9 Things to Do in Lucerne, Switzerland
Nine things worth your time in Lucerne, from the two covered bridges over the Reuss to the mountains standing over the lake.
1. Walk the Chapel Bridge, then cross the Spreuerbrücke
The Kapellbrücke, dating to around 1333, is marketed as Europe’s oldest surviving wooden covered bridge, but a fire on 18 August 1993 destroyed roughly two-thirds of the structure and 86 of its original gable paintings, what stands is a faithful reconstruction. The octagonal Water Tower at its end actually predates the bridge, to around 1300. The Spreuerbrücke, the second covered bridge, escaped that fire and still carries its original 17th-century “Dance of Death” panels, quieter and less crowded than its famous neighbor.
2. Pay respects at the Lion Monument and the Glacier Garden
The Lion Monument, a dying-lion relief carved into a rock face in 1820-21, commemorates the roughly 760 Swiss Guards killed defending Louis XVI during the 1792 storming of the Tuileries Palace. Mark Twain called it “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.” It’s free to visit and treated as a memorial, not a photo backdrop. The Glacier Garden sits right next door, with Ice Age potholes discovered by accident in 1872 and a historic 1896 mirror maze.
3. Wander the Old Town squares
Weinmarkt, Kornmarkt, and Hirschenplatz are the three landmark squares of the Altstadt, ringed by guild houses with painted facades that mostly date from 18th and 19th-century restorations. The Weinmarkt’s central fountain is topped by a statue of St. Mauritius.
4. Climb the Musegg Wall towers, free
The Musegg Wall runs 870 meters along the ridge above the Old Town, the longest intact city wall surviving in Switzerland, with 9 medieval towers. Several are open to climb (typically Männliturm, Zytturm, Wachtturm, and Schirmerturm, verify which are open before you go), all free, roughly April through November. The Zytturm holds the oldest clock in Central Switzerland, dating to 1535, permitted by old civic privilege to strike the hour one minute before every other clock in the city.
5. Step inside the Jesuit Church and the Hofkirche
The Jesuit Church (Jesuitenkirche) is a Baroque landmark built as a center of the Counter-Reformation in Central Switzerland, known for ornate stucco work. The Hofkirche (Church of St. Leodegar), Lucerne’s parish church, was rebuilt between 1633 and 1639 after fire destroyed the earlier church, and is considered one of Switzerland’s most important Baroque churches.
6. Visit the KKL and Kunstmuseum Luzern
Jean Nouvel’s KKL Luzern, opened 1998-2000, sits on the lakeshore by the train station under a distinctive oversized flat roof, home to the Lucerne Festival and internationally renowned for its acoustics. It also houses the Kunstmuseum Luzern, with a collection spanning Renaissance to contemporary work and a strength in Swiss Classical Modernism.
7. Explore the Swiss Museum of Transport
The Verkehrshaus, opened in 1959, is Switzerland’s single most-visited museum, around 20,000 square meters covering rail, road, water, and air travel, with a Swiss Chocolate Adventure exhibit and the Hans Erni Museum, dedicated to the Lucerne-born artist who died in 2015 at 106.
8. Cruise Lake Lucerne
The SGV fleet, including historic Belle Époque paddle steamers, connects Lucerne to lakeshore towns like Weggis and Vitznau. It’s also the boat leg of the Pilatus Golden Round Trip if you’re headed up the mountain the same day.
9. Ride a mountain: Pilatus or Rigi
Pilatus is reached by the world’s steepest cogwheel railway, Rigi by Europe’s first mountain railway, opened in 1871. The Swiss Travel Pass gives Rigi free but only around 50% off Pilatus, worth knowing before you pick one.