Car Hire Lucerne - Mini guide to Lucerne

Lucerne is in the heart of beautiful Switzerland. With it’s pleasant lake setting and lovely Swiss countryside, it is an excellent base for exploring this beautiful country.

As hard as it is to believe, Lucerne, in its alpine setting, was once a tropical palm beach. Of course, this happened to be 20 million years ago, but the remnants of this ancient past can be seen at the Gletschergarten or Glacier Garden in the city. You may not recognize them as such, but the bizarre giant glacial potholes are evidence of this.

The city itself is easily navigable, but the center is where you will find most of the interesting sites. On the north side of the Reuss River, the old center has a number of 15th century buildings complete with restored painted facades. Near the center is the Lion Monument. This monument was carved from natural rock and dedicated to Swiss soldiers who died during the French Revolution.

If you are looking for leisure activities on nearby Lake Lucerne, you can rent kayaks, rowboats, pedal boats and windsurf boards. A walk along the lakeshore is also lovely. The city also offers good dining, nice pubs and quality accommodation.

In the city you will find numerous shops offering excursions for mountain hiking, white water rafting and the like. However, if you prefer to go off on your own, there are interesting drives to be had if you hire a car. In addition to this Lucerne is not far from Interlaken, another Swiss hub for outdoor activities.

Lucerne is easily reached by rail from Zurich. The airport in Zurich offers numerous daily flights to cities all over Europe.