Lion Monument

Top choice in Lucerne


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. For Narnia fans, it often evokes Aslan at the stone table.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Lucerne attractions

1. Gletschergarten

0.06 MILES

The Gletschergarten houses a strip of rock bearing the scars (including huge potholes) inflicted on it by the glacier that slid over it some 20 million…

2. Bourbaki Panorama

0.1 MILES

Edouard Castres’ painstakingly detailed 1100-sq-metre circular painting depicting the internment of French troops in Switzerland after the Franco–Prussian…

3. Schirmerturm

0.35 MILES

Your entrance point for a walk along the top of the old city walls, don't forget to climb to the top of the Schirmerturm tower before you get started. It…

4. Museggmauer

0.38 MILES

For a bird’s-eye view over Lucerne’s rooftops to the glittering lake and mountains beyond, wander along the top of the old city walls that date back to…

5. Zytturm

0.41 MILES

Near the western end of the old city walls' walkway, you both ascend or descend here at Zytturm, with its legendary clock. Since the late Middle Ages the…

6. Wachturm

0.43 MILES

At the western end of the old city walls walkway, the Wachturm is where you have to turn around and retrace your steps, either to descend at Zytturm or…

7. Old Town

0.43 MILES

The medieval Old Town, with its ancient rampart walls and towers, 15th-century buildings with painted facades and two covered bridges, is fascinating…

8. Kapellbrücke

0.49 MILES

You haven’t really been to Lucerne until you have strolled the creaky 14th-century Kapellbrücke, spanning the Reuss River in the Old Town. The octagonal…