When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to travel through part of Europe with my French class. One of our stops was Mount Titlis, located outside of Lucerne in Switzerland. During that trip, however, we didn’t get to do all of the fun activities at the mountain.
During my recent Adventures by Disney Italy Switzerland trip, our last day’s itinerary included a stop at Titlis Mountain to enjoy the fantastic activities. During our day, we rode up to the top of the mountain, ate a delicious meal, got to see breathtaking scenery, walked through a glacier, and experienced thrills on the IceFlyer and the suspension bridge. Unfortunately during our visit, the Titis Glacier Park was closed.
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Guide to Visiting Mount Titlis Switzerland in the Summer
Getting to Mount Titlis
If you want to experience the Mount Titlis activities, you’ll first need to get to the town of Engelberg. From there, you’ll take cable cars to the mountain.
The closest international airports are Zurich Airport (about 1 hr 30 mins away) and Geneva Airport (3 1/2 hours). We flew through Zurich but started our trip outside of Milan Italy, and ended in Lucerne, Switzerland. Mount Titlis is an easy day trip from Lucerne if you are staying there.
Want to take the train? You can travel from Lucerne to Engelberg on the “Zentralbahn” train. The station is walkable to the base of the mountain in Engelberg, and there is also a free shuttle to the Titlis Valley Station if you’d prefer not to walk. If you are traveling by train throughout Switzerland, the Swiss Travel Pass is a good option.
If you have a rental car, you are able to drive and park at the base. The first hour is free, but then you’ll pay an hourly rate after that.
There’s also the option to book a tour from major Swiss cities. Here’s an example of a highly-rated half-day tour from Lucerne.
Going Up the Mountain
When you arrive at the base in Engelberg, you’ll find the building to pick up/purchase tickets, as well as restrooms and a snack bar. Inside the building is a gift shop. This is a good opportunity to visit the restroom before starting your journey up.
Once you are ready, you’ll board an 8-passenger cable car to the Stand station. It’s important that you keep your admission ticket safely put away because you’ll need it many times during your time at Mount Titlis. Ticket prices vary based on what you are doing and how far you’ll go up – so make sure you purchase the correct ticket.
For our trip up, we stopped halfway at the Trübsee station in the center. There’s even a hotel in Trübsee called the Trübsee Alpine Lodge for a very unique stay.
We used this time to get acclimated to the changing atmosphere and to enjoy the beautiful scenery. If you do have a few extra minutes, it’s worth getting out at this spot and walking around because it really is picturesque.
Then, you can go back into the building to board the Titlis cable car from Trübsee up to the Stand station. Once you are there, you’ll need to take the TITLIS ROTAIR cable car to the summit station at the top of Mount Titlis.
The TITLIS ROTAIR cable car is a revolving cable car, which rotates 360 degrees during the ascent to the summit. It’s a slow rotation, so I didn’t feel any sort of motion sickness. It accommodates about 60 guests, all standing. While you can stand in the center, I recommend grabbing a spot along the edge so you can see everything along the way.
At the end of your time at the top of Mount Titlis, you’ll go through the same process to go down. It takes about 30 minutes total, each way to get to the cable car station at the bottom. Once you are at the Summit Station, you’ll be about 9,900 feet above sea level.
Summer Activities at Mount Titlis
While Titlis is a popular ski resort in the winter, we visited it in the summer months. Despite the temperature in Central Switzerland, it can be quite chilly at the Summit Station of Mount Titlis. It can be refreshing to experience winter temps, snow, and ice activities while in the middle of the summer. You’ll exit the ROTAIR in the mountain station, a building with shops, restaurants, observation points, and more.
Here are some of the fun winter activities you can enjoy as part of the Glacier Excursion.
Enter the Glacier Cave from the station building, and you’ll go about 32 feet below the glacier surface. The glacier is lit with blue light, with purple lighting toward the end. It is slippery, but there is a handrail to hold onto (don’t forget gloves!).
The Titlis Glacier Cave is a unique walk, with some fun photo opportunities. This includes an ice throne in the center of the cave. It was nice to cool down after some hot days in Italy and Switzerland.
