It was well past 1 pm when we left Stechelberg and the drive to Lucerne was about 1.5 hours. So we realised we were going to miss our reservation at Des Alpes, the restaurant overlooking the Kapellbrücke at Lucerne. So I cancelled the reservation and we settled in for the long drive out of Bernese Alps.

This is our second visit to the city and one can always see how crowded cities are compared to the serene Alpine region. The cities of Switzerland are quite old and the maze of streets with lots of people and bustling traffic makes it very easy to miss turns and get lost, like we did! 

Lucerne is the most populated city in Switzerland. Located in the middle of Switzerland on the shores of a lake with the same name, this is the most scenic city outside of the Alps. With boats and ferries to destinations around the lake that give access to a ton of hikes, this would be an ideal destination in almost all the seasons. Most of the city has been around since the medieval ages. The town also has a wall with look out towers that give an impressive view of Lucerne.

We were pretty hungry by the time we arrived. We parked at the large underground parking in the train station just like last time and walked up to get out lunch at Tibits located on the top floor of the station. This is a chain of restaurants serving vegetarian and vegan food by weight. You’d have to fill your plate up with what you need, get it weighed at the check out and pay for it. Both the variety and the quality of food were amazing! They do accept reservations for peak hour but since we arrived close to 3 pm there was hardly anyone and we soon settled down for an excellent meal!

Rain was predicted so we hurried out into the town for a quick walk around and to get going to our next destination. Last time we had ventured towards the KKL from the station and this time we decided to head directly to the Kapellbrücke, the landmark of Lucerne. 

Kappelbrücke

This 13th century covered wooden bridge is an icon of Lucerne, featured in multiple photos with their pretty flower boxes against a backdrop of the green river and the medieval buildings of Lucerne. The tower was built before the bridge and has been used as a prison, torture chamber and as an archive throughout the Middle Ages. A fire that broke out in 1993 partially destroyed the bridge. It was then restored including the paintings from the 17th century. Look up to see the paintings inside the bridge, of which I unfortunately did not take a picture!

The entrance to the bridge was as always crowded while there was a line to get that famous shot of the bridge with the tower. As we waited in line I could feel some drops of water falling on me. I prayed hard for the rain to hold off but they weren’t heard. It started pouring as soon as we entered the bridge. Thankfully only the ends of the bridge were crowded and we were able to find some quiet space in the middle of one of the oldest bridges in the world as we waited for the rain to stop.

Most of the pictures I clicked of this beautiful city was from the bridge while we waited for the rain to stop, which it never did! So when the rain slowed down we rushed back to the train station to continue our journey to our next destination.

DIY Walk of Old Town

I had planned a one hour walk around old town to see the highlights of Lucerne. Due to the rain we never made it past the old bridge. However, here is our planned route. Click on the picture for the walking route on Google maps.