Getting Oriented

To enter Luzern is to approach the very heart of historic Switzerland, for the sharply indented shoreline of the Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Luzern) was the cradle of the Swiss Confederation, forged here in the 13th century on the Rütli Meadow as one of the world's first democracies. Most-visited Luzern, with its Old Town, sits on one end of the lake; the quieter but equally historic Altdorf, home of Wilhelm Tell, on the other. In between is probably the most beautiful stretch of lakeshore in Switzerland.