Switzerland Guide
Zentralschweiz
Zentralschweiz (Central Switzerland) is one of the most rewarding areas of the country in which to travel, with a host of different attractions to draw you off the beaten path. Routes around both shores of Luzern's lake give constantly changing perspectives, and even the shortest day-trip in the area will turn up places of great natural beauty.
The southern shore is quiet and offers clifftop hikes above the water. The excursion south to the once-grand resort of Engelberg, base station for the trip up to the summit of the Titlis, matches the Bernese Oberland's more famous rides up the Jungfrau and the Schilthorn for drama and natural beauty. The northern shore of the lake is studded by the lofty presence of the Rigi, with the old town of Zug behind; its easternmost finger, oriented north– south and dubbed the Urnersee (Lake Uri), channels the Föhn wind down from the high Alps, and so is a prime windsurfing spot. This is one of the country's most historically resonant areas, its wild and rocky shores the setting both for the legend of William Tell and for an ancient pact of mutual defence signed on a lakeside meadow – the Rütli – which laid the foundations for the Swiss Confederation as it survives today.
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