Hotels near Musegg Wall and Its Towers

The Musegg Wall (Museggmauer) was completed in 1408 and still stands almost intact along the ridge behind the Old Town, running 870 metres with nine towers along its length. Four of them - Schirmerturm, Zytturm, Wachtturm and Männliturm - are open to the public free of charge, typically from 1 April to 1 November, 08:00-19:00. The Zytturm holds the oldest clock in the city, made in 1535 by Hans Luter, and by long tradition it is allowed to strike each hour one minute before all the other clocks in Lucerne. From the tops of the towers you get the postcard view: red-tiled Altstadt roofs in the foreground, the Reuss and Chapel Bridge below, Lake Lucerne and Pilatus on the horizon.

The walk between towers along the wall itself is not continuous, so you drop back to street level between climbs. Allow 60 to 90 minutes for the full circuit at an easy pace.

Pro Tip: Enter at the Schirmerturm (western end) and walk east - the Zytturm view is the best of the four, so you want it as your reward rather than your first stop. The wall closes for the winter around 1 November each year, so if you visit in December through March you can still see it from the outside but cannot climb.