Are the shared kitchens at Lucerne hostels free to use?

Yes, free for guests at all three. You bring your own ingredients, use the supplied pots and equipment, and clean up after. Bellpark and Backpackers Luzern have a kitchen-closure rule (23:00) for dishwashing; Young Backpackers Homestay is more flexible because it's smaller.

Where do you buy groceries near these Lucerne hostels?

Lidl on Luzernerstrasse for Bellpark (160 m, cheapest). Coop Pronto at Werkhof bus stop for Backpackers Luzern (250 m, bigger range, slightly pricier). Coop Mattenhof for Young Backpackers Homestay (350 m, mid-priced). Migros across from KKL has a wider range but adds 10-15 percent.

Is there a hostel in Lucerne without a shared kitchen?

Yes — the official Luzern Youth Hostel (Swiss YHA) does not have a shared kitchen. It runs an on-site restaurant with a CHF 18 breakfast buffet and evening dining instead. If self-catering is core to your trip, skip the YHA and pick one of the three above.

Do these kitchens have ovens or just stovetops?

Bellpark has two ovens and two gas hobs. Backpackers Luzern has two ovens and two full stoves (six burners total). Young Backpackers Homestay has one oven and one four-burner gas hob. All three have electric kettles and fridges; Bellpark and YBH have espresso machines.

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Lucerne Shared KitchenRanked guide

Best Hostels with Shared Kitchens in Lucerne

Switzerland is one of the most expensive eating-out countries in Europe — a sit-down dinner in Lucerne starts at CHF 25 and a kebab is CHF 15. So a properly equipped shared hostel kitchen genuinely pays for itself in two meals. Three Lucerne hostels run real kitchens (not microwave-and-toaster setups): Bellpark in Kriens (full equipment, Lidl two minutes away), Backpackers Luzern on the lakefront (two stoves, two fridges, the largest kitchen in town), and Young Backpackers Homestay (small but properly stocked, communal dinners forming spontaneously).

◉ Ranking · 3 picks

01Young Backpackers Homestay€50
02Backpackers Luzern€48
03Bellpark Hostel€42

§ 01 — Traveler's take

“I spent six nights in Lucerne and ate out twice. The other ten meals were in hostel kitchens. Bellpark first — Lidl pasta, pesto, an apple from the staff bowl, total cost CHF 4.50 for a dinner that fed two. Then Backpackers Luzern for the lakefront kitchen — two stoves running simultaneously, a Frenchman doing risotto, an American cooking burgers, me on a curry. Got friend-fed half the curry the next morning. Young Backpackers Homestay last — Raymond's small kitchen, but he organized a Tuesday communal dinner where three of us bought ingredients at the Coop and cooked together for CHF 12 a head. The math is brutal: same six days at restaurants would have been CHF 240+, the kitchens kept it under CHF 50.”

§ 02 — The ranked list

Our Top 3 Picks

★ 9.6488 reviews€50/night

Young Backpackers Homestay

A small, owner-run homestay on the Kriens hillside with a panoramic glass-walled lounge that frames Mt. Pilatus on one side and Lucerne's lake basin on the other. Closer to a Swiss Alpine B&B than a hostel — eight beds, a bar, a sun terrace, a garden — but priced like a hostel and run with the kind of personal care that pulls 9.6 from 488 reviewers.

Highest-rated hostel-priced bed in Lucerne (9.6 on 488 reviews)
Panoramic glass-walled common room frames Mt. Pilatus and the lake basin
Owner Raymond personally runs check-in, bar nights, and guest tours
Only Lucerne hostel with an on-site bar, garden barbecue, and small sauna corner

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★ 8.92,520 reviews€48/night

Backpackers Luzern

An unfussy, sociable hostel parked directly on Lake Lucerne in the Tribschen neighborhood, fifteen minutes' walk from the Old Town along the lakeshore. Big shared kitchen, common lounge with a foosball table, balcony rooms that look straight at Mt. Pilatus across the water. The default backpacker pick in Lucerne and the highest-rated proper hostel.

Highest-rated conventional hostel in Lucerne (8.9 on 2,520 reviews)
Lake Lucerne fifty meters from the front door, Pilatus visible across the water
Fifteen-minute lakeside walk to Chapel Bridge and the Old Town
Properly large shared kitchen — two stoves, two fridges, no 7pm queue

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★ 7.31,149 reviews€42/night

Bellpark Hostel

A modest, quiet hostel in Kriens, fifteen minutes by bus 1 from Lucerne train station, parked directly on the cogwheel side of Mt. Pilatus. Shared kitchen, snack bar, garden, and a Lidl supermarket two minutes away — the cheapest way to stay near Lucerne without sleeping in a tent.

Cheapest hostel bed in greater Lucerne by ten to fifteen francs per night
Bus 1 outside the door to the train station every six minutes (12 minute ride)
Walking distance to the Pilatus cogwheel base station in Kriens
Shared kitchen + Lidl two minutes away — the only realistic way to eat cheap in Switzerland

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§ 03 — Tips

Tips for Choosing a Hostel with Shared Kitchen in Lucerne

Tip Nº 01

Lidl on Luzernerstrasse (160 m from Bellpark) is the cheapest grocery in greater Lucerne by 15-20 percent on staples. Bus 1 from town gets you there in ten minutes if you're staying elsewhere.

Tip Nº 02

Backpackers Luzern's two stoves run hot and need the gas valves opened all the way — first-time cooks get confused by the manual lighter. Ask the kitchen-mate next to you, it's a five-second fix.

Tip Nº 03

Bring a sharpie and label your food in the fridge — Backpackers Luzern's three fridges fit twelve dorms' worth of groceries and ownership confusion is real after day three.

Tip Nº 04

Cook before 19:00 if you can — all three kitchens peak at 19:30 to 20:30, and a 17:00 dinner gets you a full stove and a quiet table.

Tip Nº 05

If you're eating at Young Backpackers Homestay's communal dinners, drop a CHF 5 note in Raymond's basket even if not asked — it's the polite Swiss thing and it keeps the tradition alive.

§ 04 — Other vibes