SAMPLE ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrive Geneva and train to Lausanne

Begin your holiday by travelling to Geneva, either by plane or train. Perhaps spend an hour or two exploring the city, home to fine watchmaking, the headquarters of the United Nations and the landmark ‘Jet d’Eau’ – the Geneva Water Fountain. Wander around the Vieille Ville, the largest Old Town in Switzerland, and visit St Pierre Cathedral.

From Geneva, catch a train along the northern shore of the lake to Lausanne. During your time in Lausanne, you can choose from its many elegant attractions, seeking out the impressive historic monuments as well as the newer modern additions. Lausanne Cathedral is believed to be one of Europe’s most beautiful Gothic monuments, crowned by spires of unusual purple and orange hues. A new Olympic Museum has opened in the heart of Lausanne’s Old Town, with three levels depicting its Olympic history in all its colourful grandeur. Beside the Olympic Park is the promenade at Ouchy Harbour which, when lit up in the evening, is delightful. The promenade takes you from the gardens along to the Haldimand Tower, the Bellerive swimming pool, the Chateau d’Ouchy and the port. You can enjoy dinner in this beautiful area before returning to your hotel. You spend one night in Lausanne.

Day 2: Lausanne to Zermatt

Today you travel by train from Lausanne to Zermatt. This train journey takes just under three hours, passing the 80 hectares of the stunning Lavaux terraced vineyards, Montreux, Chillon Castle and Martigny. At Visp you change trains for the narrow gauge, single track railway to the mountain resort of Zermatt, where you will stay for two nights.

Day 3: In Zermatt

Under the imposing stare of the Matterhorn, Zermatt is a charming Alpine resort immersed in Switzerland’s most sublime landscapes.

It is best known for its winter sports and a haven for elite sports visitors and the glamorous. The town centre is car free, so retains a real sense of peace and serenity, without sacrificing its sophisticated, exclusive feel. A peaceful village in the summer months, it is a wonderful place for food lovers, with many gourmet restaurants serving typical Swiss cuisine. Quaint boutique shops are found within the chalet houses in the village centre.

The icy Matterhorn is Zermatt’s main attraction. You can hike or take the cable car up to view the glacier from Europe’s highest viewing platform. The Matterhorn Museum on the slopes of the mountain is divided into 14 huts that mimic the style of the original mountain villages.

You can also enjoy the sights from the smaller railways. Gornergratbahn, the world’s highest open air cog railway, takes you up from Zermatt to Gornergrat at 3,100m, from where you can walk to the Gorner Glacier and view the peaks of 38 surrounding mountains. The village of Gornergrat holds a great deal of historic significance, with a parish church containing intriguing murals, a collection of very old timber houses, a cemetery that is the final resting place of many mountaineers and the Alpine Museum.

Also consider visiting the famous Hornlihutte, where climbers have stayed for decades before advancing up the sides of the Matterhorn via the Hornli Ridge, the Zmutt Ridge, or through the north wall. To learn more of the intriguing history of the area you can visit the Zermatlantis Matterhorn Museum, an archaeological site that has been faithfully recreated.

Day 4: Zermatt to Ascona, on the Glacier Express and Centovalli Express

Today board the Glacier Express train at Zermatt and travel to the peaceful and enchanting village of St Niklaus, punctuated by alpine chalets, rustic houses with peaked roofs, and a smattering of golden and green trees. Continue to Brig, where you can hope to glimpse Stockalper Castle, the largest 17th century private building in Switzerland and the emblem of Upper Valais. Enjoy views of the onion domes, monastery and Old Town.

At Brig change trains for Domodossola, where the Centovalli Express railway begins in earnest. Reputedly one of the most romantic train journeys in Europe, you will pass through many pretty villages with striking historic buildings, including the imposing church of the Madonna of the Blood perched on the edge of a sheer cliff  in the picturesque village of Re, before crossing over the border into Italy. Gently sloping valleys are interspersed with narrow gaps, tunnels and bridges that reach across channels of white and turquoise waters.

The Centovalli Express ends in Locarno, situated on beautiful Lake Maggiore in the canton of Ticino. From here transfer to your hotel in nearby Ascona, where you will spend two nights.

Day 5: In Ascona

Lake Maggiore is shared with Italy and has a distinctly Mediterranean feel. At just 192m above sea level, it is the lowest point in Switzerland, accounting for its warm climate and rich greenness.

