Lucern, Switzerland

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Welcome to Switzerland! This whole visit was prompted by the fact that Icelandair bundles their flights so that a flight to Europe includes a stopover in Iceland for free– so I figured if I was going to Iceland I should really pick a destination to visit in Europe as well! I’d never been to Switzerland, and the beauty of the lakes and mountains was beckoning. Plus, my friend Talya was able to take off a few days from her opera singer life in Berlin to meet me in the Alps. But first, I wanted to tour some of the cities of Switzerland. With limited time– just under one week– I spent just one day each in Lucern and Bern, three days in the Alps, and the last day in Zurich.

Hooray for Europe and its trains! This was my mode of transit for Switzerland. I wasn’t traveling enough to warrant the full rail pass ($440 for eight days), but I did purchase the Swiss half fare card ($127) which made all my transit tickets half price. Upon my arrival in Zurich, I took a train to Lucern and went exploring for the day.

The famous Kapellbrücke, chapel bridge, built in the 1300s with art panels inside from the 1600s.

A little note on spellings, since Switzerland has German, French, and Italian sections and also widely speaks English, place names often have multiple spellings, like Luzern, Lucern, and Lucerne.

A real life swan lake. There were so many swans in all the Swiss lakes. And they’re just waiting for the tourists to feed them.

It was an overcast day, but still lovely.

Springtime in Lucern.

I was obsessed with all the different magnolia trees in full bloom!

Another famous landmark in Lucern, the Lion Monument, Löwendenkmal, dedicated to the Swiss guards at Tuileries who were killed during the French Revolution.

Museggmauer, an iconic old city wall with a series of towers, some of which you can climb up and down.

After being in the wilds of Iceland it was a nice change of pace to be exploring an old European town instead.

For dinner, I found this little restaurant serving Swiss food. The restaurant was very lovely, with plaster walls and arches. But the special asparagus dish (it’s asparagus season, which is a whole thing in Germany and Switzerland) was disappointing.

And finally, back at my cute little hotel for the night. I stayed in Hotel Waldstaetterhof, conveniently located right next to the train station.

I even had a little balcony for a brisk morning tea and reading session.

And then it was time to hop back on a train to visit my next city– Bern! And I illustrated my time in Lucern on my way there.

One Day in Lucern / Lucerne / Luzern, Switzerland

  • Consider purchasing a transit pass before you even arrive. You can make a simple chart to compare the different passes, but if you’ll be in Switzerland for a few days but won’t be journeying between regions every single day, it’s unlikely you’ll make up the value of the full rail pass (Swiss Travel Pass). Instead, consider the half fare card, which is worth it if you’re paying more than $175 but less than $440 in regular-priced tickets. That certainly made the most sense for my six days in Switzerland.
  • Stay at Hotel Waldstaetterhof, conveniently located next to the train station. My stay came with free local transit for the duration, but everywhere I went was within walking distance anyway.
  • Walk over the Chapel Bridge, Kapellbrücke. Look up at the often morbid paintings inside.
  • Say hello to all the swans in the lake.
  • Visit the very sad lion at the Lion Monument, Löwendenkmal.
  • Visit the old city wall, Museggmauer, and be prepared for a whole lot of stairs up and down the towers.
  • Wander the city. The central area is very walkable and filled with lovely town squares.

Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco. She creates beautiful, soft, and timeless imagery while capturing the most fleeting of moments. View her work at annawu.com, follow her daily adventures on instagram, and contact her to book your own session today.


Switzerland

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Zurich, Switzerland The Swiss Alps Bern, Switzerland