Most visitors to Lucerne see the Chapel Bridge and the lake front and stop there. This guide follows the river Reuss a little further: from the boat landing stages by the station, across to the Jesuit Church, through the old arsenal that holds the city's history collections, over the second covered bridge and up to the Nölliturm, where the medieval Musegg Wall meets the river. All five places are stops on our scavenger hunt.
Lucerne Pier: the lake boat landing stages
The landing stages in front of the railway station are where the boats of the Lake Lucerne Navigation Company (SGV) leave for the villages and mountains around the lake. The company still runs five historic paddle steamers, the oldest of which, the Uri, entered service in 1901, alongside modern motor ships.
For many visitors this quay is where Lucerne begins: trains arrive behind it, the lake opens up in front, and the KKL culture and congress centre by Jean Nouvel stands next to it with its huge flat roof reaching out over the water.
- Look for the paddle steamers when they are moored: their white hulls, tall funnels and paddle boxes make them easy to spot.
- Look across the water to the old town front, the Hofkirche towers and the Musegg towers on the hill above.
- On a clear day, Mount Pilatus rises to the southwest and the Rigi to the east.
Jesuit Church
The Jesuit Church of St Francis Xavier, on the left bank of the Reuss, was built from 1666 to 1677 and is regarded as the first large Baroque church in Switzerland. Its twin onion-domed towers, a landmark from the river, were only completed in 1893.
Inside, the church is bright and white, with pink and gold stucco and ceiling paintings; much of the interior decoration was redone in the Rococo style in the mid-18th century. A side chapel keeps relics of Niklaus von Flüe (Brother Klaus), Switzerland's patron saint.
- Look at the facade from the river promenade: it faces straight onto the Reuss.
- Inside, look up at the painted ceiling over the nave.
- Find the chapel of Brother Klaus to the side of the nave.
Historisches Museum Luzern (Old Arsenal)
Lucerne's history museum is housed in the Zeughaus, the old arsenal on Pfistergasse, built between 1567 and 1569 to store the city's weapons. Captured flags and arms from past battles were soon displayed to the public, and the building remained an armoury until 1983. From 1986 it was home to the Historisches Museum Luzern.
The museum was known for its unusual style: objects were shown in a dense depot-like display rather than in classic showcases, and costumed actors led theatre tours through the collection. In 2022 the canton decided to merge the history and natural history museums into one institution, Museum Luzern, which is based on the Reuss; check what is on show in the old arsenal before you go.
- Look at the building itself: a long, solid late-Renaissance warehouse that shows how seriously the city took its defence.
- Look for the old armour and weapons, the core of the collection the building was made for.
- Walk to the river side, where the arsenal stands close to the Spreuer Bridge.
Spreuer Bridge (Spreuerbrücke)
The Spreuer Bridge is Lucerne's second covered wooden bridge, crossing the Reuss downstream from the Chapel Bridge. A bridge has stood here since the early 15th century. Its name comes from Spreu, chaff: according to the usual explanation, it was the only bridge from which millers were allowed to throw chaff into the river.
What makes it special is the series of paintings under its roof: a Dance of Death painted by Kaspar Meglinger and his workshop in the early 17th century, in which Death appears among people of every rank, from the pope and the emperor to farmers and children.
- Look up at the triangular panels in the roof truss: each painting has a verse and the coat of arms of the family who paid for it.
- Look for the small chapel in the middle of the bridge.
- Stop at the needle dam (Nadelwehr) just upstream, a weir of wooden stakes still used to regulate the level of the lake.
Nölliturm and the Musegg Wall
The Nölliturm is the round tower at the river end of the Musegg Wall, the medieval fortification that still crowns the hill above the old town. It was built between 1513 and 1519 on a rock on the bank of the Reuss, replacing an older gate tower. It was first called the Red Tower after its red-tiled roof; the name Nölliturm, which probably refers to a former guard, appears only in the early 18th century.
The tower once stored gunpowder and later served as an archive. In 1901 its gate was widened so that vehicles could pass through, and since 1922 the tower has been the seat of the Zunft zu Safran, Lucerne's Saffron Guild, which looks after it. From here the wall and its nine towers run uphill and across the ridge.
- Walk through the gate at the foot of the tower, where the road still passes.
- Follow the wall uphill: in the warmer months some of the towers can be climbed, including the Zytturm with its old clock.
- Look back from the wall for a view over the roofs of the old town to the lake and the mountains.
How to see them in one walk
Start at the Jesuit Church on the left bank and follow the river downstream to the old arsenal on Pfistergasse. Cross the Reuss on the Spreuer Bridge and walk along the right bank to the Nölliturm, then climb along the Musegg Wall. From the wall, head down to the Lion Monument and the Hofkirche, walk back along the lake front to the landing stages, and finish across the Chapel Bridge at the town hall on the river.
See Lucerne with World City Trail
Our Lucerne scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops, from the Jesuit Church to the town hall, and all five places in this guide are among them, together with the Musegg Wall, the Lion Monument, the Hofkirche and the Chapel Bridge.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Lucerne.
Play the Lucerne scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Lucerne →
Play the outdoor escape game in Lucerne →
Facts checked in October 2026.