Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke)
Top pickLucerne
The 1333 covered wooden bridge — the oldest in Europe, crossing the Reuss with painted panels and the stone Water Tower.
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Travel Guide — Switzerland
Switzerland
Lucerne, the Alps & Zürich
11 places · 6-stop walk
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Switzerland panorama
Switzerland is built for sightseeing by train — the rails go over passes, around lakes and up mountainsides. Zürich is the practical entry; Lucerne and the Bernese Oberland are the postcard.
The Swiss Travel Pass covers trains, boats and many mountain lifts — do the math, but for a multi-day trip it usually pays for itself.
Getting there & around
01
Fly into Zürich (ZRH)
The airport has its own train station — 10 minutes to the main station, direct connections onward to Lucerne and Interlaken.
02
Lucerne as the mountain base
An hour from Zürich by train — boats to Pilatus and Rigi leave from the dock right outside the station.
03
GoldenPass for the scenic route
The panoramic train from Lucerne to Interlaken through the Brünig Pass is the classic way to reach the Bernese Oberland.
Lucerne Walking Route
The old-town circuit — Chapel Bridge, the lakeside promenade, the Lion Monument and the medieval wall towers.
Places I recommend
Everything I visited and would send a friend to. Starred entries are the ones I'd put at the top of the list.
01
Landmarks & History
Lion Monument
Lucerne
The dying lion carved into sandstone in 1821 — a memorial to the Swiss Guards killed during the French Revolution; Mark Twain called it the most mournful stone in the world.
Grossmünster
Zürich
The twin-towered Romanesque church where the Swiss Reformation began — climb the Karlsturm for the view over the old town and lake.
02
Outdoors & Views
Mount Pilatus
Top pickLucerne
The 2,128 m peak above Lucerne — ascend by the world’s steepest cogwheel railway or cable car for the Alpine panorama.
Do the "Golden Round Trip": boat, cogwheel up, cable car down, bus back.
Jungfraujoch — Top of Europe
Bernese Oberland
Europe’s highest railway station at 3,454 m — the train tunnels through the Eiger to a glacier plateau between Mönch and Jungfrau.
Lauterbrunnen Valley
Bernese Oberland
The glacial valley of 72 waterfalls — Staubbach Falls drops 300 m beside the village; Mürren and Wengen hang on the cliffs above.
Lake Lucerne boat cruise
Lucerne
The fjord-like lake ringed by mountains — historic paddle steamers connect Lucerne to the mountain bases at Vitznau and Alpnachstad.
Lake Zürich promenade
Zürich
The lakeside path from Bürkliplatz — swimming spots, Badi lake baths in summer and views across to the Alps on clear days.
03
Food & Drink
Fondue & raclette
Everywhere
The two national dishes — bubbling pots of melted cheese with bread (fondue) or scraped melted half-wheel over potatoes (raclette).
Fondue is a winter dish — order raclette in summer and you’ll blend in better.
Swiss chocolate
Zürich
Sprüngli on Paradeplatz for Luxemburgerli macarons and pralines; Lindt’s Home of Chocolate has a museum and a 9 m chocolate fountain.
04
Misc
Zürich old town & Bahnhofstrasse
Zürich
The limmat-side lanes of Niederdorf meet one of the world’s most expensive shopping streets — walk from the lake up through the old town.