okay so here's the thing about lucerne - nobody warned me it'd be this grey. i'm talking 'decided to become a monk' grey. the sky just sat there looking like someone had left the volume off on reality. but honestly? that low light was chef's kiss for the kind of moody architectural shots i was after.

Quick Answers

Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: yeah if you like that whole 'expensive but your photos will look incredible' situation. the chapel bridge at sunset is genuinely worth the crowds, just don't go at 2pm when every tour group in europe has the same idea.

Q: Is it expensive?
A: brutally expensive. i ate gas station sandwiches for 3 days. a coffee cost me like 6 francs which is basically a crime. budget at least 80 CHF per day if you want to eat actual food, not just almonds from the coop.

Q: Who would hate it here?
A: anyone who needs sun for their mood. also impatient people - everything closes EARLY here. 8pm and the whole old town looks like a vampire just walked through.

Q: Best time to visit?
A: september-october. less crowds, still decent weather, and the light gets that golden hour thing happening for way longer each day.

---

so i landed here with basically no plan. my friend had given me her old 35mm and said 'don't come back without some good shit' and lucerne was supposed to be a quick stop between zurich and wherever else. the train from zurich airport is like 60 minutes and costs like 25 francs which... yeah. switzerland.

the weather data said it was around 12 degrees but the humidity at 74% made it feel colder. i kept checking my hands between shots because my fingers were going numb. the pressure was sitting at 1009 which apparently is pretty standard here - a local told me that the weather basically just sits in this valley and does whatever it wants. "we don't get weather," she said, "we get mood swings."

a tall orange building sitting under a cloudy sky

*the chapel bridge is the obvious thing everyone tells you to see and honestly it's worth the hype but here's what they don't say: you can get that same golden hour reflection shot from the other side of the reuss river and avoid 80% of the people. i sat on some steps near the mill for about 40 minutes waiting for the light to do something and got some of my favorite shots of the whole trip. sometimes patience is literally the only skill you need.

i stayed in a hostel near the station which was fine but loud. the mixed dorm was like 45 francs a night which is actually... reasonable? for switzerland at least. there's a coop right across the street and i basically lived off their premade pasta and those little cheese triangles. very glamorous.

some guy at the hostel told me there's a hidden rooftop bar near the musegg wall where you can see the whole lake for free. i never found it but i also was very lost so that's on me.

the lion monument was one of those things i almost skipped because it seemed touristy but it's genuinely moving. they call it the dying lion and it's carved into a rock face and people leave coins there. there's something about the way tourists go quiet around it that made me actually pay attention instead of just getting my shot and leaving.

lucerne sits right on lake lucerne which is this massive body of water that looks fake on cloudy days because the mountains behind it just disappear into the grey and it looks like a painting someone gave up on. i took a boat across to vigna just to see what was on the other side and it's literally just more mountains but smaller. worth it for the 20 minutes of not being on land though.

two white-and-brown penguins standing on gray rock

i found this tiny coffee shop near the jesuit church that didn't have any english on the menu and i just pointed at something and got this incredible espresso that cost 4 francs. cheaper than the starbucks by the station. the barista nodded at my camera and gave me a cookie. i think she could tell i wasn't a real photographer because i was using a 50mm in a city which is basically a cry for help.

my airbnb host warned me about the church bells. they start ringing at 6am and don't stop until 10pm. it's either charming or torture depending on how much you hate joy.

the old town is where you want to spend your time if you're into the whole aesthetic thing - the buildings are all these warm browns and oranges that look incredible in overcast light because the sky acts like a giant softbox. i spent like 3 hours just walking up and down the same streets because the light kept changing. that's the secret about photography in places like this: the weather everyone complains about is actually your best friend.

tourists stick to the waterfront and the bridge which leaves the back streets surprisingly empty. i found this tiny courtyard with a well in it that had zero people in it for the entire hour i was there. got my favorite shot of a random doorframe with the mountains in the background. nobody told me about that. i just got lost.

safety wise this place is incredibly safe. i left my camera bag unattended at a cafe while i went to the bathroom and nothing happened. that would never fly in barcelona. there's basically no crime here which is either boring or perfect depending on what you're looking for.

lucerne is about an hour from zurich by train and you could easily do it as a day trip but staying overnight lets you catch the evening light which is completely different. the trains run until like midnight and the station has these little shops that stay open late which is rare for switzerland.

i only had 3 days here and i could have used another 2. there's a transport museum that's supposed to be incredible that i didn't go to because i was too busy wandering. next time.

the thing nobody tells you about lucerne is that it's quiet. even with the tourists there's this underlying hush because of the lake and the mountains just absorbing all the noise. it's the opposite of overwhelming. i came here to take photos and stayed because i finally felt like i could hear myself think.

---

practical stuff:

- train from zurich airport is about 25 CHF, buy the ticket at the machine not from the conductor it's cheaper
- hostel beds are 40-50 CHF, airbnb rooms are 60-80 CHF
- food is 20-30 CHF per meal if you want something not from the supermarket
- the museum pass gets you into like 5 places for 30 CHF which is actually a deal
- bring layers. the weather will change 4 times while you're here

links:

- tripadvisor has good restaurant lists but the reviews are mostly from people who stayed for 2 hours
- reddit r/lucerne is dead but r/switzerland has decent threads
- yelp is useless here everyone uses a local app called localguide
- the hostel i stayed at was fine but i won't name it because i don't want it to get booked out next time i need a cheap bed

final take:* lucerne isn't flashy. it won't blow your mind in the way paris or rome does. but if you give it time and actually walk around instead of just hitting the highlights, there's something there that's hard to explain. maybe it's the light. maybe it's the quiet. maybe i was just tired and everything looked beautiful.

i got my good shit. just not in the way i expected.

i showed up in lucerne with a broken lens and 20 francs and somehow survived

Quick Answers

You might also be interested in:

About the author: Topiclo Admin

Comments (0)

Join the conversation

Comments (0)

Join the conversation