 15, daily except Mondays; on Wednesdays there’s an additional evening cruise (from 5:15 p.m.)
  • Duration: around 5 hours, day cruise approx. 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
  • Departs from: Pier 5 in Lucerne, right by the KKL
  • Included: 5-course menu with wine, champagne & drinks, a journey through time with Casimir Friedrich Knörr, max. 65 guests
  • Price: from CHF 420 (with a matching travel pass) up to CHF 554 for adults without a discount – roughly USD 520 to 690
  • Dress code: “casual chic” – and a warm jacket, because part of the experience takes place on deck
  • Booking & info: lakelucerne.ch/de/legends
A woman laughs on a bench on the ship; next to her, a man in period clothing points out on the deck of the steamship
Steinmann, who plays Knörr, completely wins Katja over
The stern of a sightseeing boat flying the Swiss flag, with empty benches, on Lake Lucerne, surrounded by mountains
Historic steamboat cruise with views of the Alps from Ennetbürgen on Lake Lucerne
* Katja and Walter are on board at the invitation of Lake Lucerne. This has no influence on our opinion – or on Walter’s wine consumption. He writes what he can remember.
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Walter’s extensive background in the travel industry, passionate enthusiasm for photography and a firm belief that luxury destinations can also be affordable; were some of the main factors that motivated him to create the travel blog travelmemo.com. In his day job, Walter is an online marketing manager based in Zurich, Switzerland.

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