Lucerne: Mountains of charm

Zap: I hit the trigger, and a burst of red light sprayed out at the bar code. The display on the reader came to life, and told me the story of yet another item stored in what is certainly the most interesting warehouse you will ever see. As I read about the history of the strange-yet-familiar instrument on display (a mid-20th-century telephone), I concluded that Lucerne is the cultural hub of Europe.

The location was the Historical Museum – a label that, in other middle-sized European cities, can strike mild terror into the heart of the visitor. From experience, I know that they often plod earnestly from lumps of unidentifiable rock via stuffed voles and suits of armour to the minutiae of local government.

Not in Lucerne. Instead, you find yourself welcomed to something boldly marked DEPOT. Inside, you find an Old Curiosity Emporium where all the stock, from mannequins to microphones, is caged and displayed in a manner guaranteed to stimulate your search for enlightenment. Not a single caption interferes with the clarity of the displays; instead, you zap the bar code alongside the item and read all about it.

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Competition drives excellence in most spheres of human activity, but this was the first time I had witnessed the extremes to which Man will go to try to trump Nature. Even when the haze of January drapes Lucerne with melancholy, the setting is guaranteed to dispel the gloom. On bright days, the serenity of the Vierwaldstättersee (let's call it Lake Lucerne and save a couple of syllables) is intensified by the contrast with the jagged horizon, as a scrum of Switzerland's mightiest mountains crowd around the city. In order to stop people like me simply standing and staring at the majesty of nature, the city's cultural wizards needed to conjure up some remarkable creations.

Happily, they succeeded, bestowing Lucerne with an extraordinary breadth and depth of cultural lures to keep your mind off the mountains.

The most visible artistic signature is the Chapel Bridge, which cuts diagonally across the river just west of the lake, and appears to be pinioned by an octagonal watertower that punctures the water. Since the early 14th-century, this covered crossing has served to protect the citizens of Lucerne from the natural elements as they cross between the urban elements that form the twin cores of the city. But this sturdy timber span also does something stronger: it serves as an open-all-hours gallery where the art in question is a sequence of dramatic panels depicting historical turning points.

Recent history tells of a tragic turning point for the bridge itself: in 1993, most of it burned down. Within a few months, though, the Chapel Bridge had been resurrected, with some of the original art preserved intact. Cross from south to north and you find yourself in the middle of an open-air gallery, with slabs of wall used as makeshift canvasses for some impressive works of man; even something as prosaic as the modern Co-op store boasts inspirational art.

"Think local, collect global" could be the slogan of the Rosengart Collection. Spain likes to think it owns the rights to the Picasso legend, with museums dedicated to the master in both Malaga and Barcelona. Until last year, Lucerne had one as well. Now, the Picasso Museum has been combined with the formidable Rosengart Collection. This space, a former bank, already featured Picasso, along with other modern geniuses such as Paul Klee and an impressive inventory of impressionists. The injection of some pure Picasso has created one of the richest art museums in the world in terms of that slippery metric, genius per square metre.

Another tricky measure: the border between technology and culture. This being Switzerland, the frontier is blurred in favour of a kind of confederation of creativity. For confirmation, head along the lakeshore to the Swiss Museum of Transport – which, next year, celebrates half a century of watching how artfully we travel. It traces how man has conquered space and time from the bicycle to Concorde; while the latter may look more beautiful, the former has survived longer. And it shows how important the graphic arts have been in persuading us that the great thing is to travel.

I saved the latest and greatest until last, which is easy to do because the KKL Luzern nudges against Lucerne's railway station and therefore makes a fine finale for the city. The key words for this combined convention centre, concert halls and dining venue are "dazzling" and "audacious". Only a city with vision and self-confidence would have the audacity to construct a giant, angular hull that teeters on the brink of the lake. The structure literally dazzles when the sunlight shatters on its glass and steel facades.

A very tenuous string of architectural DNA connects the KKL Luzern with the likes of the NEC in Birmingham and Wembley Arena, in that it is a working convention centre and concert venue, but some soul was built in. The World Café reminds you that there is a planet out there, by offering you a lakeside view of some of the best scenery the globe has to offer. Way above, the artists get the best view; light and water combine to give a pretty good approximation of perfection. I was reluctant to drag myself away to consider the art that had infiltrated the interior.

How proud is Lucerne of its glittering new prize? Well, I know of no other such venue where the director will, for a price, take you and your pals on a personal guided tour of the property. All that is needed to seal the impeccable cultural credentials of Lucerne would be a festival. Ooh look, here comes one now, to give some energetic zip to complement the zap.

In love with the lake: dark forests, hair-raising railways and a trip on the good ship 'Pilatus'

The city at the heart of Switzerland is attractive enough in its own right, with its turrets and towers, its painted houses and quaint bridges. But what really takes your breath away, as a first-time visitor, are its natural surroundings. Lucerne rests in the sheltered western inlet of a huge lake (Switzerland's fourth largest), the Vierwaldstättersee, rather more easily referred to as Lake Lucerne.

