Glacier Garden Lucerne

The Glacier Garden, the Gletschergarten, is one of Lucerne's oldest attractions and one of its most surprising. In the 1870s, while digging a wine cellar in the hillside next to what is now the Lion Monument, the Amrein family uncovered a series of enormous round holes in the sandstone: glacial potholes, carved during the last Ice Age by meltwater swirling stones under the glacier that once covered Lucerne. Rather than build the cellar, they opened the site to the public, and the family's garden, house and collections grew into a small museum park that tells the story of how Lucerne's landscape was formed, from a subtropical palm beach some twenty million years ago, preserved in fossil ripple marks and shell imprints in the rock, to the Ice Age glaciers that shaped the lake and mountains. The potholes themselves, under a protective roof, are the centrepiece, and the largest are deep enough to swallow a car. Around them, the visit takes in the alpine park with its paths and views; the Schweizerhaus, the old family home with a museum on the Amrein family and their time, and the bistro Salwideli; an observation tower with views over the roofs of Lucerne to the lake and mountains; and the Felsenwelt, the rock world, a newer section in which tunnels and caves lead through the sandstone hill and tell the geological story in a more modern, atmospheric way. The other highlight, and the one children remember, is the mirror maze: an ornate labyrinth of mirrors in Moorish Alhambra style, a fairground attraction from the late nineteenth century in which you lose yourself among endless reflections. The Glacier Garden is open daily all year, from 10am to 5pm in winter (November to March) and to 6pm in summer, except on 24 and 25 December. It is right beside the Lion Monument, a fifteen-minute walk from the station or a short ride on bus 1 to the Loewenplatz stop.

How to visit: start with the potholes and the explanations of the Ice Age, follow the path up through the alpine park to the tower for the view, then go through the Felsenwelt and finish in the mirror maze, saving the best for last if you have children. Allow an hour and a half to two hours. The texts are clear and available in English, and there is an audio description for visitors with visual impairments. Admission is in the moderate range for Swiss museums, tickets are valid for a year from purchase, and the Swiss Museum Pass is accepted; with the Swiss Travel Pass, check the current conditions on the Glacier Garden website.

Combining it: the Lion Monument is a few steps away, free and always accessible, and the two together make a natural pair. The Bourbaki Panorama, a vast circular painting, and the Musegg Wall are also nearby, and the Old Town is ten minutes downhill. In winter, the Glacier Garden is a good indoor and outdoor mix for a grey day, as the potholes are under cover and the Felsenwelt and maze are indoors.

Who it suits: families with children of all ages, who love the maze and the giant holes; anyone interested in geology and the story of the Alps; and travellers looking for a quirky, very local experience. Adults travelling without children may find it modest compared with the Swiss Museum of Transport, but the setting, the view and the history make it a pleasant hour and a half.