Lucerne (or Luzern in Swiss) is a gorgeous city which sits on the banks of Lake Lucerne with views across the lake to Mt Rigi, Mt Pilatus and many other snow capped peaks. Lake Lucerne is 39 kilometers (24 miles) long and covers an area of 114 square kilometres (44 square miles). Lucerne became a center of Swiss history and legend, and is the setting for the most memorable part of the William Tell legend (the part where William Tell shoots an arrow at an apple placed on his son’s head).

With beautiful scenery of mountains and pretty lakeside views Lucerne attracts millions of tourists and visitors every year. Lucerne, which has an area of approximately 25 square kilometres (10 square miles) and a population of approximately 60,000 people, is situated at the important north-south axis of Switzerland and is excellently connected through the Swiss rail system. Direct express trains link Lucerne with the international airports in Zürich, Basel and Geneva.

The city was once a dependency of the Alsatian monastery at Murbach, but gradually gained autonomy. The year 1178 marked a turning point in its relations with the monastery, and is regarded as the date of its foundation as a city.

The Lucerne Tourist Information Centre is situated on the Zentralstrasse and next to the city’s train station and the Bahnhofstrasse. On the northern banks of the Reuss and within the Old Town are several travel agencies, on the Grabenstrasse and the Schweizerhofquai, where tourism related services are readily available. Lucerne Hotels are a class apart. Offering the best of facilities and boasting of world class service Lucerne Switzerland Hotels make the best of your trip.

The town lets the charm of the Middle Ages sparkle, is noble and elegant, cherishes its ancient beginnings while gracefully integrating the very modern. Avantgarde architecture does not conflict with Renaissance buildings; Lucerne masters the mixing of styles. And Nature supplies the right accessories.

The center of Lucerne is a pedestrian area of cobbled streets bordered by houses, shops and hotels painted in medieval style or decorated with displays of flowers. Above the old town is the original city wall from which you can admire the splendor and variety of the scenery.

Probably the best known attraction of the city is Lake Lucerne from where Reuss River originates. Old Town Lucerne is located just north of the Reuss River, and still has several fine half-timber structures with painted fronts. Historic houses decorated with frescoes line the picturesque town squares as they do the Weinmarkt Square in the car-free old town. A further landmark of the town is the Museggmauer, a wall complete with eight watch towers situated on the hill above Lucerne which, with the exception only of one of its towers, has been preserved in its original, well-fortified state. An additional gated tower sits at the base of the hill on the banks of the Reuss river.

Other famous attractions in Lucerne are two wooden bridges by the names of Kapellbrücke and Spreuerbrücke:

The Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) was built in 1333, though much of what stands today is an excellent reproduction after it was nearly destroyed by a fire in 1993. The bridge is 200 meters in length and has 120 captioned triangular paintings from the early 1500s that chronicle the city’s history. The paintings feature St. Mauritius and St. Leodegar, the patron saints of Lucerne.

The Spreuerbrücke (Mill Bridge) was built in 1408 and zigzags across the Reuss river. The bridge features a series of medieval-style 17th century plague paintings by Kaspar Meglinger titled Dance of Death. It has a small chapel in the middle that was added in 1568.

Other well known Lucerne attractions are the following:

Verkehrshaus der Schweiz (Swiss Transport Museum) – The Swiss Transport Museum is located beyond the Haldenstrasse cable-car station, lying more than a mile northeast of the center and accessible via bus. With its large collection of trains, planes, automobiles, motorcycles, ships and spaceships this museum is a great place to spend a morning or an afternoon. Also on display is the oldest steamboat in the country, the Riga, built in 1847. The most popular exhibition is a scale model of a Swiss railway crossing the Gotthard Pass. In this exhibition a dozen model trains move simultaneously. The air section also features several space travel exhibits, including an un-used project Mercury capsule.

Kunstmuseum (Museum of Art) – The museum covers an area of 2100 square meters and has temporary exhibitions displaying significant works of modern art, as well as exhibitions from its own collection, with an emphasis on 19th and 20th century landscape painting and international art from 1960 onwards.

Sammlung Rosengart (the Rosengart Collection) and the Picasso Museum – This museum contains unique groups of works by Paul Klee and Pablo Picasso and also houses important works by over 20 masters of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Cézanne, Monet, Matisse, Braque, Léger and Miró.

Glacier Garden– The best way to explore the history behind the city is to visit the Glacier Garden in the city. Lucerne is believed to have been blanketed under thick layers of ice for many years. Its footmarks can be seen in the form of naturally created potholes in this garden.