The oddly shaped lake, with branches that extend in all directions, is fringed by dark forests and Alpine meadows which cascade down to the water's edge, all set against a backdrop of jagged 3,000m-high mountains; neat hamlets are tidily arranged in the inlets, with mountain railways that take you almost vertically up the hillsides to the forested plateaux. Although a road does wind rather painfully around the lake's perimeter, the more convenient and by far the most romantic way to explore this most romantic of landscapes is by boat. And, as this is Switzerland, the movements of the ferries which criss-cross the lake dovetail perfectly with the timetables of local trains and buses.

The boats leave from a wide pier an anchor's throw from Lucerne's main railway station, which is where, one gorgeous afternoon earlier this month, I caught the 4.25pm to Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock on the opposite shore. But only just, because in Switzerland if the departure time is 25 minutes past four, then the gangway will start to be removed at 24 minutes past. From then on, though, the stresses and strains of modern life slipped away as the good ship Pilatus chugged gently across the untroubled surface of the lake depositing me and a dozen other travellers, half an hour later, in a world of almost total peace.

For those with time to spare, this is a fine starting point for walks around the lake or a trip on the funicular railway up to the resort of Bürgenstock and the chance to enjoy spectacular views from the top of Mount Hammetschwand, with the help one of Europe's most thrilling lift experiences outside a theme park. My own ambitions were limited by the need to catch the last boat back to Lucerne, but there was time for a stroll past a meadow of unfeasibly long, emerald green grass, dotted with yellow buttercups to a bar-restaurant-hotel and the most refreshing of beers on a terrace overlooking the lake and mountains.

Among the other regular routes plied by the ferries are Lucerne to Flüelen at the furthest end of the lake, which takes around four hours. An hour into the journey, the delightful village of Vitznau is worth a stop. The rack-and-pinion railway up to the Rigi-Kulm is Europe's oldest and there's a two-hour circular walk that takes in a Second World War fortress hidden in the cliffs. Depending on the season, there are also a number of round trips and mini-cruises where the accent is on food and booze. Finally, for added romantic impact, you can choose to travel on one of the five paddle steamers that are part of the fleet and which run regularly between April and October.

Mick Webb

The price of a return ticket to Kehrsiten is Sfr28 (£14). Information on all the cruises, timetables and prices can be found online at www.lakelucerne.ch

Traveller's Guide

Getting there:

Lucerne is in the heart of Switzerland, by extension the middle of western Europe, and thus very easy to reach.

The main air gateway is Zurich, which has direct flights from a wide range of UK airports, including Birmingham, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Heathrow, London City, Luton and Manchester. From Platform 4 of the railway station at Zurich airport, trains depart hourly direct for Lucerne, taking just over an hour for a one-way fare of Sfr31 (£15.50).

The same fare applies to and from Basel, the alternative gateway, 66 minutes from Lucerne. Basel is also the place to change trains if you are making the whole journey by rail: travelling on Eurostar from London St Pancras takes you to Paris-Nord, a 10-minute walk from Paris-Est station – which is the terminus for TGV trains to Basel. With good connections, the whole journey can be made in seven hours or so.

Lucerne is the rail hub of Switzerland, and therefore can easily be incorporated into a more extensive exploration of the nation. Connections are good to Geneva and the rest of French-speaking Switzerland, as well as south to the Italian-speaking region and, beyond that, Milan Malpensa airport.

Getting around:

Lucerne railway station is one of Europe's great termini, and within easy walking distance of most places of interest in the city centre. If you prefer mechanical assistance, you can rent a bike at the station (register and pay at desk 21, downstairs, before returning upstairs to the bike rental store – Velostation).

The railway station is also the hub for buses and trolleybuses that extend throughout the city and deep into the surrounding countryside. Equally obvious, when you step out of the station, is the range of ferry services on the Vierwaldstättersee. An unlimited-travel day ticket costs Sfr56 (£28), though a range of cards and passes can bring down the cost – especially for families.

The LucerneCard – which costs Sfr27 (£13.50) for 48 hours or Sfr33 (£16.50) for 72 hours – offers free land-based transport around the city, together with half-price admission to many of Lucerne's best museums. You can buy it at the tourist office (see below).

Museums:

Art Museum (KKL): 0041 41 22 67 800; www.kunstmuseumluzern.ch

Historical Museum: 0041 41 22 85 424; www.hmluzern.ch

Rosengart Collection: 0041 41 22 01 660; www.rosengart.ch

Swiss Museum of Transport: 0041 41 37 04 444; www.verkehrshaus.ch

Festival time:

Lucerne Festival in Summer, 13 August-21 September.

Lucerne Festival at the Piano, 17-23 November.

Lucerne Festival at Easter, 28 March-5 April 2009.

All details from www.lucernefestival.ch

More information:

Lucerne Tourism, Zentralstrasse 5; 0041 41 22 71 717; www.luzern.com