Three days in Lucerne (Luzern), Switzerland.

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If anyone asks me where would you like to settle down in life – my first choice was and still is Vancouver, BC, Canada (lived there for about a year and half) but this city almost made me reconsider- that too in just THREE DAYS.

We headed to Lucerne from Paris, took a train from Gard de Lyon to Basel (which is the Cultural Capital of Switzerland) and from there changed trains to Lucerne. We checked in at Ibis Styles Lucerne City which was good in location, ambiance, comfort etc. We visited this city in the beginning of June.

Day One: As we reached late in the afternoon, we decided to finish the local site-seeing places. First, we went to the Lions Monument which is a memorial that pays tribute to the lost lives of Swiss soldiers during the French Revolution. The dying lion truly conveys the pain and agony which is sculpted on a cliff with a pool in front of it. The inscriptions “Helvetiorum Fidei ac Virtuti“ in English means “To the loyalty and courage of the Swiss”. It is said that Mark Twain was deeply impressed by this memorial and addressed it as “the saddest and most moving piece of rock”.

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But there is another side to this story – is how one can spot a Pig. The sculptor had a falling out with one of the contractors associated in this sculpture.  He gave the shape of a pig as the outline to this memorial out of anger. This makes it even more sad 🙁

Sat there for about an hour or so and left to the do some shopping in the city. For a small city, the wide choice of shops did surprise me. This is the Old Town which is near the lake. Right from restaurants, watches, chocolates – you name it to find it. As we were walking by, we got lucky to witness the Swiss Folklore show.

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We then headed to the Chapel Bridge which is the symbol of Lucerne if you ask me. Do check out the various pictures that one can find on the roof of this bridge and the beautiful flowers on its side. We walked a lot around this Old town, sat by the lake side with cheese and wine and enjoyed picturesque views of this city.

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Day Two: All aboard Mount. Titlis. We took the train to Engelberg from Lucerne train station. On reaching Engelberg, we took the cable car to the Gondolas which then took us to the top of this beautiful snow clad mountain. The views were just stunning and I just couldn’t get enough of this place.

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My husband and I became the silliest of kids – ran around, threw snow at each other and rolled on the snow bed (living in a city like Chennai, India that records 35 degrees Celsius throughout the year, what can you expect 😛 ). On reaching Titlis, we just went berserk and made the most of our time on this mountain. Fact – this was my husband’s first encounter with the snow – so now you know why we went crazy 😀

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Engelberg looked like a city right out of a postcard. We spent some time there before returning to Lucerne.

Day Three: I woke up way too early to get ready to go to Mt. Pilatus. We heard that this mountain gives you the best views of the city and the Alps. It was a tad bit difficult to climb up, but once we did, Voila!!!!!!

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Mt. Pilatus also hosts the World’s Steepest Cogwheel. Legends also say that a dragon used to live in these mountains. Don’t even miss a single chance you get to go to this mountain.

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Try stopping by for more days if you can, there is so much more to do in this beautiful city and at any given chance, I will fly away to Lucerne.


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