Nestled between mountains and a lake, Lucerne looks like a city Swiss A fantasy that offers all the fun and cultural richness to its visitors.

Here's our pick of the top 10 things to see and do when visiting Lucerne.

Things to see and do in Lucerne

Attend the Lucerne Festival

Switzerland's most famous music festival is the Lucerne Festival, which has been running for 75 years and sees the world's best orchestras and musicians come to the city for a month-long celebration.

The festival generally focuses on religious music, but also features some jazz and classical talent.

Lucerne

Lucerne Music Festival

Climbing Mount Pilatus

The snowy peaks of Mount Pilatus loom over the city, offering great opportunities to enjoy the outdoors just 20 minutes from the city.

Where visitors can ride the most dangerous railway in the world, which provides an opportunity to see the most beautiful scenic views of the Alps.

Alternatively, you can take a panoramic cable car ride to the top.

On the mountain itself, a range of activities are available such as hiking, climbing and even skiing.

Mount Pilatus

Explore the old city

The streets of the old city are lined with elaborately decorated buildings, some dating back to the Middle Ages.

See the murals that adorn the facades of almost every building.

Also be sure to visit the ancient historical religious sites.

Lucerne

Old Town

Spruyer Bridge

In addition to bridge The most famous chapel, Lucerne has another covered wooden pedestrian bridge, the Sproyer Bridge.

Walking across the bridge is practically like a tour of a museum, the interior decorated with a series of 17th century paintings depicting meditations on mortality and human existence.

This is certainly no ordinary tourist attraction: the grand structures serve to create fantastical scenes in 45 expertly executed panels.

Lucerne

Spruyer Bridge

Richard Wagner Museum

Richard Wagner was a famous 19th century German composer, best known for his operatic music.

Wagner lived on Lake Lucerne for six years, where he composed his most important pieces.

Visitors can also learn about his life and music through memorabilia at the Richard Wagner Museum located in his country home.

Richard Wagner Museum

lion of lucerne

The Lion of Lucerne is a sad and poignant tribute to the Swiss soldiers who tried to protect the royal family during the French Revolution.

The monument depicts a dying lion carved into sandstone at the eastern end of the city.

The famous American author Mark Twain described the statue as “the saddest and most moving piece of stone in the world.”

It commemorates the more than 800 Swiss Guards who died protecting King Louis XVI and his family at the Tuileries Palace or who later died in French prisons.

lion of lucerne

Lake Lucerne

Lake Lucerne, the country's fourth largest lake, offers travelers many ways to enjoy its fjord-like beauty with mountains that drop right down to the shoreline.

The lake is particularly picturesque on a beautiful summer day or winter night to see the city's Christmas lights twinkling.

More active visitors can also bike around or hike the 34-kilometre (21-mile) Swiss Path, built to celebrate Switzerland's 700th anniversary in 1991.

Lucerne

Lake Lucerne

Mount Rigi

The lake is surrounded by mountains, but only a few are as high as Mount Rigi.

This mountain is unique because it is located on three lakes: Lucerne, Zug and Lauers.

The train is a popular way to reach the summit of this 1,797.5-metre (5,897-foot) mountain, but visitors can also get there via cable car.

Mount Rigi

Chapel Bridge

Perhaps the most famous site in Lucerne is the medieval Chapel Bridge.

The historic bridge was built in the 14th century, burned down in 1993, and was considered the oldest wooden bridge in Europe.

The restored bridge features more than 100 17th-century images of the city hanging from the wooden beams.

Chapel Bridge