Ascona is a centre for the arts, with an abundance of galleries and craft shops nestled down quiet alleyways, whilst bustling Locarno with its lively lakefront is just across the Maggiore River. Locarno’s Old Town has several very old churches and the 15th century Visconteo Castle has a permanent exhibition of Roman glass. On Thursdays you can visit the local market to sample a few delicacies and watch the streets really come to life with colour and enthusiasm.

The sanctuary of Madonna del Sasso is reached by funicular from Locarno, with an enviable hillside position looking down across the city and Ascona. Famous paintings are exhibited in the church and statues line the stairway. You can take a cable car up to Cardada, and then to Cimetta at 1,672m above sea level. From here you can see both the highest and lowest points in Switzerland simultaneously: the Valais Alps and Lake Maggiore.

Monte San Salvatore bears an uncanny resemblance to Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro and can also be reached by funicular from Lugano. The summit of Monte Brè is reached by taking the funicular from Cassarate.

Day 6: Ascona to Lucerne, on the Gotthard Panorama Express train and boat

Today embark on the Gotthard Panorama Express train and boat ride from Locarno to Lucerne, a route made famous by the Swiss hero of liberty – the legendary William Tell.

We pass through Bellinzona, the most Italianate town in Switzerland and home to three of Switzerland’s best preserved medieval castles, where you may need to change for Fluelen. The train weaves its way along the valleys of Ticino, passing the waterfalls of Biasca, the Italianate architecture of Faido and the town of Airolo.

On your way out of Ticino you will see waterfalls, winding streams and historic chalets hidden between rocks, forests and mountains, as the train follows the Ticino River, before entering the Gotthard Strassentunnel. When you get to the important junction at Goschenen, you will see a complex network of roads and railway lines. The tracks weave back on themselves, with viaducts and tunnels allowing the train to cross and recross the Reuss River, as it crashes into the smooth rocks that mark its course. As you pass through Wassen, notice the hilltop Wassen Church in the Urner Oberland, visible at three different points as you navigate the Gotthard Loop Tunnels. Chocolate-box villages dot the hillsides, linked by winding tracks and you will see solitary houses perched on top of jutting rocks, as you travel through the canton of Uri towards the southernmost point of Lake Lucerne. The train stops in Erstfeld, which has a few houses, shops and a church, then the railway track follows the course of the river across flat wide valleys, as it loses altitude.

In Fluelen disembark from the train and make your way to the nearby marina, where you will board your boat to Lucerne. If you have time before your connection, you can wander along the rocky pathway that separates the harbour from the lake, as this is one of the best places to take in the sublime panoramas of the fjord like Urner Lake, as well as the chalets and grand houses of Fluelen that stretch out along the shore, skirting the steep slopes of the mountains and punctuated by the tower of the church. 

You will then board your choice of steamboat or saloon motorboat, for the scenic journey across the length of the lake to Lucerne. The boat sails to the romantic village of Bauen and past the Rutli Meadows, the setting for Friedrich Schiller’s famous poem about William Tell. This was also the site where the four cantons swore their Oath of Eternal Alliance in 1291 and thus founded Switzerland. At Sisikon you can see Tell’s Chapel on the water’s edge. It is said that it was here that Tell jumped from the bailiff’s boat before kicking it back into the storm to aid his escape. The chapel itself is intricately decorated with four frescoes depicting iconic moments from the legend.

The boat continues to the bustling town of Brunnen, with its tall townhouses that sit right on the waterfront, each with a traditional brown roof and large dormer windows that look out across the Alpine panoramas. The next stop is Treib, a small community consisting almost entirely of a dock and a chalet with yellow and black striped shutters. The hillside is laced with zigzagging roads and railway tracks. In contrast with this quiet spot, continue to Gersau on the northern shore of the lake - the ‘riviera’ of central Switzerland. It is located at the base of Rigi Mountain and is surrounded by hiking routes, due to the self-contained shape of the hollow in which it sits.

You then cross to Beckenried on the southern shore. Another small port town, it is adorned with cable cars, small lakeside beaches and good access to the ski slopes that the area is so famous for. Sailing through the narrow neck of Lake Lucerne, the boat continues to Vitznau. Crowned by a Chateauesque waterside hotel, this tiny port village has a scenic cog railway and a Roman Catholic Church with an unusual clock tower. Following the curve of the lakeside, slightly further west is Weggis. Here white-fronted houses climb the gently sloping lake shores,  just a few metres from the water’s edge. The typically Swiss feel of this charming town is completed by the distinctive red spire of its small church. 

