36 Hours in Enchanting Lucerne, Switzerland
The compact Swiss city of Lucerne (Luzern in German) is just an hour’s train ride from Zurich, but it feels a world away. Sparkling Lake Lucerne, the surrounding mountains, the Reuss River (pronounced “Royce”), and the 650+ year-old Chapel Bridge instantly greet visitors upon arrival at the train station. The city is simply stunning.
According to legend, Lucerne received its name from an angel who guided early settlers to build a monastery, using heavenly light streaming from its hands. (The name stems from the Latin word lucerna, meaning “lamp” or “lantern.) The city certainly seems like it was touched by an angel.
Lucerne dazzles. It is packed with spectacular scenery, history, art, and fabulous food – the best we ate in the country. The city is worthy of many days of exploring, and a full week with day trips. But even just 36 hours is more than enough time to fall in love with it.
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Where to Stay
The best area for a tourist to stay is Altstadt, Lucerne’s charming Old Town. This will put you within easy walking distance of the train station and of most of the city’s attractions. Consider booking several months in advance if possible. Excellent choices include:
Hotel De La Paix, a 3-star hotel in the center of Old Town, is just a few minutes’ walk from the Lion Monument. An expansive continental breakfast is included each morning. It features comfortable rooms at a great price for the area.
Hotel Des Balances, a 4-star hotel located directly on the Reuss River, features a gorgeous piano bar that opens onto a waterfront terrace where breakfast, lunch, and dinner are available. Many of the rooms have wonderful views of the river and the Chapel Bridge.
Hotel Schweizerhof, a 5-star hotel, has sweeping views of Lake Lucerne and the mountains. The hotel offers exceptional hospitality, a host of luxury amenities, including turn-down service and a spa, and the outstanding Brasserie VICO, specializing in French cuisine.
Each night, the exterior is illuminated with colored lights, which reflect onto the lake and create a breathtaking scene. (Even if you don’t stay here, be sure to walk by in the evening!)
Day 1: Afternoon: Visit the Awe-Inspiring Rosengart Collection
The Sammlung Rosengart Museum is a private collection of world-class art focusing largely on Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee, but also including other 19th and 20th century masters, such as Cezanne, Chagall, and Monet. The stately neoclassical building that houses the art is within walking distance from most areas of Old Town, including all of the hotels listed above.
The collection was curated by Siegfried and Angela Rosengart, father and daughter art collectors, who were friends of Picasso and other well-known artists for decades. The current collection, now managed by the Rosengart Foundation, includes a staggering 180 Picasso paintings, drawings, and sculptures, filling room after room of the gallery.
Among the works by Picasso are numerous portraits of Angela. She posed for him on five occasions, starting when she was 19 years old.
As of this writing, Angela is 92 years old and remains involved on a daily basis with the Foundation’s management of the collection.
This intimate and impressive museum is an unexpected highlight in Lucerne. Admission is 20 CHF, or free with a Swiss Museum Pass or Swiss Travel Pass.
Day 1: Late Afternoon / Evening – Exploring and Dining in Captivating Old Town
Lucerne’s Old Town is reason enough to visit the city! The picturesque, mostly pedestrian-only area is known for its well-preserved medieval architecture, cobblestone streets, statues & fountains, and brightly painted, frescoed buildings. It is choc full of shops and restaurants. Take some time to walk through the appealing streets, gaze at the art and architecture, and do a little shopping.
The mural above Restaurant Fritschi, on the bottom right, is dedicated to the Swiss version of Mardi Gras, called Fasnacht. The masked characters of Mr. & Mrs. Fritschi lead other wildly-costumed people and masked marching bands (called Guggemuusige) through the festival, tossing traditional oranges (once rare here) into the crowd to celebrate the end of winter. The six-day-long event begins at 5 a.m. every year on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday.
Don’t forget your water bottle while walking through Old Town. Lucerne boasts more than 200 water fountains providing cool, fresh, high-quality water for free. Many of those historic fountains are in Old Town. In fact, a network of wells has provided the city with potable water since the Middle Ages!
One of the more famous fountains is the Fritchi Fountain (left). It serves as a centerpiece for the Fasnacht festival.
Time for some shopping! You can buy a Swiss Army Knife nearly anywhere in Switzerland, but it is worth holding out for the place where it all began, Victorinox. Its 1,200-square-foot Lucerne location is filled with displays of every conceivable kind of knife, including more than a dozen different versions of the Swiss Army Knife. The brand is known for its exceptional high quality and offers a lifetime warranty. Helpful staff members will make sure you find the perfect item to take home as a useful keepsake, and they can even engrave some items.
Another treasure in Old Town is the exclusive chocolate shops. To have the best experience, stop in small boutique shops with handmade chocolate produced with high-quality, sustainably sourced ingredients. One (perhaps the best) example is Max Chocolatier, founded by Patrik König, who set out to make “the Rolex of chocolate”. An excellent goal! The creative variety of flavors, produced in small batches, changes seasonally.
Unlike chocolates purchased in larger stores, these contain no preservatives, so they must be consumed within a certain number of days or weeks. (Marked on each box.) We took some back to the US with us and closely guarded the treasure in the insulated bag they kindly gave us for our flight home. The chocolates are delectable and unlike any chocolate we’ve had before.
Wandering the streets of Old Town will also present many other retail choices, and opportunities to purchase additional traditional items such as Swiss watches, cuckoo clocks, cowbells, and music boxes.
