Lucerne City Guide

Brücken, Stadtmauer & See

From the covered Chapel Bridge with its Water Tower over the painted Weinmarkt to the second wooden bridge, the Spreuerbrücke. Up onto the walkable Musegg wall with its towers, to the dying lion of the Lion Monument and into the Glacier Garden. Back to the centre to the Rosengart Collection (Picasso & Klee), to the lakeside KKL and onto a cruise across Lake Lucerne.

1. Chapel Bridge & Water Tower – The walk starts at the Chapel Bridge of 1333, Europe's oldest covered wooden bridge, with the octagonal Water Tower beside it. Historic painted panels hang under the roof; in the Reuss, bridge and tower mirror into arguably Switzerland's most photographed sight.
2. Weinmarkt – In the heart of the car-free old town lies the Weinmarkt, a picturesque square whose house façades are covered in colourful frescoes. A Gothic fountain splashes in the middle - once the stage of Lucerne's medieval Easter plays.
3. Spreuerbrücke – The Spreuerbrücke of 1408 is Lucerne's second historic wooden bridge, quieter and more original than the Chapel Bridge. Under its roof hangs the famous "Dance of Death", a 17th-century cycle of 67 painted panels in which Death leads people of every rank into the dance.
4. Museggmauer – High above the old town runs the Musegg wall, the almost fully preserved 14th-century fortification with nine towers. Several are open to climb - from the rampart walk and the towers you get a broad view over the roofs, the lake and the Alpine chain. One tower holds Lucerne's oldest city clock.
5. Lion Monument – Carved into a rock face above a pond is the dying lion, a monument to the Swiss Guards who fell in 1792. Mark Twain called it "the saddest and most moving piece of stone in the world" - the quiet setting with its huge relief is one of the city's most affecting spots.
6. Glacier Garden – Right next to the lion lies the Glacier Garden: giant glacial potholes and ice-age polished rock, a museum of earth history and the nostalgic "Alhambra" mirror maze with a hundred mirrors. A surprisingly varied spot, great for kids too.
7. Rosengart Collection – The Rosengart Collection, in a neoclassical bank building, presents a choice selection of classic modernism: a whole floor of Paul Klee, over 30 works by Picasso and the famous photographs showing Angela Rosengart as a young woman in Picasso's close circle. A must for art lovers.
8. Hofkirche St. Leodegar (Court Church) – Above the lakeshore rise the two striking pointed spires of the Hofkirche St. Leodegar - Lucerne's main parish church and a defining landmark of the skyline. The late-Gothic building with Renaissance towers holds one of Switzerland's largest organs; a quiet arcaded courtyard lies in front.
9. KKL & Europaplatz – On the lakeshore beside the station stands the KKL, Jean Nouvel's Culture and Congress Centre with its vast, seemingly floating flat roof over the water. The concert hall ranks among the world's acoustically finest; the Europaplatz in front opens the view over the lake to the mountains.
10. Lake Lucerne cruise – To finish, out on the water: from the Bahnhofquai, cruises set off across Lake Lucerne, some on historic paddle steamers. From the deck, the shores, villas and the mountain backdrop of Rigi and Pilatus drift past - a short loop or a longer trip to Weggis or Vitznau, as time allows. The station is right by the pier.