Description: This is a series of nine towers that are part of the rampart walls that surround the city. They span approximately 800m around the city.
Built in 1386, the wall stands almost entirely intact due to the fact that Lucerne was never really under any harm, thanks to its strategic location amongst the Alps.
Three of the towers are open to the public: Schirmer, Zyt, and Männli, but are only open between May to October. Admission is free.
Often overlooked on visits to Lucerne, you should make this part of your itinerary as a visit gives you a panoramic and breathtaking view of the entire city and the lake.
The view from the towers is even more romantic during dusk. So if you do have the opportunity, be sure to take a visit, as they are open ‘til 8pm.
There is a restaurant nearby, along Karli-Strasse, called the Chang-Cheng, which literally translates into "great wall." The restaurant serves pretty good Chinese fare at a reasonable price, and after a hearty meal, you can burn off those sweet-and-sour pork calories by taking a climb up the Zyt tower nearby.
You can access the towers by strolling west from Weinmarkt along the river on St- Karliquai, past the sophisticated-looking hydroelectric turbines on the Reuss. The route will bring you to the Nölliturm, the first of the fortified gates marking the southwestern stretch of the wall. Pass through the gate and head right up the hill to gain access to the Musegg battlements. This is an oddly rustic corner of Luzern, cut off from the city behind the walls, and you may well come across a cow or two quietly grazing back here, residents of a part-time urban farm. Stairs rise to the top of both the Männliturm and, further along, the Luegisland-Turm (Countryside Viewpoint Tower), but the battlements walk properly starts at the Wachtturm. From here, you can follow the parapets along to the Zytturm, with the oldest clock in Luzern (granted the honour of chiming one minute before all the others in the town). It was built by Hans Luter in 1535.
The bizarrely ugly statue down below is called Urweib, by local artist Rudolf Blätter, such an unpopular fixture that the municipality had to unveil it in secret one evening. The rooftop walk continues to the Schirmerturm adjacent, gutted by an arsonist in January 1994 and still bearing smoke-blackened stones.
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