Sights in Lucerne
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Lake Lucerne
If you're not averse to breathtaking mountain scenery - perhaps a glance or two at a shimmering expanse of water with majestic steep peaks of limestone hunched over the coastline, forests coming down to the shore filled with deer, chamois, foxes, and Alpine-native marmots; and fertile hillsides, meadows and valleys beyond - then this lake won't disappoint.
The lake's northern point is expansive; the southern spur (Urnersee) is more fjord-like and has special significance for the Swiss as it's home to the Rütli meadow where the country was, in a way, born. The southern springs (now marked by the Kaltbad) were discovered to have curative properties, as far back in 1885. You…
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Lion Monument
Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen's Lion of Lucerne (Löwendenkmal) was built in 1819-21, a big dying beast sculptured into a former sandstone quarry wall. When author Mark Twain saw it he said it was the 'saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world'.
The Lion Monument commemorates (as the plaque says in Latin) the 'loyalty and bravery of the Swiss' who 'fell in the line of duty' or 'survived the battle through the care and attention of friends' during the French Revolution in 1792 while defending King Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and their children in Paris's Tuileries Palace. Some 800 Swiss mercenaries died while defending the palace, unaware that their royal…
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Kapellbrücke
You haven’t really been to Lucerne until you have strolled the creaky 14th-century Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge), spanning the Reuss river in the Old Town. The octagonal water tower is original, but its gabled roof is a modern reconstruction, rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1993. As you cross the bridge, note Heinrich Wägmann’s 17th- century triangular roof panels, showing important events from Swiss history and mythology. The icon is at its most photogenic when bathed in soft golden light at dusk.
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Kultur und Kongresszentrum
French architect Jean Nouvel’s waterfront Kultur und Kongresszentrum (KKL) is a postmodern jawdropper in an otherwise historic city. But don’t think a strikingly handsome face implies a superficial soul: the main concert hall’s acoustics are as close to perfect as humankind has ever known, according to many musicians and conductors who have performed here. The trick is that the tall, narrow concert hall, partly built below the lake’s surface, is surrounded by a reverberation chamber and has an adjustable suspended ceiling, all creating a bubble of silence. All the accolades showered upon the hall have raised the profile of the tripartite Lucerne Music Festival,…
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Spreuer Bridge
Further down the river, the Spreuerbrücke is darker and smaller than the Chapel Bridge, but its 1408 structure is entirely original. Lore has it that this was the only bridge where locals were allowed to throw Spreu (chaff) into the river in medi-eval times. Here, the roof panels consist of artist Caspar Meglinger’s movie-storyboard-style sequence of paintings, The Dance of Death, showing how the plague affected all levels of society.
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Museum Sammlung Rosengart
Lucerne’s blockbuster cultural attraction is the Sammlung Rosengart, occupying a graceful neoclassical pile. It showcases the outstanding stash of Angela Rosengart, a Swiss art dealer and close friend of Picasso. Alongside works by the great Spanish master are paintings and sketches by Cézanne, Klee, Kandinsky, Miró, Matisse and Monet. Standouts include Joan Miró’s electric-blue Dancer II (1925) and Paul Klee’s childlike X-chen (1938).
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Lion Monument
By far the most touching of the 19th-century sights that lured so many British to Lucerne is the Lion Monument. Lukas Ahorn carved this 10m-long sculpture of a dying lion into the rock face in 1820 to commemorate Swiss soldiers who died defending King Louis XVI during the French Revolution. Mark Twain once called it the ‘saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world’. For Narnia fans, it often evokes Aslan at the stone table.
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Natur-Museum
Anyone intrigued by stuffed critters and creepy crawlies shouldn’t miss this hands-on museum. Highlights feature a woodland trail with real trees and a mushroom computer (don’t eat the red spotty ones), plus the fabled Luzerner Drachenstein (Luzern Dragon Stone), which, according to legend, fell from a dragon’s mouth as it was flying over Mt Pilatus. Modern science suggests that the 15th-century stone was probably a meteorite.
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Museggmauer
For a bird’s-eye view over Lucerne’s rooftops to the glittering lake and mountains beyond, wander the medieval ramparts. A walkway is open between the Schirmerturm (tower), where you enter, and the Wachturm, from where you have to retrace your steps. You can also ascend and descend the Zytturm or Männliturm (the latter not connected to the ramparts walkway).
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Picasso Museum
Don't arrive at the Picasso Museum expecting to find many of the man's works. Although it does include a few ceramics and sketches, this is principally a portrait of the artist as an impish craftsman, lover and father. Nearly 200 photographs by David Douglas Duncan create a captivating picture of the last 17 years of Picasso's life with his family in their Cannes home. It's a uniquely revealing series.
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Verkehrshaus
The fascinating interactive Transport Museum is quite deservedly Switzerland’s most popular museum, and is a great kid-pleaser. Alongside space rockets, steam locomotives, flying bicycles and dugout canoes are hands-on activities such as flight simulators, broadcasting studios and even bikes to ride.
It shelters a planetarium and a 3D cinema with hourly screenings between 11am and 8pm. There’s also a collection of technology- related paintings, drawings and sculptures by Swiss artist Hans Erni. Should you feel peckish, a large cafeteria and the smart Picard restaurant should do the trick. Take bus 6, 8 or 24 to the Verkehrshaus stop.
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Gletschergarten
The Gletshcergarten houses a strip of rock bearing the scars (including huge potholes) inflicted on it by the glacier that slid over it some 20 million years ago. Devotees of kitsch will love getting lost in the Thousand and One Nights–style mirror maze inspired by Spain’s Alhambra Palace. Combined entry with the Bourbaki Panorama costs Sfr21 for adults and Sfr11 for children.
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Bourbaki Panorama
Edouard Castres’ painstakingly detailed depiction of the Franco–Prussian War of 1870–71, a 1100-sq-metre circular painting of miserable-looking troops and civilians, is brought to life by a moving narrative (also in English). Recent renovations have provided retail space, cinemas, a library and a good-sized cafe-bar.
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Historisches Museum
Cleverly organised into a series of attention-grabbing themes, from lust and lasciviousness to government and tourism, and even the humble cervela sausage. Be guided through your chosen story in German or English thanks to a barcode–reading audio guide. A great little cafe is attached.
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Richard Wagner Museum
Housed in the composer’s former residence in Tribschen, on the lake’s southern shore, this museum harbours historic musical instruments including rarities such as a regal (portable organ). Take bus 6, 7 or 8 from the train station to Wartegg.
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Kunstmuseum
The permanent collection in Kunstmuseum is pretty uninspiring, but keep an eye out for temporary exhibitions such as the recent retrospective of Hiroshi Sugimoto’s enigmatic photography.
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