Travel Eye on Lucerne (Switzerland)

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Overview:

An hour south of Basel and Zürich , and boasting invigorating mountain views, lake cruises and a picturesque old quarter , LUZERN (Lucerne in French and English, Lucerna in Italian) has long been one of Europe's most heavily touristed towns.

This city is suitable to all age groups, with a wide variety of things to do and see, especially recommended for art and culture lovers.

There are 70-odd hotels catering for both tourist and business clientele and ranging from simple B&Bs to luxury 5-star hotels. Most of them are 3- or 4-stars, concentrated in the centre of the city.

The River Reuss splits the town, flowing rapidly out of the northwestern end of the lake. River banks on both sides are clustered with medieval squares , frescoed houses, ancient guildhalls, churches and chapels, and filled with a liveliness that belies the city's age.

Aside from using Luzern as a base from which to explore the region, it would be easy to spend at least a couple of days taking in some of its quality museums - a Picasso gallery , the impressive Verkehrshaus (Transport Museum) - in between walking on the medieval battlements, and exploring cobbled alleys and hidden garden courtyards.

Whether you're charmed by Luzern's sense of history and tradition, or by the misty lake at its doorstep and the snow-capped Pilatus rising above, or even by its nightlife, charmed is what you'll be.

Locality:

Lucerne is in the heart of Switzerland, 69 mls SE of Basle, 57 mls E of Berne, 157 mls NE of Geneva and 41 mls SW of Zurich and its airport. It is set in the northern foothills of the St Gotthard pass, set between hillsides at the end of Lake Lucerne with excellent views.

Entertainment/Facilities/Attractions/Things to do:

Luzerne has a fine range of eating and drinking venues covering all budgets - the crowded, generic places that are in plain view tend to be least interesting, but a small amount of backstreet searching will turn up plenty of more rewarding places.

Luzerne's nightlife scene is averagely active, with plenty of arts centres and music venues around the Old Town and the rest of the city. There are two places to check flyers: Doo-Bop, Brandgässli 8, is a dance music shop with plenty of information about events in Luzern; while Romp, Denkmalstrasse 17, is an "info-shop" at the centre of Luzern's squat culture, with music, flyers and contacts for all kinds of alternative activities around and about. The Stattkino, Baselstrasse 15, is an arthouse cinema with a varied daily programme of world cinema, plenty of it in English.

During the daytime culture vultures will find exploring the city including the Chapel and Spreuer Bridges, spectacular, Visit the 17th-century Jesuit Church, Renaissance Town Hall with its impressive roof, Musegg Wall and the Lion Monument, 8 museums including Picasso and Wagner Museums, and the Swiss Transport Museum, one of Europe's largest with a planetarium and IMAX cinema.

There are plenty of art galleries, the Glacier, lakeside lidos for swimming and sunbathing. Sporting activities include canoeing, paragliding, hiking, biking, horse riding, fishing, water-skiing, ice-skating and curling, indoor pool, golf. There are numerous music festivals, rowing regattas, horse races, processions and town carnivals through the year.

The nightlife offers a choice of bars and cafes, particularly along the water front and in the Old Town. There is an evening boat trip with floor show, concerts, opera and ballet. You will find many folklore evenings, a casino and an open-air cinema (occasional English-language films).