- [Speaker] Yelloww Productions presents
- A travel guide for visiting the
city of Lucerne in Switzerland.
I'm Chris.
- I'm Topher.
- And today we're going
to tell you everything
you need to know to visit Lucerne.
This is part of our series on Switzerland,
if you'd like to see other
cities in Switzerland,
or things like 'things to
know' or 'interesting facts',
you'll find those links
in the description.
But today we're gonna
visit this historic town.
So, here we go.
In this video we're going to visit
the following nine attractions.
We'll begin by checking out
Lucerne's main Railway Station,
where most people begin
their journey to Lucerne.
Then we'll visit the Lion Monument,
Lucerne's biggest attraction.
Right next door's the Glacier Garden,
where you can see glaciers have literally
scratched the earth as
they've gone by here.
Then we'll visit the Bourbaki Panorama,
a 360 degree painting.
One of the most iconic sights
in Lucerne is the Chapel Bridge,
it is the oldest covered
wooden bridge in all of Europe.
We'll take a stroll
through Lucerne's Old Town.
Then we'll head up to the City Walls
to see really great views.
Then we'll go over and see a dinner show
at the Stadtkeller Restaurant.
And we'll conclude with a little bit of
going up Mt. Pilatus, the
greatest day trip from Lucerne.
I've got a whole other video on that,
you can find the link in the description,
watch it after you watch this video.
Lucerne has a very impressive
main train station.
It's been rebuilt, the facade
of the old one is still here.
But you'll find the train station will be
your most convenient way to
get in and out of Lucerne.
There are tons of shops in it,
and also the jumping off point
for most buses that take
you around the city.
And the ferries that'll take
you on the Golden Round Trip.
And, as you can see by the departure sign,
they have a lot of departures
out of the station.
The basement level of the
train station is also home
to one of Lucerne's
latest open supermarkets.
This Coop is open 'til 10pm everyday.
It's also a great place to
get chocolate, at Laderach.
And cheap eats, if all
those expensive places
in the city have got you wallet broke,
check out the Currywurst right here.
Next to the train station,
in this big, black,
modern-looking building,
that almost looks like a UFO landed,
is Lucerne's Concert Hall and Art Museum.
If you're a Star Trek fan,
this building might remind
you of the Borg cube,
kinda looks like to me.
The biggest attraction in
Lucerne, one 'cause it's big,
and two 'cause this is
where everybody comes,
is the Lion Monument.
This is a monument
depicting the Swiss troops
who died in 1792, in
the French Revolution.
It is a pretty sad lion,
he's been impaled by a spear,
and he's covering a shield over there,
that depicts the French Monarchy.
While it may not be the
best attraction in Lucerne,
'cause it's certainly not the happiest,
it is one that you have to come and see
because everybody comes
to see the sad lion.
If you've watched any other
of my Switzerland videos,
you'll know I talk a
lot about the fountains,
and this city is no exception.
In Lucerne, they have
over 200 public fountains
with running water from the mountains,
tastes just like cold,
refreshing Evian water.
If you're thirsty, just come
up to one of these fountains
and you can use it, get some water,
or maybe even wash your hands.
Just above the Lion Monument
is the Glacier Garden.
It's a natural rock formation
that happened when glaciers
moved over this part of
Lucerne, many, many years ago.
One of the interesting things
that happens when glaciers go,
you can see the scrape marks,
but behind me there's also these potholes.
There's a little one back here but
there's a big one back there
that's like nine meters deep.
It's caused by the force of the water
underneath the glacier.
There's also a Glacier Museum,
and a House of Mirrors.
Admission's a little
steep, but if you have
the Swiss travel pass admission's free.
The Hall of Mirrors,
I'll say is very cool,
because in this room it has
the Alhambra Fountain in it.
How many of me can you count?
And no, this is not a special effect,
this is really what this room looks like.
After you visit the Lion Monument,
if you want some culture in
the form of a big painting,
you can visit the Bourbaki Panorama.
It's in this nondescript building here,
it is a 10 meter high, by 112 meter
wrap around panoramic painting
that is of the French internment,
where the French army was interned
in Switzerland back in 1891.
