Why you need to visit the Swiss mountain retreat where Queen Victoria once found solace
Follow in the footsteps of royalty in the Swiss mountains.
Why go now
It’s 150 years since Queen Victoria visited Lucerne, still grieving for Albert. She stayed six weeks and found solace in the lakes and mountains, and the city has prospered as a summer resort ever since. Until Sept 9 the History Museum has an exhibition dedicated to her visit. Go now for spring weather, or book now for the classical music festival in late summer (see below). Lucerne is about an hour by train from Zurich airport – served by regular flights out of London City and Heathrow by Swiss (swiss.com).
Lucerne - City map
Stay here
The Palace Hotel in the Bürgenstock resort (buergenstock.ch) is just across the water from the town. It dates from the Belle époque and reopened less than a year ago after being converted into a resort. Doubles from ￡279. In town, the four-star Wilden Mann (1) (wilden-mann.ch) opened before 1517 but the rooms have also been updated since. Doubles from ￡175.
Walk here
Many of the defensive walls and towers that once surrounded the city were demolished in the 1860s, but you can still walk the surviving stretch around the northern perimeter of Lucerne – for excellent views across town and lake (2-3). You can make it into a circular route by linking it with the famous medieval covered bridge – the cappelbrugge (4) – and finding your own way through the narrow streets of the old town (5).
See this
The extraordinary Sammlung Rosengart Museum (6) (rosengart.ch) is housed in a former bank. It comprises one of the greatest private collections of 20th-century art, including more than 100 paintings by Picasso, as well as dozens more by Klee and Matisse.
Try this
Lucerne’s outstanding classical music festival is held at the KKL – the Jean Nouvel-designed concert hall (7) which also houses an exhibition space (kkl-luzern.ch). Book now for this year’s concerts, which run from Aug 17 to Sept 16 (lucernefestival.ch).
Shop here
On Tuesday and Saturday mornings there is the local market along the river Reuss. Otherwise, dive into the Old Town (5) and browse among the boutiques such as Caroline’s hat shop (huete.ch) or, for chocolate, the Max Chocolatier (maxchocolatier.com).
Drink here
The Seebar at KKL (8) has a great bar on the promenade. An Aperol spritz will set you back 13 Swiss francs (￡9.60).
Eat here
Book a table on one of the lake cruisers – ideally a paddle steamer – and eat on board while you take in the views. (9) There are various options, but standards are generally high. Main course from CHF 25-40/￡18-￡30 (lakelucerne.ch).
The best mountain restaurants in Switzerland
Off the map
Ascend the Rigi by taking a lake steamer to Vitznau and then the original cogwheel railway (rigi.ch). A return ticket to the top costs €68 (￡60), but is free with a valid Swiss Pass (stc.co.uk). There is also an extensive network of walking trails.
