The way our schedule falls puts us arriving via train into Lucerne on a Sunday. We're leaving Tuesday to spend our last night in Zurich before our flight out.
I mostly want to walk the Musegg walls, the covered bridges, see the squares and maybe the Panorama. Is Sunday afternoon an ok time to do these mostly outdoor things - can I get inside a tower on the wall for an overlook? Will some cafes be open for refreshment?
Or should we plan on taking one of the 2-3 hr. lake cruises on Sunday, if weather is fair, and do the walking sights on Monday?

The tourist sites will be open, as well as many restaurants and souvenir shops. The real shopping will have to wait until Monday.
Cheers,
Jan

If you want to get a really good view of Lucerne, why don't you take the little funicular up the mountain to Gutsch. You can relaxe there while having a refreshment and get a spectacular view of Lucerne.

Also, why don't you take a little side trip. Train from Lucerne to Alpnachstad (app 20 min) and then the steepest mountrain train in Europe up Mt Pilatus. There's a restaurant up there and depending upon how clear it is you can see Lucerne from up there.

You can come back down and take a boat back to Lucerne or take the cable car down to Kriens and bus back in to Lucerne.

A great way to spend half a day.

Hi Travelnut, SloJan is absolutely correct about Lucerne. Myer also has good ideas but I just wanted to let you know that the hotel at Gütsch has closed.

Sorry about Gutsch.

We probably won't do one of the cogwheel/mountain-top things, b/c we seem to have a fog curse on us. We've been up Mt Stanser(I think that's the name, same area) and also up the mtn around the Biarritz area. Both times, all views completely obscured by the time we got to the top. Still fun, but don't really want to make a day of it and end up with same results.
I'm not planning on any shopping really. Just want to be out and about, prying into things, enjoying ambience, etc. Might rent bikes and ride around the lake a bit, and/or a short lake cruise.
I feel like which things get done first is still flexible for our almost 2 days, if Sunday is not too closed up. Sounds like it will be fine. Thanks!

Just a thought ... unless your flight departs really early from Zurich on Wednesdsay you could spend Tuesday night in Lucerne as well. There are plenty of direct trains from Lucerne to the Zurich airport. The trip takes about 1 hr 20 minutes; the first train usually departs Lucerne around 6:00 a.m. Enjoy your trip!

That's an alternative, but we're going on into Zurich in the afternoon so we can enjoy some of it. We passed thru Lucerne in 1996 so we're going back for a better look, but Zurich looks nice, too.