The Chapel Bridge & old town
A 14th-century covered bridge and a traffic-free old town of painted squares — the perfect morning wander.
Lucerne
Chapel Bridge and a lake of swans
Best time
April – September; December for Christmas
Gentle pace
3–4 slow days
Ideal for
Families · First-time Switzerland · Rail romantics
Lucerne is the gentle face of Switzerland — a medieval old town of painted facades and a covered wooden bridge over a river of swans, set on a lake ringed by mountains. It is small, walkable and the perfect first stop for families: a lake to boat on, a mountain to ride up, and a traffic-free old town to wander.
With children, walk the Chapel Bridge, ride the steepest cogwheel railway in the world up Mount Pilatus, and take a paddle steamer across the lake. Keep a day for the Swiss Transport Museum — a children’s paradise of trains, planes and a slide down a mountain.
Worth lingering over
Mount Pilatus by cogwheel & cable car
Ride the world’s steepest cog railway up and a cable car down — a full mountain day.
A paddle steamer on the lake
A vintage boat across Lake Lucerne to a mountain village for lunch — slow travel at its best.
Hidden gem
The Bürgenstock and the Hammetschwand lift
Across the lake from Lucerne, a funicular climbs the cliff to the Bürgenstock ridge, where a cliff-path leads to the Hammetschwand Lift — Europe’s highest exterior elevator, shooting you 152 metres up the rock face to a viewpoint above the lake. Most visitors stick to Pilatus and Rigi; those who make the quieter crossing walk the Felsenweg, a path carved into the cliff above the water, ride the lift to the top, and stand alone above the entire lake with the Alps spread behind.