Lucerne works best if you arrive by water, but a motorcycle at the right hour comes close. The city sits where Lake Lucerne narrows into the river Reuss, with the Pilatus massif standing guard on one side and the Rigi on the other, and the old town spills along both banks like a stage set that happens to be real. The wooden Chapel Bridge, first built in 1333, crosses the river at an angle, with painted panels under the roof, and its stone water tower has served as a prison, an archive and a treasury. A fire in 1993 destroyed much of the bridge, and what you walk on today is mostly a careful reconstruction.
The Lion Monument, carved into a sandstone face in the early nineteenth century, commemorates the Swiss Guards who died defending the Tuileries Palace in Paris in 1792. It is a surprisingly moving piece, a dying lion with a spear in its flank, and Mark Twain famously called it the saddest and most moving piece of stone in the world. A short walk from the lake brings you to it, and it is quiet and slightly eerie even in the tourist season.
From a rider's perspective, Lucerne is an arrival rather than a ride. The traffic can be heavy, especially in the summer, and the lakefront is busy with pedestrians, coaches and cyclists. But the setting is superb, and the early evening light on the water and the mountains is spectacular. Park the bike in a designated motorcycle bay, because the city enforces parking, and walk the promenade. The modern concert hall by the station, with its huge floating roof, stands as a counterpoint to the medieval bridges.
Fuel is not a concern in a city of fifty-seven thousand, with large stations on the approach roads, though they can be crowded at peak hours. Coffee and lunch are everywhere, from bakeries to lake terraces. Prices are high, so choose with that in mind.
If you have time, pick a table with a view of the water and watch the paddle steamers pull in. The mountains often wear a cap of cloud, which can lift suddenly and reveal the full scene. That moment, when Pilatus appears from nowhere, is the reason people come back.