About Glacier Garden
Available: all year round
Costs
Tell Pass/Swiss Travel Pass: FREE travel
Half Fare Card: half price bus/boat travel
Entrance payable locally: 15 Sfr per adult and 8 Sfr per child (6-16 years). FREE with the Swiss Travel Pass. 20% discount with the Tell Pass.
At the heart of Switzerland is Lucerne, and in the heart of Lucerne is the Glacier Garden. It is nature's own monument to history and an oasis of peace from busy Lucerne life. Potholes of impressive proportions bear witness to the last ice age and to the fact that Lucerne was once covered by glaciers. Conversely, fossilised mussels and palm leaves found in local rock strata indicate that some 20 million years ago, the area of Lucerne was a subtropical beach!
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Contact us to book your holiday
Call us on 0800 619 1200 or email us at info@swissholidayco.com
Highlights
Natural monument
Polished rock, glacial potholes and erratic blocks bear witness to the fact that Lucerne was covered by glaciers during the Ice Age. A marquee roof has been erected to protect the natural monument from the damaging effects of weathering and air pollution.
A multi-million franc project has recently been carried out to create the new interactive Rock Adventure Trail. Visitors will be able to walk through the heart of the rock itself, learning about the formation of Lucerne's sandstone on the primitive sea, to its transformation into a rock mass during the Ice Age.
Observation tower
Go back 300 million years into the geological past. Pass the recreation of a glacial mill and the diorama of the Gorner glacier by Xaver Imfeld before climbing the observation tower. You'll be rewarded with a magnificent view of Lucerne and Mount Pilatus.
The park
A green oasis within the busy city, the park of the Glacier Garden offers a relaxing and friendly environment featuring many alpine plants and ferns. This is where you will find a sunny spot for your picnic.
The museum
Housed in a traditional building 'The Swiss House', highlights here include the Million Year Show which is the oldest mountain relief map in the world, created by Franz Ludwig Pfyffer in the 18th century. The most recently added attraction is a modern interactive landscape relief of Central Switzerland. A new bistro offers light refeshments.
Mirror Maze
This fantastic attraction in the style of Granada's Alhambra was created in 1896 for the Swiss National Exhibition. It has been at the Glacier Garden since 1899 and its 90 mirrors plays tricks with your mind! Although the corridors appear infinitely long, they are in effect quite short - so take your time walking through. Within the Mirror Maze and outside there are lots of mirror experiments and distorting mirrors to enjoy.
The famous Lion Monument - 200 year anniversary
The Glacier Garden is only a stone's throw away from the Lion Monument, the oldest preserved figurative monument in Switzerland. It ranks alongside the famous Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) and the Museggtürme (Musegg towers) as one of the favourite and most photographed tourist attractions in Lucerne.
The lion was carved into a former sandstone quarry wall from a design by Bertel Thorvaldsen. It represents the bravery of the Swiss Guard who were defeated while trying to protect Louis XVI when French revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in 1792.
To celebrate the 200 year anniversary, there is a special exhibition being held in the Lucerne Art Gallery.
Directions
The Glacier Garden is in the centre of Lucerne. From Lucerne railway station and the Old Town it takes approximately 15 mintues to walk here. Alternatively you can take bus numbers 1,19, 22 or 23 to Löwenplatz.
Please check before travel for maintenance closures.
Request your holiday quotation
Call us on 0800 619 1200 or email us at info@swissholidayco.com