Lucerne is an ancient town in Switzerland with unique cultural traditions which history literally is written on the ancient buildings. During the tour over the historical part of the city the travelers will notice an interesting feature of the architecture as many buildings are decorated with fresco paintings and depictions. These serve not only as decorations but each fresco painting contains the story of the building and its construction. Thus a usual excursion tour through the streets of the city turns into a real travel to the past ages.
The cultural traditions of local folks are embodied in numerous ethnic fests. Tourists are recommended to visit Lucerne during the celebration of the Carnival. The brightest festival is held in Lucerne during this period which for its scale just follows Basel Carnival. The opening of the festival takes place on Fat Thursday which is the last Thursday before the Lent.
The main events of the festival are grand marches or mask parades. Traditionally there are two parades during the Carnival. The first one is considered to be official and austere. The representatives of different non-governmental organizations and guilds are commonly participating in the march. Tourists are commonly more interested in the second parade – the Monster parade in which any enthusiast may participate.
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