I did the Lucerne "city tour" without the Mount Pilatus
component because I had just done a Matterhorn trip the
previous day and had had enough of mountain trips for a
while. The Old Town area is fun to wander around in. The
"Tour" isn't really a tour--the bus drops you off with a
paper map that points out possible places to visit. As I am
reasonably fit, I hiked up to the steep Musegg Fortification
Wall. It was a great place to take photos of Lucerne, as
well as see a few animals like buffaloes and jackdaws, which
I normally don't encounter. Certain areas have electrified
wire, so don't back up into these areas when walking
backwards to get a landscape shot. For those people who
continued up to Mount Pilatus, probably all they had time to
see while in Lucerne itself was the Lion Monument, and the
Chapel Bridge. As I had 6 hours, I did these plus the
Jesuit Church, Rosengart Collection, and Transport House, as
well as eat venison sausages and rosti at a fine Swiss
Restaurant (Café Le Ville--since the bragged-about Pfister
Restaurant was closed)--sort of as a "culture enrichment"
day. As long as one is good with a map, you'll find these
places. If you use your cell phone to find places-- as you
will see dozens of people robotically do with eyes glued to
their cellphones- get an international plan, because
otherwise you would have to pay heavily if you don't have
such a plan. The ride to Lucerne provided many chances to
see the unique designs of farm houses in what you pass, so
you do see more than if you were taking a train, say from
Zurich (which was my base) to Lucerne. If I were to do this
trip again, however, I would add Mt. Pilatus. as there
aren't enough things that fascinate me for 6 hours in just
this one city.
