The city dues the assignment of its nickname as "City of the lights" to an ancient legend which tells about the miracle of the light: one day an angel showed to the first colonists of Luzern the exact place where to build a chapel in honor of San Niklaus, the patron saint of the fishermen and of the sailors, and did it with a bright light which radiated in a specific position.

There was a time when Luzern was a village of fishermen, but with the years, thanks to the opening of the St. Gotthard Tunnel, it has been always more known for its monuments and natural beauties and today it has even become an important reference point for an always growing commerce. Luzern is the capital of the homonym Canton, where the main language is the German, it is the cultural centre of the region and the fourth Swizz urban agglomerate, it is also very appreciated for its picturesque landscapes inserted between the Alps and the superb homonym lake onto which it has been built.

From every zone you arrive into the city, you can immediately notice the neatness and the extreme cleanliness which will surely be stamped in the memory of the tourists, just as it happend to me; in addition, it is easy to notice the naturalness with which the modernity is able to co-habit with the ancient, it is an example the combination of buildings used as banks or important commercial offices with the bridges and the ancient towers which can be suddenly discovered walking downtown.

In fact, Luzern is also famous for its many bridges, one of them in particular attract the curiosity of the visitors, it is the one always pictured in the photographs of the city onto magazines and travel guides, it is the "Sheltered wooden bridge", the most ancient one preserved in Europe, called the Kapellbrücke; it is magic to cross over on it by foot and walk in this way onto the Reuss river and it is possible to look up to several paintings inserted in triangular-shaped wooden panels under the trusses of the roof, as well as a breath-taking panorama; next to the bridge it is situated the Wasserturm octagonal tower, named in this way just because it was built onto the water.

From that position, people can notice the two dark and very spiky steeples of the Hofkirche cathedral and at the opposite place there is the lake of Luzern from which the touristic boats leave and where they arrive (which are amazingly enlightened during the nights). Proceeding with the walk, you can encounter the railway and bus station and the fantastic lake front from which you can have access to the beach zone of the Lido, going on the most venturer tourists can do trips and naturalistic excursions onto the Pilatus Mount via cog railway or cableway.

Entering the historical center, I quickly reached the promenade where there is the Weinmarkt main square, during the walk it was surely magic to esteem the beautiful fresco paintings on the walls of the historical houses and to stop in some shops which sell the renowned and unholy Swiss chocolate. I can remember when, after a few steps, during my first visit to the city, I arrived at one of the most famous monuments of Luzern, the Sterbende Löwe, which means the "Dying Lion", carved directly onto the rock in memory of the heroic death of the Swiss soldiers occurred in the 1792 at the Tuileries, it is a very touching sculpture for every tourist.

Proceeding on the lake front, I relaxed on a bench onshore, as many other people, in a wide area among the trees and the flowers of the promenade and moving a bit forward I met a place of the nightlife which certainly give prestige to the city of Luzern, the large Grand Casino. Again a few steps forward you can reach the most interesting zone for the ones who want to relax on vacation, in fact it is the beach area and the place for the accommodations for the tourists, with several campsites where the operators speak the languages of the Swiss Cantons and the Lido, a sort of "park" with fee where the visitors can sunbathe on the sand or on the grass, can take the children in the playing area, can do some sport on the playgrounds or in the swimming pool, can have their meals at the restaurant or under the beach umbrellas on the terrace on the lake.

In sum, Luzern is a fascinating place proper to every requirement, a cutting edge city in many fields which knows also how to keep alive its own origins, which knows how to welcome the other cultures in a very tolerant atmosphere and at the same time rigorous in its rules, it is the ideal destination for relaxing or very active vacations according to the preferences, in every case it is the perfect place where to find yourself again.

If you are interested in a 3D virtual trip to Luzern you can visit 3dcity.luzern (in English and German), it will surely be a great experience to repeat "live".