Flüelen is the harbour at the southern tip of Lake Uri, the long, dark, steep-sided arm of Lake Lucerne that cuts into the heart of Switzerland, and for hundreds of years it was the starting point of the Gotthard route. Goods and travellers came up the lake by boat, landed here and went on by mule to the pass. Today it is a quiet village of around two thousand people, with a tower, a small harbour and a few cafés, and the old trading importance has dissolved into the calm of the water. The proper town, Altdorf, is three kilometres away and has the fuel, supermarkets and hardware shops.
This is the land of William Tell, the legendary archer who is said to have shot an apple from his son's head and then, after the Habsburg bailiff Gessler arrested him, escaped from a boat on this very lake and killed his captor. The story is almost certainly a legend, but it has been told since the fifteenth century and has become a symbol of Swiss independence. In Altdorf there is a bronze statue of Tell and his son, and along the lake the Tellskapelle stands on the shore at the spot where he is said to have leapt ashore. Schiller's play of 1804 did the rest.
The Axenstrasse, which leads you here, is a road carved out of the cliff on the eastern side of the lake. It was opened in the 1860s, and its tunnels, galleries and sudden windows of view give a mood of drama, with the water of Lake Uri far below and the rocky walls above. The driving is slow and sinuous, with a few tight tunnels and bends, and traffic can be heavy, especially at weekends, because it is the main approach to the Gotthard. Rockfalls sometimes close sections, so check before you set off.
The lake is deep and cold, and the Föhn wind can turn it from calm to choppy in minutes. The best time for the ride is early morning, before the day's traffic, when mist lies on the water and the peaks above are lit. In autumn, the walnut trees along the road turn yellow. As a place to stop, Flüelen is not exciting, but it is peaceful, with a lakeside walk and a good view of the mountains, and a coffee by the harbour is a good way to end the ride.