The Lion Monument РThe Lion Monument or L̦wendenkmal is a famous carving of a dying lion is found in a small park just off Lowenplatz and is located exactly near the Glacier Gardens. The carving was done by Bertel Thorvaldsen and commemorates the hundreds of Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when the mob stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris.

Apart from tourist attractions, the town also offers a modern infrastructure with a wide range of cinemas, museums, theatres, restaurants, clubs, and an extensive and well-run public transport system.

Lucerne has a large population of young people, and at midnight on a weekend night, the main Pilatusstrasse Boulevard has the feel of any European capital, with people bar-hopping, waiting for the last bus, or hanging out deciding where to go.

A new dimension in pleasure and leisure time can be found at the Grand Casino Lucerne. It is the first casino in Switzerland to have introduced Grand-Jeu. Around the gambling tables and slot machines a diversity of live entertainment is performed daily, and culinary delights are also served.

Interlaken is among the most visited tourist destinations in the country of Switzerland. Interlaken is located at 570 meters above sea level in the region of Bernese Oberland, the German-speaking heart of Switzerland, through which passes River Aare. On the eastern side of city Interlaken is Lake Brienz and to the western side is Lake Thun. In fact Interlaken gets its name from sitting on the split of land between two lakes. Interlaken is also located at the foot of the towering trio of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.

Little more than a stopover, if that, for travelers on their way to the mountains, Interlaken nevertheless does have its advantages. One is that it is the center of adventure sports and it offers loads of outdoor activities. It also offers backpacker accommodation in both hostels and campsites. In fact the town is home to numerous backpacker-friendly hostels and companies that provide guided services in horse riding, skiing, snowboarding, canyoning, and also skydiving, hang gliding and paragliding. In fact many skydivers say that to really take in the majesty of the alps you have to get a go at skydiving whilst in Interlaken, as nothing compares to free falling down through the mountains of Switzerland.

The population of Interlaken is about 5,700, however this does not include the many thousands of people that reside in its hotels at through the year. Traditionally a summer tourist desitnation, Interlaken offers winter sport’s fans access to some of the most spectacular skiing in the Alps, with their base in a service-packed small city in a spectacular lakeside setting. The Swiss Alps are renowned for their winter skiing, and Interlaken offers facilities that ensure visitors can enjoy the piste in the utmost comfort. Skiers tend to make for the Jungfrau Mountain for the best runs which is the highest peak in the area.

Interlaken has had various names throughout history – Unterseen in Latin, Inderlappon in Celtic – suggesting that in ancient times the area was inhabited by Celts, Romans and the Alemanni. The town itself was first recorded in history in 1130 when a Baron Seliger founded the monastery in the town. The convent was built in 1130 and lasted until 1528. In the past, printing, textiles, and to a smaller extent watchmaking were also of importance, but today tourism is the most significant source of income.

A simple walk around town is enough to excite the sense – trendy shops, traditional gifts and books, and restaurants that practically drag in a passerby with the tantalizing aromas floating out from the kitchen. The Höheweg is Interlaken’s main street which runs between the two railway stations, Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost (East). Trains run directly from Basel to Interlaken (via Berne), approximately every 30 minutes. Trains run between Zurich and Bern approx. every 30 minutes with connections for Interlaken in Bern. A two-hour long scenic train ride over the “Brünig” mountain pass connects Interlaken with Lucerne and runs approximately every hour. Interlaken also has two funicular railways, the Harderbahn and the Heimwehfluhbahn.

On the Höheweg you will find many souvenir shops and many other shops, some of which sell very expensive items such as jewellery, watches and designer clothes. Many hotels are located along the Höheweg avenue which offers good views of the mountains. Interlaken is small enough to get around on foot or bikes. Taxis are available from either train station and most hotels.

Although Interlaken is not a big city, nature begins to get wild there. It’s one of the oldest resorts in the country, famed for its superb views towards the Jungfrau massif, which lies perfectly framed between two hills to the south of town. The beautiful Jungfrau mountain which is 4158m high is visited every year by hundreds of thousands of visitors, by using the nearby Jungfraujoch railway station which is located at 3450m.

Interlaken therefore serves as a gateway to the Jungfrau region which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized worldwide for its stunning natural beauty and cultural heritage. Jungfrau hiking tours and guided hikes in other parts of the Swiss Alps are an excellent way to experience the mountain scenery and the undeniable charm of the Alps. These tours can be tailored to hikers of all skill, activity, and age levels.

From Interlaken you could take a ride to Grindelwald and Lauternbrunnen and enjoy the pure air at more than 2000 meters, surrounded by green hills (or white hills if travelling during the winter season) and lakes.

