The route, stop by stop
There is no trailer: the film opens on a small pier off the Nationalquai, with the KKL across the lake and Pilatus behind it. We walk inland past the Hofkirche and through the shopping streets to the Lion Monument, then climb to the Musegg Wall and come down through the old town squares to the market on the river and the Chapel Bridge. The last half hour follows the Reuss past the Jesuit Church and the Nadelwehr, crosses the Spreuer Bridge and ends in the pedestrian shopping streets just past Mühlenplatz. Each time below opens the film at that moment.
- The NationalquaiA small pier off the promenade, with the KKL across the water and Pilatus behind it.▶ 0:00
- Hofkirche St. LeodegarA broad flight of steps leads up to the church’s two pointed towers.▶ 4:20
- LöwenplatzA wide junction with a curved glass building; the Bourbaki Panorama stands on this square.▶ 11:40
- The Lion MonumentA lion lies in a niche cut into the rock face, above a still pond.▶ 15:40
- On the Musegg WallThe narrow path along the top of the wall, past a square tower with battlements, with the mountains beyond the town.▶ 29:00
- The old town squaresTall old house fronts close in around a square, then a stone tower rises over a second square with a small fountain.▶ 40:20
- The market on the riverFruit and vegetable stalls set out on the quay beside a stone arcade.▶ 43:20
- The Chapel BridgeRed flowers in boxes along the side, then the length of the wooden roof with the Water Tower alongside.▶ 49:00
- The Jesuit ChurchA white Baroque front with green doors, facing a paved square.▶ 55:20
- The NadelwehrThe Reuss spills white over the old weir.▶ 1:00:00
- The Spreuer BridgeOur second covered bridge, with paintings in the gables of its roof.▶ 1:03:20
- MühlenplatzOff the bridge onto a square of tall old houses, then into the pedestrian shopping streets, where the film ends at 1:14:38.▶ 1:06:00
Open this route in Google MapsWalking directions from Nationalquai through the main landmarks. Our film takes a few extra turns.
What the camera doesn’t tell you
Lucerne, in one word: idyllic. At times it felt almost too perfect: the lake, the mountains, the old wooden bridges, the charming streets, everything exactly where it belonged. Even the people going about their everyday lives seemed to fit naturally into the picture, as though everyone there had somehow figured out the secret to a beautiful, peaceful life. Of course, we were only seeing it through a visitor’s eyes, but that was genuinely the feeling Lucerne gave us.
Then there was the Lion Monument. Standing there was different from seeing it in photographs. Even with people all around the courtyard, nothing about the place felt rushed or overwhelming; the lion, the rock and the remarkably clear pond came together like a composed painting. Above all, we kept thinking about how such a powerful monument could sit in such a gentle setting, and how many people must walk past places like this every day without realising how extraordinary their surroundings are.
Lucerne felt international and quietly elegant to us, never formal or intimidating, and full of small human moments between the views. The first comes in the opening seconds of the film: by the lake, a dog stands up on its hind legs for some attention from a woman in a green jacket, with a small tour group gathered nearby. ▶ watch at 0:18 Behind the buildings, the mountains and the bridges, it is a real city with its own everyday rhythm.
Inland to the lion
Lucerne’s Chapel Bridge waits for the second half of this walk. It starts on the lake instead, and what we remember from those first minutes is the fresh, clean air and the gentle sound of water against the shore. ▶ watch at 0:00
Pilatus over the lake, in the first second of the film. From our film, October 2025.
Inland, the Hofkirche stands at the top of its broad steps. Its two pointed towers are all that survived the fire of 1633.
The shopping streets on the way inland were packed that day, and then, round the corner from Löwenplatz, the Lion Monument. We followed the edge of the pond until the cliff and the lion showed in the water, with a few fallen leaves floating on it. ▶ watch at 17:00 The lion remembers the Swiss Guards who were killed defending the Tuileries in Paris on 10 August 1792, when revolutionaries stormed the palace where they were protecting King Louis XVI. One of their officers, Karl Pfyffer von Altishofen, was on leave at home in Lucerne that day; he raised the money for the memorial, Bertel Thorvaldsen designed it, and it was unveiled in 1821.
Along the top of the wall
The Musegg Wall is what remains of Lucerne’s old town defences: about 800 metres long, built around 1400, with nine towers still standing, and one of the longest and best-preserved defensive walls in Switzerland. We reached the top by narrow wooden stairs inside one of the towers. ▶ watch at 28:10
Up on the wall the weather turned. The cloud came over and the lake lay grey beyond the rooftops, though the mountains stayed clear. ▶ watch at 31:00
A tower on the Musegg Wall. From our film, October 2025.
Down to the Reuss
Back in the old town, the walk turns to the market, with fruit and vegetable stalls set out on the quay by the river. ▶ watch at 43:20
The first view of the Chapel Bridge comes from a footbridge just upstream. ▶ watch at 45:40 Much of what you walk on is not medieval. On the night of 18 August 1993 fire destroyed most of the bridge: only the two bridgeheads and the Water Tower were saved, many of the painted panels under the roof burned or were badly damaged, and the rebuilt bridge reopened on 14 April 1994. The Water Tower is older than the bridge, from around 1290 to 1300.
