4 Best Sights in Schwyz, Luzern and Central Switzerland

Schwyz has several notable baroque churches and a large number of fine old patrician homes dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, not least of which is the Ital-Redinghaus with its magnificent interior, antique stoves, and fine stained glass. A visit to this grand house includes a peek inside the neighboring Bethlehemhaus, the oldest wooden house in Switzerland, dating from 1287. There is no parking on the grounds; park on the nearby town square and walk 50 yards to the entrance off Reichstrasse.

See the beautifully scripted and sealed original Oath of Allegiance, as well as battle flags and paintings of the period, in Schwyz's Bundesbriefmuseum.

Schwyz's most famous landmark is the Rathaus; its richly frescoed exterior (1891) depicts the Battle of Morgarten, the 1315 conflict in which the Swiss defeated the Austrian army. The building is still used as the Town Hall, and the interior is accessible only on a group tour (in German).

The world’s steepest funicular railway, Stoosbahn, connects Schwyz/Morschach with Stoos, a pretty, car-free village amid mountains that look like sleeping dinosaurs. The funicular, which resembles a line of barrels, can climb to a record-breaking gradient of 110%. A 20-minute bus ride connects Schwyz with the valley station. In Stoos, transfer to the Klingenstock chair lift. From the top, there are spectacular panoramas of the fjord-like fingers of Lake Luzern, and it’s the starting point of the popular Stoos-Fronalpstock ridge hike.