Summary: On our drive to Interlaken from Zurich, we stopped in Lucerne to see this central Switzerland town. This picturesque city of 80,000 is known for the Chapel Bridge, a 14th Century covered bridge, its historic architecture, and beautiful Lake Lucerne. Here, we took a free walking tour, went shopping in the local markets, and took a rainy boat ride out on Lake Lucerne.
[This blog is part of a 10-days in Switzerland Trip].
Lucerne. Founded centuries earlier, after the fall of the Roman Empire, the City gained its independence and became what is now known as the City of Lucerne sometime in 1178. Ruled by Catholics, then later the French, the City's architecture was well-preserved over the years and looks much like the French Baroque cities in neighboring France.
Walking tour. We arrived by car from Zurich just in time for the morning walking tour with Free Walk Lucerne. This tips-only tour was 2 hours in length and took us to all the essential Lucerne sites. First, we walked from the train station to the City's famous Chapel Bridge, along Lake Lucerne.
Chapel Bridge. Kapellbrücke was built in 1360. The Wasserturm (water tower) was built 30 years earlier and was used as a torture chamber and prison before being converted to a City archive and treasury.
Flowers boxes adorn this wooden bridge, once partially destroyed by fire in 1994.
Despite the fire, 30 of the bridge's famous interior paintings were able to be restored and can be viewed today.
We loved this little bridge and actually came back through it later in the day.
Jesuit Church. The walking tour also took us to see Lucerne's 16th Century Jesuit Church (photo below shows this Baroque-style church with the green spires).
Inside the Church is decorated with classic 16th Century frescoes.
Just outside the Church was a little farmer's market where we picked up some dinner for later that evening. We bought handmade ravioli, cheese, olives, and salami.
Next we walked up to Museggmauer, to catch a beautiful view of the City and distant mountains below.
On our way back into old town Lucerne, we stopped at the Lion Monument. Completed in 1821, this monument was commissioned in remembrance of the Swiss Guards killed in French Revolution ("To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss").
Old town Lucerne. Next we walked through a couple of the streets in old town Lucerne which featured well-preserved buildings dating back to the 15th Century.
The final stop of the walking tour was the Church of St. Leodegar. Built in the 17th Century, this Church also has and interesting local gravel yard next door. We walked through both.
Then came the rain. While we visited in June, we knew that mountain weather can be unpredictable. We lucked out though in that the rain started to come down just as we walked onto our the boat cruise on the lake. By the way, there are many cruises to chose from but we took the shortest, least expensive round trip because we wanted to hit the road again to reach our AirBnB in Interlaken. The tour was about an hour and gave us a snap shot of this Lake region without breaking the bank.
Lucky for us, we were inside the boat with the big rains came.
An evening in our Interlaken AirBnB. We arrived at our AirBnB in time to enjoy a nice meal made from our Lucerne market spoils. This charming little studio is perfect for a romantic getaway. We stayed here for the next four nights as we used Interlaken as a jumping off point to see Switzerland's famous mountain towns, including Grindewald, as well as Lauterbrunnen Valley.
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