Stans

Stans is the capital of the canton of Nidwalden in Central Switzerland.

Understand
The canton of Nidwalden, is commonly known as a half-canton, the other half being Obwalden. The canton is bound in the north by Lake Lucerne and on all the other sides by mountains, making for very scenic views. Two exclaves of other cantons reach into its territory: Engelberg, part of Obwalden, at the end of the valley and the Bürgenstock mountain at the shore of the lake, which is part of the canton of Lucerne. The area is rather rural, with the capital Stans having roughly 8000 inhabitants. The other bigger towns Hergiswil, Buochs and Stansstad are all located nearby along the lake shore.

By train
Stans lies on the Lucerne-Engelberg line and is also part of the commuter train network around Lucerne. The following connections are available:


 * One hourly IR connection from Lucerne (15 min) and in the other direction Engelberg (30 min).
 * Two hourly S4 connections from Lucerne (20 min). This train also stops in Hergiswil and Stansstad.

By car
The A2 highway from Lucerne and Altdorf runs along the lake and through most of the canton of Nidwalden. There are two exits for Stans, Stans-Nord and Stans-Süd. The A8 from Sarnen and the Bernese Highlands joins the A2 near Hergiswil.

From Stans main roads lead south to Engelberg on the one side and Sarnen on the other side. In Beckenried, east of Stans, there's a ferry across the lake to Gersau, saving around of driving.

By boat
While Stans can't directly be accessed by boat, the neighbouring towns of Buochs, Stansstad and Hergiswil all have stops with connections to Lucerne and other towns around the lake.

See
The old town core of Stans has a couple of historic buildings, but there are more things to see in the surrounding area:

Bürgenstock
The Bürgenstock is a mountain north of Stans. It is surrounded on three sides by the lake and features near vertical walls towards the lake. There is a resort town halfway up as well as a viewing platform on top. To get to the resort there are two possibilities (prices one way): Take the ship from Lucerne (Fr. 17.20) to Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock and then take the Bürgenstock Funicular (Fr. 25). Alternatively, a much cheaper, albeit less scenic alternative is to take the S4 train from either Stans or Lucerne to Stansstad and then change to the hourly postal bus bringing you up to the resort (Fr. 7.80 from Lucerne).


 * Hammetschwandlift.JPG
 * Hammetschwandlift.JPG

Go next

 * Take the train to Engelberg for some skiing in winter or to enjoy the view from Mount Titlis in summer.
 * Cross the lake by boat from Buochs to Brunnen to learn more about how the iconic Swiss army knives are made.