Tour of Switzerland



Enjoy Backpacking, Mountain Climbing, Rose-filled Parks,
Free Concerts, Gothic Cathedrals, Art Galleries
and Train Rides

Geneva is Switzerland's gateway to the Alps, and a perfect place to start fabulous backpacking and mountain hiking tours, just as Lord Byron and William Wordsworth once did. Geneva is one of the oldest banking centers in Europe, and in the 16th century John Calvin made it the "Protestant Rome" under the Calvinist Reformation. John Knox, Thomas Bodley, and Miles Cloverdale published the first English Bible here, which is known as the Geneva Bible.

As the home of the United Nations in Europe, although it is not part of the European Union, Geneva has become a very cosmopolitan city, with one third of its population being foreign. The Upper City has medieval age and Renaissance period homes tucked in narrow streets, and there are 30 museums and many rose-filled parks which hold free concerts in the summer. Geneva is famous for its Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; musicians, attracted by its musical conservatory, travel to Geneva from all over the world.

Lausanne is a truly elegant city, also on Lake Geneva. It's a great base for a family vacation in Switzerland. From Lausanne, trains depart for numerous other areas, and there are many wonderful easy excursions and tours from here. There are cable car rides up to the surrounding peaks of the alps where revolving restaurants have spectacular vistas; the medieval stone town of Gruyère, famous for its cheese, is nearby as well as the resort of Montreux on Lake Geneva, considered the "Swiss Riviera." Montreux actually has a warm climate with palm trees and other tropical vegetation along the lake and in the parks.

Interlaken has been a posh resort for over 300 years, with its fabulous location between the glacial lakes of Thun and Brienz. A cogwheel takes you up to the Jungfrau peak, one of the most incredible panoramas in the world.

Basel has been an important cultural center for centuries. The printing press was developed here and it became a trading center for books. Erasmus published the first Greek New Testament here. Today Basel is a renowned international art and antiques market place.

Bern is the capital of Switzerland, a medieval city with Switzerland's highest Gothic Cathedral. It has towers, arcades, and lots of old fountains. Bern has a fantastic Clock Tower with puppets that pop out before the hour and perform a little skit. Its Museum of Fine Arts has the largest collection in the world of Paul Klee's paintings.

Train travel in Switzerland

Traveling by Train in Switzerland is an excellent way to see the country. With a train ticket and train schedule in your hand almost every town and berg of Switzerland is open to you. In fact, there are many places inaccessible by car, like Zermatt, at the foot of the Matterhorn, and only a funicular or a cogwheel train precariously winding around the mountains can take you there.

Start your tour of Switzerland in Zurich, one of the most elegant and prestigious cities in Europe and the financial and gold-trading center of Europe. Its 19th century architecture is beautiful, and its medieval city section is very charming. Zurich is full of parks and gardens and boasts 20 museums, 100 art galleries, theatres, opera, and one of the world's finest shopping streets, Bahnhofstrasse. Famous for being the site of the birth of the Swiss Protestant Reformation with Zwingli's preaching, Zurich gave religious asylum to many Protestants from France and Italy, and continued to be a place of refuge for them through the next centuries as they were persecuted.

Lucerne is William Tell country, and it fits the perfect image of a storybook Swiss town, with its narrow cobblestoned streets, fountains and covered bridges over the Reuss River. Luzern grew up around an 8th century Benedictine Monastery, and on the right bank is an ancient section with 14th century walls with watchtowers. Renaissance, Baroque and medieval houses are built around its squares. Its setting on the Lake is absolutely spectacular, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and glaciers. Luzern is the biggest and one of the most popular resort towns in Switzerland, and is particularly famous for its International Festival of Music and its horse racing and jumping shows. It also hosts sailing regattas and has a casino.

Touring Switzerland

A special trip planning a romantic getaway or hiking tour in Switzerland will change your whole outlook on life and fill you with visions that will remain with you forever. Switzerland is one of the most gorgeous countries in the world, with its spectacular Alps, lush green pastures, turquoise glacial lakes dotting the hills and valleys and waterfalls streaming down the rocky cliffs. The air is clear and quiet, the villages are straight out of a fairytale storybook, and the food in Switzerland, especially the Swiss chocolate, is delicious.

We can book hotels and accommodations all over Switzerland, from luxury hotels and family holiday resorts to romantic Swiss chalets and bed and breakfasts. We will custom design an itinerary for a self-drive tour with a detailed map of Switzerland and your route as well as information on the cities of Geneva, Lausanne, Zurich, Lucerne, Bern, Basel, and anywhere your trip to Switzerland might take you.

Hiking trips during the summer are magnificent, and skiing in the Alps of Switzerland is top notch, with world class ski resorts like Gstaad, Davos, and St-Morritz.

The smaller villages and towns that dot the map of Switzerland are generally very old and extremely picturesque and quaint. There are medieval stone villages, others are built entirely of chalets abounding with geraniums spilling out of window boxes in the summer and huge icicles hanging like drapes from the eves in winter. Alpine flowers carpet the hills through the spring and summer, and in winter the snow covered pines and smoke puffing chimneys make the villages feel intimately cozy and inviting.