Switzerland Guide
Luzern
Luzern
Boasting invigorating mountain views, lake cruises and a picturesque old quarter, Luzern (Lucerne in French and English) has long been one of Europe's most heavily touristed towns. When Queen Victoria came for a long holiday in August 1868, the town was already well known, and a century of steady growth has resulted these days in five million admirers passing through annually. Tourism is the leading source of income, which in recent years has led, in some quarters, to a rather blasé attitude towards visitors: although the city has retained a good deal of charm, the same can't be said of all its restaurant waiters and hotel staff. You may find your experience of the city, in the summer high season in particular, being coloured by association with the hordes of short-stay trippers that rush through on their way to the mountains.
The River Reuss splits the town, flowing rapidly out of the northwestern end of the lake. Both banks are clustered with medieval squares, frescoed houses, ancient guildhalls, churches and chapels, and filled with a commercially minded 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 in between walking on the medieval battlements, and exploring cobbled alleys and hidden garden courtyards.
But Luzern is no museum piece; the city's large population of young people love their café culture, and at midnight on a weekend night, the main Pilatusstrasse boulevard has the buzz of any European capital. Luzern is also home to an infamously raucous six-day all-in carnival ( 
www.luzerner-fasnacht.ch ), ending on Mardi Gras night. It's the biggest and best in Switzerland and worth going a long way out of your way to visit.
Mount Pilatus
The giant mountain looming above Luzern to the southwest is Mount Pilatus (2132m; www.pilatus.com ), an odd name supposedly deriving from the myth that the corpse of Pontius Pilate was flung into a lake on the mountain, his spirit forever after haunting the summit and certain to bring tempest and damnation onto Luzern if disturbed. There are two means of transport to the top, making it easy to do a half- or full-day round trip from Luzern – simpler than in 1868, when Queen Victoria made the excursion on muleback.
Boats and local trains run from Luzern to Alpnachstad, from where the steepest rack-railway in the world runs at a gradient touching 48 percent directly to the top of the mountain – the journey up is half-an-hour, while the journey down takes a careful forty minutes. The second route up the mountain starts at Kriens (connected to Luzern's city centre by bus #1); from here a gondola rises to Krienseregg and Fräkmüntegg, and then a cable car to the summit (total 30min). The Kriens– Pilatus route runs year-round, while the Alpnachstad– Pilatus railway is summer only (mid-June to mid-Nov). Most tour groups follow a circuit going up from Kriens – so you might want to go up from Alpnachstad instead, to avoid the crush.
The walk to the highest point of the mountain, the Tomlishorn, takes less than thirty minutes from the top station, with expansive views the whole way along the clifftop path. It's also easy to walk back to Luzern from Fräkmüntegg (2hr 30min), or to make your way down from the summit to Alpnachstad or Hergiswil (3hr) or Kriens (3hr 30min).
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