Lucerne deserves more than forty minutes

I have taken people to Lucerne more times than I can count.

And there is one thing I see again and again.

People come from Zurich, take a photograph on the Chapel Bridge, walk around for forty minutes and then disappear towards Pilatus, Rigi or Titlis.

There is nothing wrong with that.

But they have not really seen Lucerne.

Lucerne is small enough that you do not need to rush it.

For me, that is exactly why you shouldn’t.

Go early

If I am arranging the day from Zurich, I like to leave early.

Your private driver collects you from the hotel and about an hour later you are in Lucerne.

Start with the Kapellbrücke.

Yes, everybody goes there.

And yes, you should too.

It is one of the symbols of Switzerland for a reason.

But don’t just walk across it looking at the lake.

Look up.

Under the roof are historic triangular paintings telling stories from Lucerne’s history. Beside the bridge stands the Water Tower, which over the centuries has served different purposes including as a treasury, archive and prison.

Then continue into the Old Town.

This is where I slow down.

Look above the shop windows

Lucerne has beautiful squares and painted façades, but a lot of people walk through them without really looking.

Weinmarkt.

Hirschenplatz.

Kornmarkt.

Little passages between them.

Old fountains.

Painted buildings.

Parts of Lucerne feel almost theatrical, but people are still living and working inside all of it.

I prefer walking here with somebody who knows what they are looking at rather than following a sightseeing checklist.

There are stories behind these buildings that you simply do not get from taking another photograph.

Go up to the Musegg Wall

This is one of my favourite parts of Lucerne.

Above the Old Town, the Musegg Wall and its towers are part of the city’s medieval fortifications.

When the accessible sections are open, you can walk part of the wall and climb several towers.

The view is worth it.

Old Lucerne below you.

The lake beyond it.

Mountains in almost every direction.

And suddenly you understand why the city was built where it was.

I would choose this over another souvenir shop every time.

The Lion is famous. Go anyway.

I normally try to show guests things they have not already seen a hundred times online.

The Lion Monument is an exception.

Go.

It commemorates the Swiss Guards who died during the French Revolution in 1792, and the dying lion is carved directly into the rock above the pond.

It is beautiful and sad at the same time.

Mark Twain famously described it as “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.”

For once, I think the famous description is justified.

But don’t leave immediately afterwards.

Right beside it is somewhere many visitors completely overlook.

The Glacier Garden

This is one of those places that sounds less interesting when somebody explains it than it actually is.

The Glacier Garden shows a completely different Lucerne.

Long before there was a city here, this landscape was shaped by glaciers. And much further back, this part of Switzerland was once a subtropical seashore.

You can still see the geological evidence.

I particularly like places like this because they change how you look at everything outside afterwards.

One of the strangest things in Lucerne

Then there is the Bourbaki Panorama.

I would never expect every guest to ask for it.

But for the right person, I absolutely recommend it.

You step inside an enormous circular painting depicting the French Bourbaki army crossing into Switzerland during the Franco Prussian War in the winter of 1871.

You stand in the middle of the scene.

It is part painting, part history and part illusion.

Very different from another traditional museum.

Then stop sightseeing

This is important.

Have lunch.

Properly.

Not twenty minutes because the driver is waiting.

Lucerne is sitting on one of the most beautiful lakes in Europe. There is absolutely no reason to eat a sandwich while walking towards the next attraction.

Depending on the guest, lunch is in the Old Town, beside the water or somewhere a little away from the obvious tourist route.

Then we decide what the afternoon should become.

If you have children, I know where I am sending you

The Swiss Museum of Transport.

This is one of the few museums where I am completely comfortable sending a family for several hours.

Trains, aircraft, cars, ships, space travel and interactive exhibits.

Children enjoy it.

Usually the parents do too.

And if the family is happy there, I don’t drag them out because an itinerary says we should be somewhere else.

If you don’t want another museum, don’t do one

Walk beside the lake instead.

The promenade is one of the nicest parts of Lucerne and costs absolutely nothing.

Sit down.

Have a coffee.

Watch the boats.

Or get on the water.

If you want art, I like the Rosengart Collection. It is manageable rather than overwhelming, with an important collection including Picasso and Paul Klee.

If none of that interests you, that is also fine.

A private day does not need to justify itself with eight attractions.

A few places I keep for the right guest

There are little streets behind the obvious Old Town route where I prefer walking.

There are places above the centre where you suddenly get the city, lake and mountains in the same view.

There are restaurants I choose because I know where I would want to sit, not because they appear first online.

And there are corners around the lake where I would happily spend an hour doing absolutely nothing.

Those are not necessarily the places I need to publish on the website.

Tell me what you like and I will decide which ones make sense for you.

And what about Pilatus?

This is where I disagree with a lot of standard Lucerne itineraries.

You can combine Lucerne and Pilatus.

That is a separate day, and it can be a fantastic one.

The same applies to Mount Rigi.

But if you tell me that what you actually want is to experience Lucerne, then I am not going to spend the entire day trying to get you out of Lucerne.

Sometimes the mountain is the day.

Sometimes the town is the day.

Sometimes we combine them.

It depends on why you came.

Bad weather? Keep Lucerne.

This is another reason I like having Lucerne in a Switzerland itinerary.

If the mountains disappear into cloud, I don’t need to pretend the weather is wonderful and send you to a summit to stare into fog.

Lucerne still works.

Old Town.

Museums.

Lunch.

Culture.

Then save the mountain for the clear day.

That little bit of flexibility can completely change a trip through Switzerland.

From Zurich and back again

Lucerne works as a comfortable half day or as the whole day.

Your private driver collects you from your hotel in Zurich and takes you directly to Lucerne.

If you only want the Old Town, Chapel Bridge, Lion Monument and some time beside the lake, we do not need to invent an eight hour programme.

If you love history, art or museums, we stay longer.

If you want lunch and a private boat afterwards, that is easily done.

If you wake up to perfect blue skies and suddenly decide you want a mountain as well, we see what makes sense.

That is the advantage of doing it privately.

I don’t need Lucerne to fit the itinerary.

I make the itinerary fit you.

This is one of the private Lucerne walking tours we arrange from Zurich. Begin the conversation.

Also in the journal: Zurich, properly and Lake Lucerne by private boat. For everything else we arrange there, see private travel in Switzerland.