Lucerne sits where the lake narrows into the Reuss, with the Alps stacked up behind it, and at 436 metres it is one of the most visited cities in Switzerland. The best way to see the old town is on foot, so find a car park and leave the bike.
The Chapel Bridge, a covered wooden footbridge across the Reuss, dates from the fourteenth century and is the city's emblem, with painted panels under the roof showing local history. Much of it burned in a fire in 1993 and was rebuilt, and the octagonal Water Tower beside it survived. A short walk takes you to the Lion Monument, a huge relief carved into a sandstone cliff in the early nineteenth century to honour Swiss guards killed in Paris in 1792. Mark Twain called it the saddest and most moving piece of stone in the world, and it still moves visitors today.
For riders, Lucerne is the lake city that opens the way into central Switzerland. The shoreline roads wind round Lake Lucerne, with its odd shape of fingers and bays, towards Küssnacht, Weggis and Vitznau, with Rigi and Pilatus rising above them. Pilatus gets its name from a legend that Pontius Pilate's body was thrown into a lake on its slopes, and the mountain was long considered haunted. The roads around the lake are scenic but crowded in summer, so use early mornings and late evenings for the best rides.
The lake is one of the cradles of Switzerland. Around its shores lie the original cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, and the Rütli meadow, where the oath of the confederates is said to have been sworn in 1291, is reachable by boat. Steamers still ply the lake, and some are paddle-wheelers more than a century old. If you have time, take one to Flüelen or Vitznau and ride back, or simply watch them from the quay.
Lucerne is dense with tourists in July and August, and parking is expensive, but the lake light in the evening is something special. It is also a city of music, with a famous summer festival and a modern concert hall right by the water.