3 Best Sights in Stans, Luzern and Central Switzerland

On the town square, facing the Pfarrkirche St. Peter und St. Paul, stands this 19th-century monument to Arnold von Winkelried, a native of Stans who died while leading the Swiss Confederates to victory over the Austrians at the battle of Sempach in 1386. The Austrians, armed with long spears, formed a Roman square so that the Swiss, wielding axes and halberds, couldn't get in close enough to do any damage. Shouting, "Forward, confederates, I will open a path!" von Winkelried threw himself on the spears, clasping as many of them as he could to his breast and creating an opening for his comrades.

The bell tower of the Pfarrkirche St. Peter und St. Paul is in Italian Romanesque style, with increasing numbers of arched windows as it rises. The incongruous steeple was added in the 16th century.

A two-part journey on a nostalgic 1893 funicular and an ultramodern, open-top cable car takes you to the Stanserhorn (6,200 feet), and from its peak you can see the Titlis, the highest point in central Switzerland. A "convertible" version of the cable car lets you feel the wind in your hair.