The Wonder of Steam Transport around Vitznau 

The Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne divulges fascinating insights into the workings of steam. The ride there is an experience in itself: the steamboat brings visitors to a designated dock only a few steps away from the museum entrance. Inside, a lot is always going on. Facts about steam propulsion are engagingly conveyed: for example, a longitudinally dissected steam engine demonstrates how coal becomes energy for locomotion.

The Rigi cogwheel trains have been bringing visitors up the mountains since 1871. Still today, the ride can be enjoyed in this nostalgic and beautifully restored ambiance. The railway still runs from Vitznau up the Rigi on selected days throughout the year in the locomotives and wagons from the early days. The glint of polished metal, the smell of burning coal, the sound of hissing steam and flying sparks, and the work of the seasoned mechanics make the journey a unique experience.

From place to place or en route to the next hike: whether on the Rigi, traveling through Switzerland or heading up the Wissifluh - there is hardly an experience that cannot be combined with a ride on a steamboat or steam locomotive.

At the current location of the Vitznauerhof, everything once revolved around steam transport. Around 1870  a shipyard was located on the Aldorfbach, from which the paddle steamers "Germania" and "Italia" were assembled and eventually launched.

Historically, the Hotel Terrasse is closely linked to the Rigi Bahn. At the present location of the hotel there once stood a drinking hall where tourists could take refreshment before riding the Rigi Bahn.  Following the opening of the Rigi Railway in 1871, the associated hotel restaurants Rigibahn opened 1873, which still today under the name Hotel Terrasse.

Even the valuable chestnut trees remained and offer shade to restaurant guests on the garden terrace.