Vitznau was first mentioned in the 14th century as the municipality. The adjective «vizo» meant clever, cunning, sly. However, the common explanation of the name is «a land on water» inhabited by Fizo and not that the Vitznauer were particularly cunning.

The town appears as a one-street village grown up along the shores of the Lake Lucerne. Because of the sheltered location in the lake basin, the climate is particularly mild. Palm trees in the village are no rarity and even wine has been grown in Vitznau at times.

The village lies at the foot of the Rigi mountain and the Rigi funicular has travelled from here up to the summit of the «Queen of Mountains» since 1871. The opening of the railway by cogwheel railway pioneer Niklaus Riggenbach was a turning point for the village, which until then, had lived mostly from modest agriculture, viticulture and fishing. Vitznau only had two hotels before the railway's construction. Today, Vitznau even has its own hotel school and visitors include countless personalities from European nobility and the field of the arts.

The Swiss Army has a fortress in Vitznau – a testament to recent Swiss history. The Alpine region was expanded militarily during the Second World War when plans were made to withdraw into the Alpine redoubt if necessary. Vitznau was located at an entrance to the redoubt. The fortress has been open to the public since being decommissioned in 1998.