

Photos: Lucerne by ILOVESwitzerland, Pexels License; Muscat by Alli Khalil, CC BY 4.0, cropped.
Lucerne or Muscat?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Lucerne for
- getting around
- live music and the arts
- nature and the outdoors
What lies behind each score is written up on Lucerne’s own page.
Choose Muscat for
- beaches
- prices
- food and drink
What lies behind each score is written up on Muscat’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Lucerne and Muscat.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on getting around and live music and the arts with your weighting.
Wins on beaches and prices with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Lucerne in July
Muscat in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Lucerne has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Lucerne's sunshine is measured 42 km from the centre, at Zurich Town / Ville..
Muscat's sunshine is measured 32 km from the centre, at Seeb, International Airport.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Lucerne: 2005-2025 (sunshine 1991-2020, rainfall 1991-2020) normals, Emmen (4.2 km from centre). Muscat: 1991-2020 normals, Qaboos Port (3.4 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Lucerne | Muscat |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | French, German, Italian, Romansh | Arabic |
| Currency | Swiss Franc (CHF) | Rial Omani (OMR) |
| Sockets | CJ230 V, 50 Hz | CG240 V, 50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer | UTC+4 |
| Emergency number | 112 | 968 |
| Elevation | 436 m | 69 m |
| Main airport | Zürich Airport (ZRH)49 km from centre226 non-stop destinations | Muscat International Airport (MCT)31 km from centre83 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 12 days | - |
By the numbers
| Measure | Lucerne | Muscat |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 86,234 | 1,421,409 |
| People per km² | 2,963 | 406 |
| Museums within 10 km | 14 | 10 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 1 | 0 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | - | 12 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Lucerne or Muscat somewhere new.