It's very interesting, if you
have the Swiss pass it's free,
if not it's a small admission fee,
just note that there's
no air conditioning,
so if it's hot then it's
quite a heat wave inside.
The second biggest attraction
in Lucerne, literally,
because it's the second
biggest, is this bridge.
It's a covered wooden bridge,
it goes from one side of the river
to the other side of the river.
It's not just pretty, which it is,
but it also has a great function.
On a rainy night like tonight,
it keeps the rain from you,
probably keeps the snow from you too.
This bridge's been here for a long time,
and actually, if you look up here,
it has a bunch of historical
art across the whole bridge.
It did catch on fire and so
it's been rebuilt a little bit,
but there's another wooden bridge,
just a little further down the river too.
Make sure to check out the second bridge
a little further down the river.
While this bridge is
not quite as touristy,
or as long as the first one I was on,
this one is original and
so the art on the top
is all much more well preserved,
so is the wood, it has this
great old wood quality.
And one thing in common with all the art
on the top of this bridge,
it all has a skeleton in it,
to remind people who pass on this bridge,
that death comes eventually,
and I guess in the Medieval times
it probably came early and often.
This bridge also has a little
bit extra function to it
in that is has a little bit of a dam
to slow some of the water in the river.
But really the purpose of
it is to generate power,
and it generates power enough for
a thousand households in Lucerne.
Lucerne's Old Town is
perfect for strolling around,
the streets here, most
of them are car free,
so it creates a quiet,
peaceful experience,
well, 'peaceful' depending on
how many tourists are here,
tour groups, and whether the
stores are open or closed.
If you're looking to do shopping,
just know that Switzerland,
they have a lot of laws
regarding when the stores
can be open or closed.
So, Sundays, most stores will be closed,
Saturday, most stores will close early,
except at the train station.
When you're walking around the Old Town,
make sure to look up.
Lots of the buildings have very
elaborate paintings on them.
I guess this is one way
to do it slightly cheaper,
because they don't have to
make all this in Stockholm.
Lucerne is well signed for tourists,
so you can find all the
major tourist attractions
by following these signs.
Of course you know the
biggest one, I said earlier,
it's the Lion, this is the only one
that really has an icon of its own.
In Lucerne, definitely take
a stroll along the river
in the middle of the city.
On this side, which is the
side with the train station,
there's often Farmer's Markets set up,
and on the other side,
the side of the Old Town,
there's a whole bunch of restaurants
that basically flank the river,
a festive place at night,
often musicians will come
out and serenade the diners.
So no, I'm not in a prison right now,
though this may have been
used as a prison before.
I'm in one of the towers of the City Wall.
You can come up on top of
the hill over the Old Town,
to these towers, and check out some
slightly obstructed views of Lucerne,
and you can walk along the Tower Wall
to a couple other towers and you can go
inside the one that's the Clock Tower too.
But there is kind of an unique
view out of Lake Lucerne,
but the Clock Tower
definitely has better views
than the first tower you
walk up at the main entrance.
This clock, by law, has
first strike rights,
which means it strikes the time first,
before all the other clocks in the city.
So if you're here right
at 12, you'll hear bells
all around the city, right after this one.
Just listen.
This tells you the Swiss really like
their clocks, and Bell Towers.
For some really cheesy, but entertaining,
evening entertainment, check
out the Stadkeller Restaurant.
You'll be treated to
oversized bells, Alpine horns,
accordion music, the Swiss
dancing, and of course, yodeling.
The dinner show is free,
just you have to pay
for the overpriced food,
the food wasn't too bad,
and you can even get
your fix of fondue here.
But, I'll say fondue, it's
good to have about once,
gets a little old after a while.
For the most popular
excursion from Lucerne,
take the Golden Round Trip.
From the top of Mt. Pilatus, you can see
really great views of Lucerne down below.
Click the video card to
watch my video on it,
link's in the description too.
Alright, well, I hope
you enjoyed this video,
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or you might enjoy
watching some of my other
videos from Switzerland.
Click any of them to watch,
or find those in the
description below too.
Alright, bye bye.