The last stop on your lake cruise is Hertenstein, a small collection of houses and a single hotel that cluster around the shores of a green, forested peninsula. Disembark from the boat at the lido of the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne, where you will spend two nights.

Day 7: In Lucerne

Known as the ‘City of Lights’ because of an old legend, Lucerne is set on a crystal-clear lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains, and has a well preserved medieval Old Town (‘Altstadt’).

Enjoy its cosmopolitan atmosphere and rich historical significance, as you wander through its pretty streets lined with boutique shops and charming pavement cafés. You can enjoy lunch on Kornmarkt square, beside the colourful Pfistern Guildhall, on Hirschenplatz square or on Weinmarkt square, where Lucerne swore its federal oath with Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden.

An essential visit on any stay in Lucerne is the Chapel Bridge, the city’s main landmark and the most photographed monument in Switzerland. Walk along the bridge, taking in the views of the Reuss River, the ‘water spikes’ (weirs) and the water tower. You should also visit the beautiful 17th century Jesuit Church, which overlooks the lake and is topped by two droplet shaped domes.

Above the city is the Musegg Wall, a 14th century structure that once protected the city. Though the city now sprawls outside this wall, the nine defensive towers still remain - three of which are open to the public. If you venture out into the surrounding countryside, you can visit the Titlis Glacier.

To appreciate some Swiss art and culture, visit the prestigious KKL Luzern gallery, the Rosengart Collection of works by Picasso and Klee, the Wagner Museum in Tribschen or the Swiss Museum of Transport. Finish your day with a sumptuous dinner at your hotel, or in one of Lucerne’s many gourmet restaurants.

Day 8: Lucerne to Saanenland, on the Golden Pass Line

Today take the train to Interlaken, travelling through the stunning Brunig Pass. Here you can choose to stop and spend a few hours enjoying this town’s remarkable location between two lakes, before boarding another train and travelling through the Simmental Valley to Zweisimmen, situated on the border of the French and German speaking regions and the gateway to the Saanenland.

In Zweisimmen you will board the Golden Pass train, with its distinctive golden carriages, for the remainder of your journey to Schönried and Gstaad, where you will stay for two nights.

Day 9: In Saanenland

Located on the border between the cantons of Bern and Vaud, the Saanenland marks the convergence of five individual valleys and is dotted with traditional Swiss farmhouses. The area is known for its delicious alpine dairy products, which are served in many of the gourmet restaurants that line Gstaad’s main promenade. This includes traditional ‘fondue’. Gstaad Dairy (‘Molkerei’) will allow you to taste a selection of the over 3,000 cheeses produced here.

The region has hundreds of Alpine trails and paths, making it ideal for walkers and hikers of all abilities, with access by cable car to mountain tracks. If you are adventurous, take a trip up to Glacier 3000 from where, at over 4,000m, you can take in the views of 24 surrounding mountains.

In the evening retire to your hotel in Schönried or Gstaad for a gourmet dinner and a drink beside a cosy fireplace.

Day 10: Saanenland to Geneva, on the Golden Pass Line, and flight home

This morning board the Golden Pass Line for the two hour journey to Montreux. After passing through Gstaad, the Golden Pass Line crosses the border into Vaud, stopping first in Rougemont and then Chateau-d’Oex. Here the mountains are dotted with quaint chalets, small churches and castles - an image that is very typical of the Pays-d’Enhaut district. The villages you will pass all retain their own individual architectural character, emerging out of plumes of evergreen trees.

In Rossiniere and Montbovon you can view the startling translucent turquoise waters that run in rivers crossed by ancient wooden bridges. At Les Avants, the train begins to wind its way down the hillside and steep vineyards that line the slopes towards the lakeside at Montreux, where you change trains for Geneva airport and your return flight.

If you intend to travel home by train, we recommend spending an extra night in Geneva, to break up the journey.

PRICING

Price is based on two adults sharing en-suite accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis. This price includes flights from London and second class rail travel, with supplement for first class of about £510 per person.

We offer a choice of hotels at different prices, so please discuss your requirements with us. All hotels are subject to availability.

Before your departure, you will receive personalised holiday information, including full directions and suggestions on places to visit, to help you get the most from your trip.

It is essential that you have personal holiday insurance. The FCO should also be consulted.