A cozy winter weekend in Lucerne

On Lake Lucerne, surrounded by snowcapped mountains in Switzerland you’ll find the town of Lucerne. It is a beautiful city know for it’s preserved medieval architecture of cobblestone streets, towers and a covered chapel bridge.

I had the pleasure of going there with Veera last week and it was amazing. I grew up in a small city with narrow cobblestone streets, and the old part of town where I live now has them too. So to come her immediately felt very homely and familiar.

And around Christmas it is so beautiful here and with lights shimmering all around, the atmosphere is very cozy. Now If you’re going to Switzerland in wintertime it is most likely to ski or snowboard, but I can highly recommend staying in Lucerne (it’s close to a lot of mountains) to get some cozy city life vibes as well. If you want to stay in a smaller place even closer to the ski hills I still suggest extending your trip to spend a weekend here.

During the day you can take a boat tour on Lake Lucerne to get a better view of the city and the beautiful surroundings. Once back in town the old town is very picturesque to stroll through and there are a lot of nice little shops to browse. Or you can do what me and Veera did and sit down to work for a bit at Mill’Feuille which is a really nice café and restaurant. We started of with coffee but later had lunch there and I of course found some local beer! I really liked the look and feel of this place and the food was quite good.

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As the sun sets behind the mountains we stand on the balcony and watch, the sky is beautiful! In the evening the town really comes alive with Christmas spirit. The lights are glimmering everywhere and in the dark the true Christmas spirit of Lucerne awakens.

People are snuggling up under blankets eating fondue, there are Christmas markets to wander through, you can buy roasted almonds on the street and the smell of glühwein travels through the air. In the distance you can hear Christmas carols and the sound of children laughing on the skating rink in town.

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The views from Hotel Des Balances are absolutely breathtaking! I can’t believe the nature that surrounds this place, it’s unreal.

On our first night here we had dinner at Restaurant Pfistern and just like everyone else we snuggled up under blankets with a bag of warm cherry seeds in our laps to warm us. Even though I quickly find fondue it to be too much cheese, I appreciate the fact that it’s a very social meal for a group of friends and easy to share.

And the cheese in Switzerland is good! To top it all of, this place had 100 different kinds (!!) of fondue and it was hard to choose, but we went for a truffle fondue with bread and potatoes on the side. I would suggest getting some vegetables too though, I did feel that was lacking our meal. Did you know that if you drop your bread into the fondue you have to buy everyone the next drink? I dropped things several times…

With the lovely atmosphere warming me up from the inside, and a belly full of cheese I had a very nice sleep, thank you Lucerne – you are quite lovely.

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