I first visited Lucerne in 2001 on a Globus Tour. Prior to this I had little interest in Switzerland. I just saw it as some mountainous backwater of Europe where people stashed money in inaccessible banks.

Pretty dumb, eh? Me, that is.

The Globus Tour showed me a magnificent side of the country, particularly Lucerne where we stayed in a fantastic hotel in the centre of town overlooking the lake. I have a video somewhere that I will one day process for you guys and place on YouTube.

This time, however, we were on a Trafalgar Costsaver Tour (have I mentioned that in earlier posts? LOL). In other words “budget all the way” baby. So no lake view in the morning. This said, we did stay in a clean if tiny hotel room in central Lucerne, just minutes from the lake. (In all fairness, everywhere in Lucerne is just minutes from the lake).

The thing that most surprised me in 2001 about Lucerne is that it is not some snowy, icy place. It is actually quite sunny (at least each time we visit).

OK – let’s go to the beginning before I natter on about the city.

The first thing that every tour seems to visit is the Lion Monument. Carved into a Cliffside about 200 years ago, this statue of a lion is a perpetual monument to the Swiss mercenaries who died defending King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in 1792 during the French Revolution.

After this a wander of the town is in order. One thing that I admire about Lucerne is how well that it merges the medieval old-world and the modern.

Buildings of various ages sit together in a manner that somehow works. Busy roads traverse the town, yet pedestrians also have their run of the place.

Lucerne is also famous for its medieval bridges (albeit a fire severely damaged the most famous one and it has had to have a lot of reconstruction work). The bridges tend to be busy, full of tourists hankering to have photos taken on or near them. They cross a river called the Reuss leading away from the lake.

By the way, if you are wondering why some of my photos have a glorious blue sky and the others have a grey one, well it is simply because the photos were taken on different days. We spent two nights in this glorious place. Funnily enough, one of my favourite photos is from a sudden downpour on the cloudy day.

I like the texture of the water.

Both the Trafalgar and the Globus tour have a Swiss food and yodelling night. We did not go in 2001. We did not go in 2015. Feedback in 2001 justified our decision back then, but this time the feedback from our fellow travellers was that the Swiss night was spectacular. I wish I had gone now.

I have to admit that the town is very photogenic.

This is just the first of my posts on Lucerne. The place was truly magical and the “European Cavalcade” really delivered. Indeed, despite significantly worse accommodation compared to the Globus tour, I actually felt that the overall experience was on par with the more expensive alternative.

So hopefully I will see you in my next post :)

Greg

Series Navigation

<< A quick photo opportunity at the Rhine FallsOur landmark in Lucerne >>