Highlights of switzerland
Day 1 Overnight flight
Day 2 Zurich – Lucerne
Herzlich willkommen in der Schweiz! Arrival at Zurich airport. Meet your local driver and tour escort. Transfer to Lucerne, upon arrival in the city centre, enjoy a guided walking tour of the city on the magnificent Vierwaldstättersee. Your walk starts at the famous Lions Monument. Walk through the old town and pass the Kornmarkt and the Old Town Hall, a fine Renaissance building. You will spend some time at the Hirschenplatz and the Weinmarkt, with its Old Pharmacy, the very heart of medieval Lucerne. Most of the old guild houses, boutiques and patrician homes that encircle the square, have preserved their elaborately painted façades. Walk the so well-known covered Chapel Bridge (Kappelbrücke) spanning river Reuss. The bridge with its Wasserturm (water tower) and red-tiled roof is unique in containing a number of interior paintings dating back to the 17th century. From here you can see the Jesuit Church, one of the oldest and most beautiful Baroque buildings in Lucerne. Check in at the hotel and have some time to relax before dinner. Welcome dinner and overnight in Lucerne.
Day 3 Lucerne – Mount Pilatus Golden Roundtrip – Lucerne
Lucerne is renowned for Mount Pilatus. No mountain in the long northern arc of the Alpine foothills shows such a marked upwards thrust as Mount Pilatus on Lake Lucerne. Its rock consists of cretaceous sediment and Tertiary. The 4618-metre stretch of railway from Alpnachstad to the Pilatus Kulm (summit) was opened in 1889. With a 48% gradient, this is still the world’s steepest cogwheel railway. Today you will enjoy the Mount Pilatus Golden Round Trip ; in the morning you will board for a cruise on Lake Lucerne from Lucerne to Alpnachstad. Then you make a ride with the famous cogwheel train and visit the top of Mount Pilatus. Breathe in the fresh mountain air and enjoy the stunning views from above! On the top you have some free time for lunch on your own. You will make your way downwards by Panorama Gondola and Aerial Cable car and again you will be amazed about the view. Return to Lucerne and remainder of the day at leisure.
Overnight in Lucerne.
Day 4 Lucerne – Engelberg Monastery – Brienz – Trümmelbach waterfall – Spiez
Today you will visit the unique Schaukäserei in Engelberg. This cheese dairy is located in an ancient monastery. Enjoy a guided tour and learn all about how the soft cheese is produced and ladled by hand into a mold. To conclude your visit you will be able to taste several different cheeses. The journey continues to Brienz, located in the midst of a beautiful mountain scenery at the eastern end of the turquoise colored Lake Brienz. The probably most romantic part of Brienz is the “Brunngasse” (Well Alley) which is awarded as the most beautiful street in Europe. Brienz has a long tradition in wood processing. To this day the city houses a school for carving and violin-making. Your next stop will be at the Trümmelbach Falls, behold this impressive natural phenomenon. These glacial waterfalls drain the glacial melt from the Eiger, Jungfrau and Mönch mountain, with up to 20.000 liters per second rushing through caverns cut into the mountain. Travel to Spiez, beautifully situated on the banks of Lake Thun. Overnight in Spiez.
Day 5 Spiez – Kleine Scheidegg – Jungfraujoch – Kleine Scheidegg – Lauterbrunnen – Spiez
Today you will make a trip with the Jungfrau Railway; an unforgettable trip to the high-Alpine wonderland of eternal ice and snow is a true ‘highlight’ of your visit to Switzerland! At an amazing 3454 meters, Jungfrau is Europe’s highest-altitude railway station. This unique round trip by modern cogwheel train starts at Kleine Scheidegg at the foot of the notorious Eiger North Wall. From here the Jungfrau Railway climbs to the station at Eigergletscher. The trip continues through the Eiger tunnel to the stations at Eigerwand and Eismeer. Enjoy spectacular sightseeing through large observation windows hewn in solid Alpine rock. And then the arrival on the Jungfraujoch, in the heart of a glorious glacier world; the very roof of Europe! Superb views extend as far as the Vosges Mountains in France and the Black Forest in Germany. In Jungfrau you will have free time and lunch on your own. The train will take you back to Lauterbrunnen where your coach driver will be waiting to take you back to Spiez.
