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Lucerne is one of the charming cities in Switzerland which is strategically located. The most visited tourist spots like Pilatus, Titlus mountains have to be travelled to via Lucerne.

When I visited Switzerland last year, I indulged in a lot of touristy stuff – covered the Titlus and Pilatus mountains and a colleague who has been living in Lucerne for the past 40 years remarked “You covered the mountains but not the city of Lucerne, you missed seeing one of the most beautiful cities”.

This time as I was on my own and had plenty of time, I wanted to make sure I do not miss out on the opportunity to cover this city. My dear friend and colleague Pascal (the same Lucerne guy) happily offered to show me around.

Thankfully the weather was good which is quite unusual for the month of November. I reached Lucerne by 11.45 – its a one hour train ride from Zurich.

My friend and guide was waiting, all smiles to welcome me.

We started our walking tour – we saw the KKL- Culture and Convention Centre beside the lake which has concert halls.

We then walked over the famous Chapel Bridge which is a wooden bridge that was built in the 1930’s but had to be replaced when most of it was destroyed in a fire. Its a beautiful sight, as you walk over the bridge and see the lake around you, with the beautiful monumental buildings all around.

I was amazed to see the artistic work on various buildings- some historic, some cafes. It was something unique and each one was truly beautiful, it looked like each carried a different story, a story of people, places, and so much more.

We had some amazing Thai food and then my friend decided we need to walk, and exhaust ourselves to burn fat now that we had eaten so much. We walked up a hill where  the path was truly delightful, with cherry blossoms. The view of the city from the top was spell binding.

After our descent, we stopped near the lake to bite into some ice cream- I loved The Oreo Cookie cone!

We then went to the famous Lion Monument – where an iconic Lion has been carved in a stone and looks truly magnificent. The story goes that several Swiss guards were masscared in the 17th century and this is a tribute to them.

We strolled through the local markets and this is what I absolutely love about visiting a place- getting a feel of the local life, sitting in a cafe and sipping a cup of coffee or drinking glass of wine as you enjoy the beautiful surroundings and become a part of the local crowd.

The sun sets pretty early here around 4.30 pm and it had started to get dark. We gave our tired legs some respite by enjoying a Cappuccino in one the cafes.

Besides the tour being a fabulous one, the fact that my friend and tour guide is a hilarious guy is what added to the fun quotient. He says the most funny things which make me choke with laughter at times.

I couldn’t depart without buying some curios- I am still looking for an orange cat as demanded by my daughter! No luck yet, but I finally bought a coffee mug with a beautiful landscape of Lucerne, some stuff for my daughter and a cowbell.

It was a day well spent – getting a feel of the local life and some fun conversations which left me with a smile on my face.