Lucerne

Why Lucerne works

Lucerne's Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrucke), a covered wooden footbridge first built in 1333, remains the city's emblem, its 17th-century gable paintings depicting local history despite a 1993 fire that destroyed much of the original structure. The bridge crosses the Reuss River into a compact old town of painted facades, cobbled squares and the twin-towered Hof Church, all backed by the medieval Musegg Wall, whose nine surviving towers can still be walked for free. The Lion Monument, a sorrowful sandstone lion carved into a cliff face to honour Swiss Guards killed in the French Revolution, moved Mark Twain to call it 'the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.' Lake Lucerne itself, cross-shaped and ringed by mountains, is best seen from a paddle-steamer cruise or from the summit of Mt Pilatus, reached by the world's steepest cog railway, or Mt Rigi, the 'Queen of the Mountains,' via Europe's oldest mountain railway. The Culture and Convention Centre, designed by Jean Nouvel, hosts the Lucerne Festival each summer. Lakeside promenades, chocolate shops and watch boutiques fill the gaps between sightseeing, while the KKL's cantilevered roof mirrors the lake beneath it.

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