Lucerne is where central Switzerland likes to show off. The town sits at the end of its lake, with the Reuss river sliding out through the middle, old houses with painted gables along the quay, and mountains on every side, Pilatus to the south and the Rigi to the east. The best-known sight is the Kapellbrücke, the Chapel Bridge, a covered wooden footbridge from the fourteenth century with a stone water tower beside it, and painted panels under the roof. A fire in 1993 burned much of it, and the bridge was rebuilt, so the paintings you see are mostly reconstructions, but the shape is old. Nearby the Lion Monument, carved into a sandstone cliff in 1821, commemorates Swiss guards who died in Paris in 1792, and Mark Twain called it the saddest piece of stone in the world.
For a motorcyclist, Lucerne is both a hub and a reward. From here the roads fan out toward the Brünig, the Susten, the Furka, the Grimsel and the Gotthard, and in the other direction toward the Entlebuch and the Emmental. The town itself is not for riding, with a dense one-way system, many bus lanes and fines that are issued without sympathy, so park in one of the garages and walk. Speed limits are strictly enforced across Switzerland, and cameras are plentiful.
The best time is late spring or early autumn, when the light is soft and tour buses are fewer. In July and August the lakefront is full and the Alpine passes are open, with the highest ones usually closed from late autumn into early summer. Lake fog in winter can be thick, though the mountains above are often sunny. The air smells of water and woodsmoke when you arrive by the lake road in the evening.
At a little over four hundred metres above sea level, the town has everything, with fuel stations on every approach, workshops, hotels and restaurants. Try a Luzerner Chügelipastete, the local pastry filled with veal and mushrooms, or just a coffee at the lakeside. Prices are high, and a vignette is needed on motorways, though you will rarely use them in the mountains. Walk the old town in the evening, cross both bridges, and leave the bike for a ferry ride across the lake.