Lucerne, Switzerland travel tips

If you have your travel tickets for vacations in Switzerland, make sure your itinerary includes the picturesque 12th century city of Lucerne, situated about an hour south of Zurich and long renowned as one of Europe's most popular holiday destinations.

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Lucerne is dripping with Swiss charm and more than 5 million tourists enjoy the city's hotels and hospitality every year, tourism being an economic mainstay. In fact, Lucerne is the eighth most visited city in the world.

The hotels in Lucerne certainly aren't cheap but there is an innovative choice of accommodation as several hotels have been converted from palaces and prisons.

Lucerne has a population around 50,000 and is on Switzerland's main north-south train route. The city has direct fast train links to international airports in Basel, Zurich and Geneva, and rapid freeway links to most major European centres.

If your vacations take you to Lucerne, make sure you also take plenty of money. Travel in Switzerland isn't cheap.

Lucerne, which features on UNESCO's world heritage list, is situated in what many consider the "true" Switzerland of lakes, meadows, villages and mountain peaks.

The River Reuss, pictured above, splits Lucerne and its banks are lined with churches, chapels, medieval squares, ancient halls and fresco houses dating back to the 15th Century.

Lake Lucerne covers more than 100 square kilometres and tourists can enjoy a variety of cruise boats, including a 1902 paddlewheel steamer.

This central Swiss city has been a holiday mecca since the 19th Century when a wave of public interest was sparked after Queen Victoria visited in 1868. She was impressed by the clear air, the crystal waters of Lake Lucerne (known locally as Vierwaldstattersee) and the picturesque surrounding mountain peaks - dominated by Mt Pilatus at 2132 metres with a century-old cog railway that offers stunning views and a thrilling trip to the summit hotels, restaurant and small lake.

Thirty five kilometres from Lucerne is Mt Titlis, the highest accessible mountain peak in central Switzerland. The peak can be reached via three cable car journeys, the last of which is aboard the Rotair, a cable car with a revolving floor so travellers can enjoy the stunning views.

Lucerne has a European fairytale ambience but at the same time boasts cutting-edge architecture, superb galleries and a bustling, romantic nightlife.

The city has plenty of top quality museums and entrancing courtyards, gardens, cobbled laneways and medieval battlements, as well as a vibrant cafe scene. However, there aren't many backpacker hostels.

Much of the historic old town of Lucerne is a pedestrian zone without vehicles.

Among Lucerne's landmarks is the Lion Monument in a small park at the elevated eastern end of the city (near Glacier Garden and the Panorama). The statue of a massive lion dying from spear wounds was carved into a sandstone wall above a small pond in the 1800s and was built to commemorate Swiss soldiers killed in the French Revolution. American author Mark Twain described the Lion Memorial as "the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world".

Within a stroll of the Dying Lion of Lucerne is the last remaining intact portion of the Musegg Wall, a ring wall built in the 14th century to protect the city. Nine towers rise from the wall, one of which is the Zyt tower housing Lucerne's oldest clock. Built in 1535, this clock chimes every hour a minute before all the other city clocks.

Lucerne will host the Blue Balls Festival from July 17-25 2009, featuring artists from around the world. The Lucerne Festival, which focuses mostly on classical music and began in 1938, will be staged from August 22 to September 10 2009. Lucerne often hosts some of the world's top classical music concerts.

The name of the city is probably sourced to the Celtic word Iozzeria, which means "a settlement on marshy ground".

In 1332, the city of Lucerne joined peasant farmers on the opposite side of the lake in a mutual defence pact against Austrian incursions, and this was the beginning of the Swiss Confederation which continues to the present day.

Lucerne has an extremely conservative and right wing population and the city boasts abundant artwork from medieval days, many items of a macabre nature.

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