Lucerne’s big five

At the heart of Switzerland, Lucerne is a seriously impressive and attractive city, set around a huge lake of the same name, and flush with things to see, do, snap and savour. Here are five reasons to stick it firmly on your Swiss itinerary.

THE LAKE

In the warmer months especially, you could spend days on and by this shimmering body of water, which covers 114sqm and borders four historic Swiss cantons. From the piers of central Lucerne, you can go sightseeing aboard sleek cruise vessels or vintage paddle steamers. The shores around the city also have lidos and designated bathing spots for swimmers and beach-going locals in the northern summer, with Belle Epoque hotels and casinos and chalet-sprinkled green slopes and mountains a seductive backdrop. In German — the most commonly spoken language here — Lake Lucerne is known as Vierwaldstattersee, meaning Lake of the Four Forested Settlements. You may hear Swiss French speakers calling it Le Lac des Quatre-Cantons (Lake of the Four Cantons). For the best overview of this natural wonder and its various contortions, you’ll want to get high. One pulse-raising possibility is a tandem paragliding adventure. Flights take off from peaks around Lucerne, including 2128m Mt Pilatus, which can be scaled on the world’s steepest cogwheel railway, established in 1889. Passengers board the train in Alpnachstad, a village just south of the city, and 30 minutes later, pacing Pilatus’ terraces, they’re inhaling the alpine air and sensational vistas of the lake, not to mention the distant, perennially snow-drenched peaks of the Jungfrau region of Switzerland.

THE OLD TOWN

Of all the waterfalls and waterways feeding the lake, few have the power of the River Reuss, which flows through the centre of Lucerne and is at its thrashing best when the alpine snow melts in spring. You’ll hear the river as you cross the eye-catching bridges linking the ancient core of Lucerne, where grand churches, merchants’ homes and guildhouses shot up in the medieval and renaissance periods when this had emerged as one of central Europe’s key marketplaces and trading crossroads. Arguably the most photographed sight of the Altstadt (Old Town) is the Kapellbrucke (Chapel Bridge), a covered wooden structure with pictorial panels inside charting key moments of Swiss history. Rebuilt several times, most recently after a blaze in 1993, the bridge was originally constructed in the 14th century and adjoins a water tower that once served as a prison and dungeon.

MONUMENTS

It was late in the 1300s, after Swiss forces had defeated Austrian Habsburg armies in a key battle, that Lucerne’s fortifications received a major bolstering. Many portions have long since been dismantled. But the best-preserved remnant — the Musegg Wall — is still formidable. Set back and secluded from the main waterfront draws, many tourists are unaware of its existence. Behind Museggstrasse, you can scale steps leading to the 800m-long stretch of walls, where you can enjoy invigorating strolls and rousing panoramas over Lucerne, its lake and rural fringes. You can enter and climb some of the walls’ nine remaining watchtowers, including the Zytturm, which dates from 1535 and has a colourfully painted clock face and a small museum with antique timepieces. Back at street level, a five-minute walk west of the Musegg Wall, you’ll find the Lion Monument, a rock relief of a dying lion set in a grotto. Unveiled in 1821, it honours the Swiss Guards killed while defending the Tuileries royal palace in Paris during the French Revolution. Observing this monument later that century, visiting American writer Mark Twain is said to have described it as “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world”.

ART AND CULTURE

Lucerne can, at times, feel like an open-air gallery as there are beautiful artworks to admire on your walks (don’t miss, for example, the picturesque ornamental facades on the buildings framing the Hirschenplatz). But there’s an array of world-class art to peruse indoors too. The Sammlung Rosengart, set up by a late German-Swiss art dealer, is ideal for a chilly winter’s day. Works by Paul Klee and Pablo Picasso are major drawcards of this museum, housed in a neoclassical former bank and also showcasing the likes of Paul Cezanne, Wassily Kandinsky and Joan Miro. Temporary art exhibitions also fill the galleries at KKL Luzern, a concert hall and convention centre designed by leading contemporary French architect Jean Nouvel (it looms by the lake, next to Lucerne train station, which has regular services to Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Bern and other Swiss cities). Sometimes the culture is vividly out on the streets of Lucerne, notably during Fasnacht, a pre-Lenten carnival (February 12-17, 2026) with live music and parades starring revellers in masks and costumes.

DINING SPOTS

Another of Lucerne’s pleasures is the variety of enticing settings for food and drink. For the balmier temperatures between June and September, you’ll probably fancy an outdoor table out on the cobbles, maybe under the shade of parasols. Alfresco options pepper both the Altstadt and Neustadt (the more modern part of Lucerne, where the streets are wider and the squares larger). Blessed with a lovely riverside locale is Opus, close to the baroque-style Jesuit church, in front of which you’ll often hear violinists and other musicians. Tuck into a Mediterranean-inspired salad or perhaps fish and chips Lucerne-style, with lake perch fillets wrapped in a light crispy beer batter and pairing nicely with a glass of crisp Swiss white wine. When the weather turns and the heat drains away from Lucerne, its cosy taverns and grill restaurants — toasty with open-air kitchens — become more tempting. In the Neustadt, Ampersand is a slick eatery specialising in barbecued Swiss steaks, pork chops and mountain lamb, served with flavoursome sauces and spices, while the Altstadt’s Wilden Mann is one of the country’s oldest inns, with its Burgerstube restaurant excelling in hearty classics like beef stroganoff and veal and mushrooms in puff pastry. Although the current hotel only opened in the mid-19th century, these premises have been welcoming travellers since the early 1500s and an old-fashioned charm permeates the guest rooms, antique-blessed corridors, and bookish communal lounges. + Steve McKenna was a guest of Globus. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication. fact file + For more information on visiting Lucerne and Switzerland, see luzern.com and myswitzerland.com + Guests stay two nights at the Hotel Wilden Mann on Globus’ nine-day Best of Switzerland tour, which also includes free time to explore Lucerne and a rail trip up Mt Pilatus. Beginning and ending in Zurich, the tour runs between May and October 2026, costing from $5649 a person (based on double occupancy). See globus.com.au