My sixth day on the Switzerland brought me to Lucerne, a city in the middle of Switzerland. I found the city is very unique compared to other city in Switzerland. Not only it has beautiful landscape, it is also filled with history dated back to 14th century. In this post, I will detail places that I visited in Lucerne. You can read my adventure in Switzerland from Day-1 to Day-5 here.
Table of Contents
A bit about Lucerne
If Geneva is located near to Lake Geneva, Interlaken is squeezed between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun, and Zurich is located next to Lake Zurich, then Lucerne is located next to Lake Lucerne. With all mountainous geography of the Switzerland, Lucerne is no different with other cities in Switzerland when it comes to picturesque and majestic view. To make it even more dramatic, it has lake, river and mount Pilatus and Rigi of Swiss Alps in the background.
However, what differentiate Lucerne to other is its history. After the demise of Roman Empire, Germanic Alemannic people settled in the area. In the middle of 8th century, to honor St. Leodegar they build Benedectine monastery, and the settlement was named “Luciaria”. This name was later changed to Lucerne. It became part of Swiss Confederation in 1848. (Source: Britannica)
Where is Lucerne and How to Get There and Get Around
Lucerne is located in the middle of Switzerland. It’s an hour train ride from Bern, 40 minutes train ride from Zurich, an hour Car rides from Interlaken (2 hours by train), and 3 hours train ride from Geneva (or 2,5 hrs ride by car).
Lucerne does not have an airport. So, if you take an international flight, the closest airport you can get into is Zurich. Then from there, you can either take a train or bus to Zurich.
The city of Lucerne is only 37,4 square kilometers, and the city centre is walkable. Public transportation such as bus is also available. However, try to avoid getting around by car since it has a scarce parking center. To learn about the public transport, you can read it here.
Passepartout is Lucerne subscription to its public transport system. It is applicable for using in a certain area for bus or train in a certain period of time. Single ticket, multiday ticket or day ticket is also available. All the pass works on the zone system. The more zones you are going, the prices will become more expensive. This also applies to single ticket and multiday ticket.
Places that I Visited in Lucerne
Before the trip, I planned to visit several places be it in Lucerne or in spots around Lake Lucerne. However, due to time constraint, I only managed visiting very few places in that one day. So, beside the list of place that I have visited, later on in this blog I will also list places of interest that I did not get a chance to visit but would love to visit it some other day.
Keppelbrucke (Chapel Bridge)
Without question, this bridge is the tourist attraction in Lucerne if not Switzerland. Keppelbrucke is the oldest wooden bridge in Europe. It was built in 1360 and survived from 1993 fire and has been restored. This bridge is named after the nearby St Peter’s Chapel. The location of this bridge is diagonal on top of Russ River, right in the center of the city. Its length is 204 meters.
Along the bridge is paintings dated back from 17th century. After the fire in 1993, only 30 paintings out of 158 remain. These paintings were created by Hans Heinrich Wagmann and depicts various events in the city History.
Keppelbrucke is always full of visitors, and due to its narrow bridge, we have to take turn with other visitors. Go here the earliest and enjoy the beauty of the paintings displayed on top of the bridge. The swans in the lake is also something to look for. The bridge and the swan makes a beautiful scenery in a frame altogether.
Spreuer Bridge
Separated by only half kilometres from Keppelbrucke is Spreuer Bridge. This bridge is also called Chaff Bridge since the Chaff from the town mills was thrown over the edge of this bridge into the Reuss river. The southern half of the bridge, built in 1408, stands across the Reuss, the northern half diagonally to it (source: Luzern.com).
Lion Monument
Lion monument was built in 1792 to commemorate more than 600 Swiss Guard who were massacred during French Revolution. This monument was framed out of the cave separated by a small water. The location itself almost mystical and beautiful. Lion Monument is just 15 minute’s walk from the Chapel Bridge. (source: luzern.com)
Places that I (want to) Visit Next time in Lucerne
These are some awesome places in Lucerne that i did not visit, but I’d like to visit it one day.
Auf Musegg
Musegg wall and its nine towers spread majestically on top of the hill and can be seen from Lucerne city center. The construction of this wall begun at 13th century and it’s 800 meter length. They built the Nine towers along the way between 14th century to 19th century. The view of Lucerne from this wall looks amazing from pictures and it’s about 15-20 minutes walking distance from Chapel Bridge.
Lucerne Culture and Congress Center
KKL( Kultur and Kongresszentrum Luzern) or Lucerne Culture and Congress Center is a multifunctional building including a concert hall. The location is only five minutes away from Chapel Bridge.
On the last day in Switzerland, i decided to go to Liechtenstein, St. Gallen, and tour at Zurich. It wasn’t the brightest idea, but i was happy i could visit the tiny country Liechtenstein and beautiful church at St. Gallen. On my next post (still in Switzerland series), i will share my short adventure on Liechtenstein.
