JOY RIDE

FOR A FAMILY-FRIENDLY HOLIDAY, LUCERNE AND ZERMATT ARE OUR TOP SWISS PICKS

- CALVIN CHONG

Switzerland is a place of nature's splendours, cultural heritage and stunning sights. And of the many amazing cities and sights that Switzerland has to offer, Lucerne and Zermatt are our picks for their variety of experiences an educational day at the Museum of Transport, the scenic cogwheel train ride up to Gornergrat, and more.

To start off our adventure, we hopped on Swissair for a comfortable 15-hour flight to Zurich. Upon landing, the must-do for all tourists is to sign up for the Swiss Travel Pass an all-inclusive travel pass that allows one to utilise every available mode of public transportation in Switzerland and get access to a long list of attractions here.

We recommend the first-class option for a fuss-free and comfortable train experience with cabins that are spacious and luxurious, and less crowded during peak hours.

For our first stop, we took a quick 40-minute train ride to the city of Lucerne, the gateway to central Switzerland. A city known for its medieval architecture, cultural sights, breathtaking mountain ranges, and the scenic Lake Lucerne, this was the perfect place to start our Swiss experience.

For starters, we headed to the Old Town district, also known as Altstadt, to take in the majestic medieval architecture that makes Lucerne famous. As we made our way along the cobblestone streets, we were greeted by wall paintings that decorate the buildings here, each telling their own story from as far back as the 1920s.

Here, the Old Town Boulevard stretches along the Reuss river and oversees the iconic Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge). With plenty of fine restaurants and fancy bars along the boulevard, this is where you go to sit back and relax. While luxury hotels are available in abundance in Lucerne, another option to consider is the quaint Cascada Hotel, which is a boutique establishment that allows one to be immersed in Lucerne and live almost like a true local.