Lucerne is a very beautiful city. It sits on the shore of Lake Lucerne and then straddles the Reuss River which is fed by the lake. It has beautiful medieval architecture, a vibrant Old Town area, a 14th century wall, two wooden bridges (the beautiful Chapel Bridge dates to 1333), a beautiful Jesuit church and two interesting art museums. One of the museums is a private collection of over 300 works accumulated by the Rosengart family who were friends of Picasso and the majority of the works are his.

If I have a negative about Lucerne it is that it is over run with tour groups. When cities in Europe are crowded with individual travelers, it usually is not an issue. But so many large groups hanging together with their guides diminish the experience for others.

And while Switzerland is the most expensive place we have traveled, Lucerne is a step above the rest of the country, probably in part because of the tour group traffic. But none of that detracts from its incredible beauty.