At the northern end of Lake Lucerne is Lucerne itself, which became member number four of the confederation in 1332.

BBC: The perfect trip: Switzerland

Above the village of Stoos, a chairlift climbs up to the Fronalpstock, where a viewing platform looks over Lake Lucerne, nearly a mile below.

BBC: The perfect trip: Switzerland

One of five such vessels plying Lake Lucerne's gleaming waters for more than a century, its mechanism was a marvel of the late Victorian age.

BBC: Swiss movement

The journey northwest to Lake Lucerne involves three trains and a paddle steamer in a single afternoon, each one running on a schedule as precise as Swiss clockwork.

BBC: Swiss movement

Some 700 years ago, the story goes, a sadistic bailiff called Gessler decided to teach the people living around the many arms of mountain-flanked Lake Lucerne a lesson in obedience.

BBC: The perfect trip: Switzerland

Set on the western edge of the lake, the town of Lucerne is as placid as the waters in which its medieval buildings are reflected.

BBC: Swiss movement