Overnight in Spiez.
Day 6 Spiez – Bern – Montreux – Täsch – Zermatt – Gornergrat – Zermatt
Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Today you will travel to Zermatt. Due to closure to traffic, Zermatt is the domain of horse-drawn carriages. Stroll through the old village, past the many ancient buildings which show the traditional building style of the original Walser residents. The barns and grain stores, up to 500 years old, are a piece of living history and reveal how the mountain farmers of Zermatt once lived. Almost from every spot in Zermatt you will have a splendid view of the Matterhorn, rising majestically into the sky. Enjoy some free time in the village. In the afternoon you will take the cog railway (Gornergrat Bahn) from Zermatt station (1.620 metres) to the summit of the Gornergrat (3.089 meters). The panorama from the summit of the Gornergrat is among the finest in the world. The views take in the Monte Rosa massif, the Gorner Glacier and the Matterhorn in all its glory. Travel back to Zermatt by cog train.
Overnight in Zermatt.
Day 7 Zermatt – Veytaux – Chillon Castle – Lavaux Vinorama – Lausanne
Today you will leave the High Alps for the Swiss Riviera. You will travel through the Matter Valley to Visp and along the huge Pfyn- Finges nature park, Sion and Martigny to Veytaux. Enjoy a guided visit of the romantic Chillon Castle which is built in Lake Geneva. The water castle was for nearly four centuries the residence and profitable toll station of the Counts of Savoy. Afterwards you will have lunch together in Veytaux. Your journey continues along the eastern edge of Lake Geneva, also known as Lake Léman. Your next stop will be Lavaux , here you can marvel the vineyard terraces which are registered as an Unesco World Heritage site. Pay a visit to the Lavaux Vinorama and learn all about cultivating grapes and enjoy a wine tasting. Travel onwards to Lausanne. Overnight in Lausanne.
Day 8 Lausanne – Cruise Lake Geneva – Broc – Lausanne
This morning, after breakfast, your coach driver will bring you to the lakeside neighbourhood of Ouchy, whose elegant Belle Epoch hotels are connected by a flower-lined promenade between the old and new port. Accompany your tour escort on a relaxing stroll along this promenade and enjoy views over the lake and the Savoy Alps. Your walk will start at the Thai Pavilion, past the attractive Parc Denantou and Haldimand Tower and ending at the 12th-century castle, the Château d’Ouchy. Enjoy some time at leisure to explore this elegant city on your own. Afterwards you will board an authentic Peddle steamer. On board you will have lunch and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The cruise will end in Montreux. Meet your coach driver for an excursion to Broc, the village famous for its chocolate. Discover the process of chocolate manufacturing and the odors that come from it in the famous Maison Cailler Nestlé chocolate factory in Broc. The visit ends with tastings of Cailler’s main products. Return to Lausanne.
Overnight in Lausanne.
Day 9 Lausanne – Geneva
This morning, after breakfast, you will head for Geneva. Upon arrival, meet your local guide at the hotel for a guided walking tour of Geneva. See the harbor with the Jet d’Eau, the famous flower clock, situated at a corner of the Jardin Anglais, which contains about 6.500 flowers and plants. The floral arrangements change according to the season. The flower clock is not only pretty, it also tells the time with Swiss precision – the time is transmitted by satellite. During a guided walking tour you will discover Geneva’s Old Town, dominated by St. Peter’s Cathedral. Explore the area’s narrow streets with their shaded terraces, each one home to numerous treasures from Geneva’s history that your guide will reveal to you. Remainder of the day at leisure.
Farewell dinner and overnight in Geneva.
Day 10 Departure
After breakfast departure to Geneva Airport for you flight back home.