The Chapel Bridge and the Water Tower from the bank, after we crossed. From our film, October 2025.
Further along the river, the Jesuit Church was the first large Baroque church in Switzerland, built from 1666 to 1677.
The second bridge
The last half hour belongs to the river. At the Nadelwehr the Reuss spills white over the old weir, built between 1859 and 1861. Luzern Tourism says its wooden “needles” are still lifted out or set in by hand to help keep Lake Lucerne at the right level for the season. ▶ watch at 1:00:00
The Nadelwehr on the Reuss. From our film, October 2025.
Then we cross the Spreuer Bridge, built in 1408 and named after the chaff from the town mills that was tipped over its side into the river. Look up under its roof: the triangular paintings are a Dance of Death, painted by Caspar Meglinger between 1625 and 1635, and they show death coming for everyone, whoever they are. ▶ watch at 1:04:10
One of the Dance of Death paintings in the roof of the Spreuer Bridge. From our film, October 2025.
The film runs out in the pedestrian shopping streets just past Mühlenplatz.
Timing the wall and the lion
- Start early, by the lake.Begin on the lakefront, with the fresh air and the water lapping at the shore. We filmed later in the day, so an early start is our recommendation rather than something we tested, and the quiet morning hours are what we would love to see next time. Bring a camera with plenty of space, and put it away now and then.
- Walk the wall between April and early November.The wall’s own site says the wall walk, the Männliturm, Zytturm and Schirmerturm and the lower part of the Wachtturm are open daily from 1 April to 1 November, 8 am to 7 pm, free of charge, and closed at night. The towers have narrow, steep wooden stairs, so you need a head for heights and ordinary fitness. Outside those dates, plan on seeing the wall from below.
- Listen for the Zytturm on the hour.Luzern Tourism says the bell of the Zytturm, the clock tower on the wall, strikes the hour one minute before the other church clocks in the city.
- Give the Lion Monument a few minutes.There were plenty of people in front of the lion when we arrived, and it still felt quiet and unhurried. A few steps along the pond you get the view of the cliff mirrored in the water.
What it costs
| The streets, the lakefront and the old town squares | Free |
|---|---|
| Lion Monument | Free |
| Musegg Wall and its four open towers, 1 April to 1 November | Free |
| Chapel Bridge and Spreuer Bridge | Free |
| Bourbaki Panorama, adult | CHF 15 (CHF 12 reduced) |
| Glacier Garden, adult | CHF 24 (CHF 18 reduced) |
The museum prices are the museums’ own, and the free entries are as listed by the Musegg Wall’s own site, Luzern Tourism and Switzerland Tourism, all checked in October 2026. Children 6 to 15 pay CHF 7 at the Bourbaki Panorama; at the Glacier Garden under-16s pay CHF 12 and under-6s go free. We didn’t go into either museum on this walk.
Where to stay for this walk
We stayed three nights in a rental in the Aargau countryside, west of Zurich, in October 2025 and paid $93.95 a night, including taxes, driving in to Lucerne for the day. Sleeping in Lucerne itself saves the drive:
Next to the lion
- Bourbaki PanoramaOn Löwenplatz, which the film crosses twice. Open daily, 10 am to 6 pm from April to October and 10 am to 5 pm from November to March (checked October 2026). We didn’t go in.Official site ↗
- Glacier GardenBeside the Lion Monument. We didn’t go in.Official site ↗
Questions people ask
Does the film start at the Chapel Bridge?
No. It opens on the lake promenade at 0:00, with no trailer and the Hofkirche spires ahead, and reaches the Chapel Bridge at 49:00. The Spreuer Bridge follows at 1:03:20, and the film ends in the pedestrian shopping streets just past Mühlenplatz at 1:14:38.
Is the Lion Monument free to visit?
Yes. Luzern Tourism lists free entry. The lion comes into view at 15:40, and the head-on view across the pond is at 17:00.
Can you walk on top of the Musegg Wall?
Yes, from 1 April to 1 November, 8 am to 7 pm, free of charge, according to the wall’s own site. The wall walk is narrow and the towers have steep wooden stairs, and it isn’t suitable for wheelchairs or prams. In the film we climb the stairs inside a tower at 28:10 and are on the wall walk from 28:50.
Can we enjoy this walk without climbing the Musegg Wall?
Yes. The lake, the Lion Monument, the old town squares and both covered bridges don’t depend on the wall. To leave the climb out, go from the Lion Monument down into the old town instead; in the film, the climb and the wall walk run from about 27:00 to 32:10. We haven’t walked that shortcut ourselves. Luzern Tourism lists the Lion Monument and the Spreuer Bridge as wheelchair accessible.
Do you pay to cross the covered bridges?
No. Switzerland Tourism says the Chapel Bridge can be crossed free of charge at any time, and Luzern Tourism lists the Spreuer Bridge as free too. We cross the first at 49:00 and the second at 1:03:20.
Facts and prices checked October 2026. Opening hours and ticket prices change, so check official sites before you go.