Interlaken is also a popular place for newlyweds who decide to spend their honeymoon there. Prices can be expensive, but a week in Interlaken is the stuff of movies as the newlyweds can stay in private Swiss chalets, eat fondue and take romantic walks under the snow capped mountains that tower over the area. The newlyweds can also involve themselves in a skiing honeymoon, if skiing is a passion of theirs.

If skiing is your passion, Zermatt in Switzerland is the best place that complements your desire. Located in the south of Switzerland 280 kilometres from Zurich, Zermatt features the best suitable destinations for skiing. Zermatt has a permanent population of around 5,500 people, although the actual population varies considerably through the seasons as tourists come and go. In fact it is not uncommon for Zermatt to have some 20,000 guests during the winter high-season.

Due to its wind-protected southern location, Zermatt enjoys good weather conditions and a typical alpine climate. Temperatures are on an average of 5°C in winter and 20°C in summer. In Zermatt you find yourself in the midst of pure alpine nature. A vast number of possible hikes and marked walking paths in summer, peaks with stunning views, breathtaking mountains and wild animals such as marmots, in their natural habitat.

Nestled in a deep valley enclosed between steeply scarped mountains, Zermatt is dominated by the huge and gracefully curved pyramid of the Matterhorn. The Matterhorn, which is probably the most famous peak in the Alps, stands 4,478 meters high. Mountaineers flock to this town to conquer this technically difficult peak, and Zermatt also offers skiing and beautiful views. There are also non-skiing activities, best restaurants and lots of energetic nightlife for visitors to enjoy.

The Matterhorn is not the highest mountain in Switzerland — but it surely is the most photogenic, rising up on four elegant faces to a craggy peak along the Swiss-Italian border. Walt Disney even borrowed its silhouette for Disneyland, debuting the Matterhorn Bobsleds ride in 1959.

Zermatt was “discovered” mid-century by British mountaineers, most notably Edward Whymper, whose conquest of the Matterhorn made the village famous. As early as the 1820s, British climbers adopted the isolated hamlet as a base camp from which to scale the nearby peaks. The small area around Zermatt features 36 mountains over 4000m, a statistic as enticing to summer hikers as to winter skiers.

Zermatt has no off-season – it’s crowded year-round – but the crowds never seem to matter. You may have to shoulder your way down the main street, but the terrain all around is expansive enough that with a little effort you could vanish into the wilderness, leaving everyone else behind.

Petrol and diesel engine cars and other vehicles are not permitted in Zermatt so as to prevent air pollution. There are no impersonal tour buses belching out noise, fumes, and package tourists. Parking is available in Tasch which is 5.5 km (3.4 miles) away from Zermatt, with taxis or shuttle train to Zermatt. However once in the town you will find numerous electric powered vehicles including taxis and buses which can take you to your hotel or to your destination. Transportation is also possible by using cog train and horse-drawn sleighs. Sitting in a horse drawn sleigh with a lap robe, which is a folded small blanket, with an eternal snow around is one of the most romantic things. However nearly everyone travels on foot or ski, locals and visitors alike. The main street bustles happily with pedestrians. Zermatt is no auto through-route and the train also stops there.

Zermatt is surrounded by 3 major ski areas, with the world’s second biggest lift-served vertical drop and skiing 364 days a year. You can even ski Zermatt during the summer months on the glacier. In Zermatt you can ski at the Rothorn paradise (3103m), the Gornergrat (3089m), or up on the glacier area which is the Klein Matterhorn (3883m). Snow covered trails from November until April ensure that you will enjoy great skiing and long, long runs back to Zermatt – the longest being from Klein Matterhorn at 14 kilometers with a vertical drop of 2’200 metres! If you’re looking for off-piste skiing you’ll find lots of it here as well.

Zermatt has more than 300 km of ski runs which include slopes ranging from the simplest to the most challenging. Easy access is provided by an extensive network of 57 transport facilities, with high-capacity cableways, mountain railways and ski-lifts. There are three starting points in the village for eager skiers to choose from: the Sunnegga paradise, Gornergrat and Matterhorn glacier paradise valley stations. More than 70 railways, chair and ski lifts with the capacity to carry more than 47,000 persons an hour means that no-one needs to be left waiting.

Once in Zermatt you should not miss having a ride on the world famous Gornegrat Bahn (station is located just opposite the main train station). Due to the steep climb, the Gornegrat Bahn uses a cogwheel engine which helps in pulling the train up the steep slopes. Almost all the time, the huge Matterhorn is in your view but for an optimum experience be sure to sit on the right side when going up and the left side when going down.