After your shopping (and chocolate sampling), take this chance to enjoy some authentic Swiss food. Some nearby choices include the historic Restaurant Fritschi (below the carnival mural), Old Swiss House (known for its schnitzel prepared table-side), or Weisses Schloss (just a few minutes’ walk from Old Town with a lovely canopied patio). In the alternative, pick one of the scores of neighborhood restaurants that feature an expansive selection of cuisines.
Most restaurants have some outdoor seating, so, weather permitting, choose a seat on the patio, enjoy your dinner, and soak up the glorious atmosphere.
Day 2: Morning – The Iconic Chapel Bridge and Walking on the Historic Musegg Wall
This morning, it’s time to get up close and personal with the most famous landmark in Lucerne: The Chapel Bridge & Tower, on the Reuss River. Built in 1332, it is considered the oldest bridge in Europe, with a caveat. Disaster struck in 1993, and a huge portion of the bridge was destroyed by fire. Miraculously, it was rebuilt in just 8 months, thanks to support from throughout the world.
If you can arrange to visit the bridge on a Tuesday or Saturday morning, you’ll experience Market Day. Vendors line the streets near the bridge on both sides of the river. It is a great place to grab a breakfast treat.
Cross the bridge to the north side of the river and walk less than 10 minutes through Old Town to the imposing Musegg Wall and its 9 towers (open April – October). These well-preserved 13th-century structures surrounded and fortified the original city of Lucerne (now Old Town). Stretching more than 2600 feet, the Musegg Wall is the largest fortified wall in Switzerland.
Visitors can climb up to the ramparts and walk between the towers, four of which are open to explore, as long as you’re willing to climb a lot of steep stairs. The Clock Tower (Zytturm) is the most famous, and houses the oldest clock in the city (built in 1535).
There are many stunning views of Lucerne and beyond from along the wall and inside the towers. Amazingly, this fascinating and free attraction remains fairly quiet and uncrowded.
Day 2: An Italian Lunch in Switzerland
All that walking has earned you some lunch. There are a host of delicious-smelling Italian restaurants in Old Town. We highly recommend the traditional, friendly Mamma Leone. (But there was no note on the door! Sorry, Billy Joel joke.) In good weather, it is a joy to sit on their expansive patio and enjoy expertly prepared food, good service, and fantastic people-watching.
Day 2: Early Afternoon – The Haunting Lion Monument
To work off that delicious lunch, take a 15-minute walk to one of the most visited monuments in all of Switzerland: the Lion Monument. The huge sculpture of a dying lion is carved into a wall of rock over a reflecting pool.
The 1821 sculpture is a memorial to the hundreds of Swiss Guards who were killed in 1792 in the Storming of the Tuileries in Paris. They were defending the life of King Louis XVI during the French Revolution.
The monument is visited by over a million people each year. But in our experience (going on a weekday morning), even with dozens of people around, it can remain nearly silent. It’s a heart-wrenching and memorable monument.
Mark Twain famously described it as “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.”
Day 2: Late Afternoon/ Early Evening – A Cruise on the Saphir Yacht
One of the most pleasant and relaxing ways to see the area is to take a cruise on Lake Lucerne. Several companies offer a variety of tours of up to a half-day long. For this short visit to Lucerne, the 1-hour tour on the Saphir Yacht is an excellent choice. The sleek yacht is spacious and does not feel crowded. Inside and outside seating are plentiful, and drinks and snacks are available.
The cruise floats by gorgeous vistas of the city, visible only from the water, and spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. An audio tour, with a lovely soundtrack by Wagner in the background, provides a wealth of information.
**This cruise, as well as most other cruises on the lake, is free with a Swiss Travel Pass.
Day 2: Dinner – A Memorable Feast at Brasserie VICO
Brasserie VICO is located in the Hotel Schwizerhof, right on Lake Lucerne. In the US, hotel restaurants are notoriously mediocre. Not so here! Brasserie VICO is one of the most popular restaurants in Lucerne, and for good reason. It is a wonderful place to enjoy a memorable final night in this gorgeous city.
Sophisticated yet inviting, this modern French brasserie delights in every way. The warm, attentive service is just about as good as it gets. The atmosphere is cozy, yet buzzy. The food is truly outstanding.
TIP: If you do plan to eat at Brasserie VICO, be sure to get a reservation a week or more in advance.
With that, a short 36-hour visit comes to an end. Too soon! Lucerne captured our hearts. We spent about two weeks in glorious Switzerland and loved every place we visited. But for a future trip, Lucerne is #1 on our list for Swiss cities to revisit.
Additional Attractions
If you are lucky enough to have some more time in Lucerne, there is much more to see in the city. In addition, there are some extraordinary day trips less than an hour away. Major attractions include:
Mt. Pilatus Cog Rail (half day trip)
Mt. Titlis (half day trip)
Mt. Rigi (full day trip)
**Some sites suggest going to the Jungfrau Region of the Alps as a day trip from Lucerne, but we strongly discourage it. It is an incredible area – surely one of the most spectacular in the world, but it is simply too much for one day from Lucerne. One really must spend at least several days there to do it justice. For more information, see this post.
Are you continuing your travels in Switzerland? Check out our articles on Exploring the Swiss Riviera and Getting High in the Swiss Alps.
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Love the pictures.
Such a wonderful place to take photos!