Lucerne

The lake stops being a lake in the middle of town. Lucerne stands at the point where the Vierwaldstättersee narrows and lets go of its water into the Reuss, so the old covered bridges cross an outflow rather than a river proper — which is why the current beneath them runs fast and green in a city that otherwise looks entirely placid. The town grew on that crossing and has been trading on it ever since.

The mountains are the itinerary

Nobody comes to central Switzerland for the town alone, and Lucerne knows it. What the city really sells is access — a lakefront where boats leave for the villages at the foot of each mountain, and rack railways and cable cars waiting when they dock. Pilatus rises to the south-west, Rigi across the water to the east, and the classic day here is a circuit rather than a destination: boat out, cogwheel up, ridge walk, gondola or train down, boat home.

One practical consequence is worth planning around. These are day-long undertakings, weather-dependent, and a summit in cloud is a summit wasted. Keep the mountain flexible and let the forecast pick it. The lake earns a day on its own account regardless — its arms bend around rock spurs, and the far reach beyond the Rigi is the most dramatic water in the country you can see from a deck chair.

When to come

May, June and September. Late spring gives you meadows in flower on the lower slopes with snow still visible above them, and September gives the settled air that makes the long views work, after the school holidays have emptied out. Both months hold the boat and railway timetables at close to full service.

July and August are warm, busy and prone to afternoon build-up over the peaks. The old town takes coach and cruise traffic in daylight through the summer and then largely empties, which is an argument for staying the night rather than passing through: the bridges at eight in the evening are a different proposition from the bridges at noon.

Winter closes several of the higher lines and shortens the boat timetable, though the town is handsome under snow. Couples generally do best in September, when the terraces are still open and the light on the water lasts.

Whether it is expensive

Switzerland is expensive and Lucerne is not the exception. The fixed costs — a bed, a plate, a beer — sit well above the European norm and will not be negotiated down; the variable costs are where a trip is won or lost.

Those variables are the mountain excursions, and they add up fast if each is bought on the day. A rail pass covering trains, boats and a discount on the summit railways changes the arithmetic considerably for anyone moving around, and it is the first thing to price rather than the last. Lunch is the other lever: the midday menu in a good restaurant is a different order of expense from the same kitchen at dinner. Comparing current stay and experience options early is worth the half hour, since the lakefront rooms and the fine-weather excursion slots both thin out well ahead of the season.

Where to stay

The Aspirational Luxury Pick

A grand nineteenth-century house on the lakefront promenade, facing the water with the mountains ranged behind it. This is the room the city arranged itself around when the first steamers arrived. Right for travellers who want the address and the outlook, and who intend to walk everywhere from it.

The Mid-Tier Value Premium Selection

A townhouse hotel inside the old town on the right bank, among the painted façades and the small squares. You lose the lake view and gain the better morning: bakeries, the market by the river, and the covered bridges before the day's arrivals reach them. Best value in the city, and the shortest walk to a boat.

The Smart Entry-Level Option

A room in one of the lakeside villages — Weggis, Vitznau, Küssnacht — reached by boat or train in well under an hour. Prices ease as soon as you leave the quay, the setting is arguably better, and you wake up at the foot of the mountain railway instead of travelling to it. The trade is that the last boat home sets your evening.

What is worth the money

One mountain, done properly, rather than three done at speed. A full day on the water, treating the boat as transport instead of an excursion. The rock-cut lion above the town, which is a war memorial and a genuinely affecting one. And the painted panels in the roof of the covered bridge — a good number were lost when it burned in the nineties, and the gaps in the sequence are part of the story now.

At a glance