Wagner’s favourite city

Lucerne is "a fine place to soothe the troubled spirit", says Alexander Chancellor in Conde Nast Traveller. Goethe felt "the splendour of the world" while staying in the Swiss city, and Wagner said he knew of "no more beautiful place on earth".

It is not very large, nor "notable for its gaiety", though it does seem to be "addicted to music festivals" and has its own orchestra under Claudio Abbado. What makes it so "hugely exhilarating", however, is the "sheer beauty of its setting" - beside a "magnificent" lake and surrounded by snow-capped Alpine peaks. You can while away days exploring the city's medieval heart or the surrounding countryside - perhaps taking "the world's steepest cog railway" to the summit of the Pilatus, the largest mountain in the vicinity.

EasyJet (08712 882236) flies from London to Zurich, which is a 50-minute train journey from Lucerne. ·