The setting is incomparable at this Russian-owned, fairy-tale hilltop palace. Many rooms and suites enjoy sweeping aerial perspectives over Lake Lucerne, as do the bar and breakfast terrace. From the train station, take a taxi or catch bus 12 to Kanonenstrasse (10 minutes, plus 10-minute uphill walk). To spot it,...

　　Housed in the composer’s former residence in Tribschen, on the lake’s southern shore, this museum harbours historic musical instruments, including rarities such as a regal (portable organ). Take bus 6, 7 or 8 from the train station to Wartegg. ...

　　Behind its elaborately frescoed facade, this perfectly positioned Old Town hotel flaunts a light and airy design ethos, with ice-white rooms, gilt mirrors and parquet floors. Suites have river-facing balconies. For the singles and doubles, expect to pay more for river-facing rooms. Breakfast is an additional Sfr35 per person. ...

　　Near the western end of the old city walls' walkway, you both ascend or descend here at Zytturm, with its legendary clock. Since the late Middle Ages the Zytturm Clock, held up by two giants, has had the right to chime first, one minute before all other public clocks in...

　　French architect Jean Nouvel’s waterfront arts and convention centre is a postmodern jaw-dropper in an otherwise historic city. Inside, the tall, narrow concert hall, partly built below the lake’s surface, is surrounded by a reverberation chamber and has an adjustable suspended ceiling, all creating a bubble of silence that results...

　　The medieval Old Town, with its ancient rampart walls and towers, 15th-century buildings with painted facades and two covered bridges, is fascinating. Kapellbrücke, dating from 1333, is Lucerne’s best-known landmark. It’s famous for its distinctive water tower and the spectacular 1993 fire that nearly destroyed it. Look for the 17th-century...

　　A great kid-pleaser, the fascinating interactive Verkehrshaus is deservedly Switzerland’s most popular museum. Alongside rockets, steam locomotives, aeroplanes, vintage cars and dugout canoes are hands-on activities, such as pedalo boats, flight simulators, broadcasting studios and a walkable 1:20,000-scale map of Switzerland. 　　The museum also shelters a planetarium, Switzerland's largest 3D...

　　By far the most touching of the 19th-century sights that lured so many British to Lucerne is the Lion Monument. Lukas Ahorn carved this 10m-long sculpture of a dying lion into the rock face in 1820 to commemorate Swiss soldiers who died defending King Louis XVI during the French Revolution....

　　Downriver from Kapellbrücke, this 1408 structure is dark and small but entirely original. Lore has it that this was the only bridge where Lucerne's medieval villagers were allowed to throw spreu (chaff) and leaves into the river. Here the roof panels consist of artist Caspar Meglinger’s movie-storyboard-style sequence of paintings,...

　　You haven’t really been to Lucerne until you have strolled the creaky 14th-century Kapellbrücke, spanning the Reuss River in the Old Town. The octagonal water tower is original, but its gabled roof is a modern reconstruction, rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1993. As you cross the bridge, note Heinrich...

　　For a bird’s-eye view over Lucerne’s rooftops to the glittering lake and mountains beyond, wander along the top of the old city walls that date back to 1386. A walkway is open between the Schirmerturm (tower), where you enter, and the Wachturm, from where you have to retrace your steps....

　　Lucerne’s blockbuster cultural attraction is the Sammlung Rosengart, occupying a graceful neoclassical pile in the heart of town. It showcases the outstanding stash of Angela Rosengart, a Swiss art dealer and close friend of Picasso. Alongside works by the great Spanish master are paintings and sketches by Klee, Cézanne, Renoir,...