Next, you’ll reach the entrance of the TITUS Cliffwalk. This suspension bridge, the highest suspension bridge in Europe, is a brisk walk over the gorgeous landscape. It isn’t too scary but does move. In the end, there’s a place where you can take a photo to pick up in the store later.
At the end of the Cliffwalk, you’ll be able to walk down to the Ice Flyer. This open-chair lift offers remarkable and unobstructed views of the whole mountain landscape. Overall, I think this was my favorite thing to do on Mount Titlis because it was just so beautiful.
The Ice Flyer chairlift leads to the Glacier Park, which was unfortunately closed during our visit. The Glacier Park offers snow tubing and snow sledding. The opening is weather dependent, so it may be closed when you visit.
There are other activities that you can enjoy on Mount Titlis in the summer. These include things like mountain biking, ziplining, an adventure park, and hiking trails. We didn’t partake in any of these activities while we visited for the day, however.
Food and Shopping at Mount Titlis
The station building at the summit (where the TITUS ROTAIR drops you off), offers shops and restaurants (as well as public restrooms). If you need to take a break, are hungry, or want to do some shopping, you’ll want to spend some time in this multi-story building.
Shops include a chocolate shop, offering different brands and varieties including Lindt and Sprüngli. There’s also a small souvenir shop where you can pick up a reminder of your trip. Looking for a personalized souvenir? At the photo studio, you can dress in a traditional Swiss costume and get a photo printed.
There are also some restaurants and snack stands. If you want some ice cream, stop by the Mövenpick Ice Cream Bar. For more hearty food, there’s the TITUS Snack Bar and the Self-Service Panorama Restaurant.
During our day, we enjoyed lunch at the sit-down Panorama Restaurant. The panoramic view is absolutely amazing, and the food was excellent. It is such a unique place to enjoy lunch.
What to Wear to Mount Titlis
Our trip to Italy Switzerland took place in July, in the heat of the summer. While two of our destinations, Stresa and Lucerne, were forecast to have temps in the 80s and 90s, we also knew that we’d be spending a day at Mount Titlis. It’s hard to pack for cold weather when you know most of your trip will be very hot.
What you bring really depends on your comfort level. My daughter and I each packed a lightweight winter jacket, but ultimately didn’t use them. Instead, we wore long pants, sneakers, gloves, and sweatshirts. Layers are best because it may be hot in Engelberg and will get colder as you ascend the mountain.
If the Glacier Park is open, you may want extra socks. We packed them because we weren’t sure if the park would be open, but didn’t use them. Be sure to have shoes with good grips for the slippery floor of the Glacier Cave. Boots would be useful, but they do take up a lot of space in a suitcase. Sneakers were fine for us and were a lot more practical to have throughout our trip.
Carrying a backpack? You’ll be able to bring it along with you. On the Ice Flyer, you’ll need to wear it on the front. A backpack is a convenient option for carrying along extra layers, as well as a water bottle so you can stay hydrated at the higher elevation to help avoid altitude sickness.
As always, I recommend checking the weather forecast. If bad weather is in the forecast, you’ll probably want to reschedule your visit.
In addition to these essentials, I brought along my Insta360 Go 3 camera – an action camera that I wore on a magnetic pendant (included). I was able to get some great videos in the Glacier Cave, the Cliffwalk, and the Ice Flyer. I’d recommend purchasing the optional magnetic safety cord to keep it secure.
Where to Stay For Your Mount Titlis Trip
In addition to the three hotels operated by the mountain, there are some lodging options in the area. Search the map below for various options.
For our trip, we just visited Titlis for the day, and spent multiple days in Lucerne. This Swiss Alps city is located on beautiful Lake Lucerne and offers so much to do. There are so many top-notch hotels in Lucerne – we stayed at the Renaissance Lucerne.
Frequently Asked Questions
In the summer, it’s known for both the Europe highest suspension bridge (the Titlis Cliff Walk) as well as the TITLIS ROTAIR rotating cable car (the world’s first revolving cable car).
The train ride will be. You can get a discount on adult tickets for the cable car as a pass holder.
If you don’t have a car and don’t want to purchase a tour, the best option is to take the scenic train ride to Engelberg Station. From the train station, you can either take the free shuttle bus or the short walk to the base.