Itinerary followed during this Interrail throughout Germany, Denmark and Switzerland

Cologne - Koblenz - Copenhagen - Helsingor - Hillerod - Roskilde - Berlin - Potsdam - Rhine cruise - Freiburg - Strasbourg - Black Forest - Rhine Waterfalls - Schaffhausen - Stein am Rhein - Konstanz - Zurich - Basel - Interlaken - Luzern - Zermatt - Brig - Bern - Geneva - Heidelberg - Munich - Dachau - Fussen - Nuremberg - Rothenburg (ODT) - Wurzburg - Jungfrau and Lauterbrunnen - Brienz - Geneva

It is reached in two hours by train from Interlaken. This city is really charming without question. A river, a lake, marvellous bridges, walls, imposing mountains. You can walk across the old centre, go up to any of the surrounding mountains, pay for a cruise, go shopping or attend the varied cultural offer. In addition it is a departure spot for the Alps, since Luzern is situated at the birth of these mountainous chain.
As a result of this, you can guess that the prices are impressive as well. Thank goodness we were accommodated at Interlaken.

Its role in history began, as in Zurich or Basel, with the Saint Gotthard route, the trade between northern and southern Europe. Those cities were the loading-unloading key stops of the route.
The city was sold in 1291 to the Habsburg's dinasty, and hence to Austria, until they became independent in 1386 after the battle of Sempach.
Since the 16th century the textile industry became important. Until the 18th century they competed with Zurich and Bern for the political control of the Helvetica Confederation. In fact Luzern managed to be the capital. During the Reform it kept Catholic and later on the Jesuits settled here, and contributed to the embellishment of the town with several churches. The catholic cantons formed an alliance and were defeated by the federal army in the Sonderbund's war (1847), so Luzern was relegated. Bern became the political capital and Zurich the financial capital. Luzern lived thanks to the tourism. It housed, at the palaces, Russian noblemen or even the Queen Victoria.

The first thing that attracts the tourist sight is the Chapel Bridge , the symbol of this city. It was built in 1333, covered in a wooden roof and 300 m. long. A fire devastated the bridge in 1993. It was quickly and quite accurately restored, but to avoid such a disaster they constructed some stone pillars instead of wooden pillars. It is adorned with more than 100 paintings hanging from the ceiling representing the history of Luzern, of the Helvetica Confederation, saints' lives, etc. They are copies of the originals that were burnt during the fire.

In the middle of this bridge and the lake it raises the Water Tower, that watches the surroundings. It was a defensive octagonal fortification that keeps inside the jail, the torture room and the archives.
The whole is wonderful, unique around the world. You experience great sensations when crossing it. The bridge is visible from almost every spot across the city, and many swans inhabit the surroundings and the river Reuss.

Another main spot is the wall with the 7 towers that crown the old town, the last remaining of the fortifications that surrounded Luzern since 1386. You have to walk upwards but it is worthwhile. You can move throughput the battlements in some stretches and it is also possible to go up to three of the towers to contemplate the formidable panorama .

The immense Jesuit church is located at the Reuss riverside and it is the first Baroque church of Switzerland, built around 1666. It has two tall towers from the end of the 19th century and crowned with belfries of bulb shape.
The Hofkirche is the main church of Luzern. The towers are Gothic and the rest was reconstructed after a fire in 1633 in a Renaissance style. It is the biggest Renaissance building in Switzerland. The inside is very decorated and overdone, so we suggest visiting it.

The old town keeps magnificent houses. We stopped at the Wine Market , the heart of the old city in the past.

We followed towards the Lion's monument . It was sculpted in 1821 in the same rocky wall, and it is a dying Lion that protects with his leg the French Fleur-de-Lis. It was sculpted in commemoration for the Swiss mercenaries who served Louis XVI and who died during the French Revolution. Their names are engraved on the rock. I got the impression of a bit sad work.

Nearby the lion we visited the Bourbaki's panorama . This strange name represents a glass dome which houses a round fabric of 1 ton weight!. Edouard Castres painted it to illustrate the retreat of the French army towards the Swiss border, after being defeated by the Prussians in Belfort in 1871. In addition to this, they exhibit diverse objects and costumes in an attempt to recreate accurately this époque and this episode of the history.

One of the most popular excursions leads to mount Pilatus, a mountain that seems to dominate the city. In Luzern you can take the steamboat until Alpnachstad, then the world's steepest cogwheel train (48 %) carries you to the summit. Afterwards you may descend by means of the cable car to Kriens and go back by bus. The views seem to be impressive, as well as the price to arrive there.

We ended with a relaxing walk along the Luzern Lake, admiring the landscape and enjoying a short break that the awful weather we were usually having in Switzerland provided us.
If you want to, you may go to a nice street market that is held in this town.
It is possible to have a bath if the weather is hot.

There are several museums that I can't describe since we didn't have the time to enter. If you like the Prehistory you can visit the Glacier's Garden. We found interesting the History museum. However, the most impressive museum of Luzern is the Swiss museum of Transport, a gigantic museum of several buildings to explain in a didactic way all kind of vehicles: planes, trains, cars, aeronautics. but we had in mind the visit to another similar museum in Munich .

If you are going to stay for longer than one day here, maybe you could see the Alps horns factory, where they make the so-called Alphorn, a Neolithic wooden trumpet, the national instrument. This factory is situated some kilometres far from the centre. These typical and huge Swiss wind instruments appear in many postcards, and they are only built in this country. Before coming to this country we expected to see them everywhere, but we didn't see any, so we felt sorrow when we left Switzerland without checking its sound.

One day is enough to enjoy completely the town and some museum, however Luzern invites to stay for longer and to enjoy the multiple possible activities that it offers.