Swiss delight of Lucerne Festival

The Swiss town of Lucerne is famed for its musical passion and is already gearing up for is renowned Easter event.

On March 8th the Lucerne Festival will spread musical notes across the picturesque town as some of the biggest European names descend on Switzerland.

A definite highlight of the eight-day extravaganza will be three concerts of a new Beethoven cycle performed by Bernard Haitnk and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

The centenary of French composer Olivier Messiaen will be celebrated by a musical homage from the impresario's predecessor Najo Hakim.

Holidaymakers taking a ferry to Switzerland in August will be able to experience the second instalment of the Lucerne Festival which opens on August 13th and runs well into September.

As the Easter event is geared very much toward classical music, the summer festival embraces dance with waltzes and ballet the order of the day.

Lucerne is just an hour's drive away from Zurich and its two famous festivals attract over 100,000 people each year.