Lucerne is a beautiful small city in the heartland of Switzerland, across the lake from Altdorf, where legend has it William Tell shot an apple off of his son's head. In addition to being a fine place to visit in and of itself Lucerne is a great base from which to explore famous Swiss sites such as Mount Rigi and the Rütli Meadow.
The first city to join the Swiss Confederation, today Lucerne is a lovely small city with a thriving tourism industry, owing mainly to its status as a gateway to Central Switzerland. The city became a center of Swiss history and legend, and is the setting for the most memorable part of the William Tell legend (the bit with the boy and the apple).
Tourism in Lucerne has a distinguished history dating from the mid 19th century, with Mark Twain among them. In "A Tramp Abroad" he recalls the nascent souvenir business, and other budding examples of the tourism trade.
PLACE TO VISIT
The Chapel Bridge, The Chapel Bridge is in some kind the landmark of Lucerne and its said to be the oldest woodbridge of Europe. The Bridge is made with wood and was built in 14th century as a protection for the city. It's amusing walking over it as you can see about 100 pictures of 12th century city life and Swiss history. Join one of the walking tours going around! Unfortunately the bridge burned down on 18th August 1993. Within a few months it was rebuilt. The tower used as oubliette is still in original condition. Walk over it in a 3D Model:
Alpineum
Bourbaki Panorama
The Glacier Garden
The Swiss Transport Museum , Lido beach (the first stop for boats leaving from the central train station, preferably reached by bus). With its large collection of trains, planes, automobiles, and motorcycles this museum of means of transport is a great place to spend an afternoon. If you get tired of the real train engines you can check out the model railroad or the miniature working steam train. The air section also features several space travel exhibits, including an un-used project Mercury capsule. Basic admission is 32 Chf. for adults, 21 Chf for children 6-16, and free for younger kids.
The Picasso Museum Arriving uninvited at Picasso’s villa “California”, LIFE’s WWII photo correspondent David Douglas Duncan was unsure of his reception. Luckily he, and his camera, were welcomed by Picasso and his family, and over the years produced an intimate portrait of the artist’s day-to-day life. 200 of these photographs, presented alongside a collection of late Picassos donated by Angela and Siegfried Rosengart, are displayed in the Am-Rhyn-Haus, a 17th century building worth seeing in its own right. Picasso’s living room was his studio, and domestic scenes -- a ballet lesson, Picasso drawing with his children, or wrapping himself in the cape and hat of his native Spain -- play out within the backdrop of some of his most famous works. Go twice. One more thing: the missing photos are on the wall above the stairwell. Furrengasse 21, CH-6004. Tel 041 410 17 73. Apr - Oct, open daily 10 to 6. Nov - Mar, 11 to 5.
The Rosengart Collection (Sammlung Rosengart) April-October: every day, 10 AM-6 PM; November-March: every day, 11 AM-5 PM. Well over 200 works by 23 artists of early modernism, including 125 works of Paul Klee and about 50 by Pablo Picasso. Also works by Cézanne, Chagall, Miró, Pissarro, among others. Admission CHF 15 (CHF 8 for students, children 7-16 years).
The KKL (Kunst- und Kongresshaus Luzern, The KKL is a spectacular building that contains several concert halls and the Lucerne Art Museum. It was designed by Jean Nouvel. Its major concert hall ("La salle blanche") is famous for its acoustics, and world class orchestras can be heard regularly. It hosts the lucerne music festival
WHAT TO DO
Fasnacht Some cities of Switzerland including Lucerne and Basel celebrate a rousing carnival just before lent each year. The version celebrated here is famous for its chaotic "march any direction you like" street parades of the so called Guugemusig (band of wind instruments and drummer, typical to the carneval of Central Switzerland) and elaborate masks. The carneval week of Lucerne starts on the Fat Tuesday and ends at Ash Wednesday. The programm in short: Fat Tuesday, Urknall (a loud bang) at 5am is the official beginning, music on the streets all the day in the city, mask parade from 2pm along the lake, music on the steets in the evening; Friday to Sunday music and masksparades in all the towns and villages of the region; Güdis Monday, second Urknall at 6am, rest dito Fat Tuesday; Thursday big street concert in the hole old town and surroundings, end of the official carneval at midnight... but it continue in the bars until morning of Ash Wednesday. As with carnival elsewhere the exact date on the calendar is variable according to the phase of the moon. You find the date of the next Fat Tuesday (SchuDo, Schmutziger Donnerstag) here: . If you won't be recognised as a tourist, put on some colorful clothes ;) Most of the people are dressed in colors or in masks. In the last years, the cities of Zurich and Berne started to copy Central Switzerlands carneval. At the moment mood and music isn't half as good as in Lucerne.
Take a boat tour
The Golden Round-Trip
Explore the Old Town One of the main reasons that Lucerne attracts so many travelers is its small but remarkably preserved old town. You can get lost (for a few minutes anyhow) in its maze of streets, passages, and squares, admiring the many and varied murals painted on what seems like every other building. A nice short walk on the Museggmauer starts at the Schirmer-Turm, walk up the road near Jazzantine, open only at daytime.
Ascend Mount Pilatus, a famous mountain overlooking the city of Lucerne. Its peak can be reached by the world's steepest cogwheel railway from Alpnachstad (not operating in wintertime) and all-year-round by cable-car in three sections from Kriens (10 minutes by trolley bus no. 1 from Lucerne as far as 'Linde'). This trip is definitely a must and gives you a good impression of a wild and rocky peak with a marvelous view to the "real" Alps. Of course you can walk to the top on foot, which takes at least 4 hours from Kriens. A pleasant alternative is to walk down to Kriens from the bottom of the middle cable-car section.
HOW TO REACH
By train - Thanks to its central location Lucerne can be reached easily from nearly every other city in Switzerland using the Swiss Federal Railway . There are hourly trains from Olten and Zurich Airport and half-hourly trains from Zurich, and a direct train every other hour from Berne, although departure times are more frequent with connections. The "Zentralbahn" branch of the Swiss Federal Railway provides also hourly trains between Interlaken and Luzern during daytime.
By boat - Lucerne sits at the north end of the Vierwaldstättersee, one of the busiest waterways in Switzerland, for travel information from Schwyz, Flüelen, Weggis, and outbound points see the schedule at the Schifffahrt Vierwaldstättersee
