The Country That
Builds Trains
Through Mountains

The Stellisee — a small glacial lake at 2,537m above Zermatt, 2 hours’ walk from the village — is where the Matterhorn’s reflected image in still water creates the most celebrated alpine photograph in Europe. The reflection is best in the pre-dawn stillness (5–6am) when the mountain is lit by first light and the wind has not yet disturbed the water’s surface. Take the first Sunnegga funicular (operates from 8am — to reach the lake by dawn you walk up from Zermatt at 4:30am or hike the evening before for sunrise). The walk from the Sunnegga funicular top to the Stellisee is 45 minutes on a well-marked alpine path.

Swiss chocolate in Switzerland is genuinely different from any Swiss-branded chocolate available outside the country — the milk (from the Emmental and Gruyères valleys, Swiss alpine meadow milk with a fat content and character not available internationally), the processing (the Swiss conching technique developed by Rodolphe Lindt in 1879, which smooths the chocolate’s texture beyond anything achievable with inferior milk), and the product freshness (Swiss pralines and fresh truffles have a shelf life of days, not months — the product sold internationally is a different formulation). The Confiserie Sprüngli on the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich (the Lux-o-lac truffles — milk chocolate shells with a ganache interior — made fresh daily, available at the Zurich shop only) and the Maison Cailler in Broc (the Gruyères valley — the original Swiss chocolate factory, built 1898, factory tour including unlimited tasting at the end) are the two reference experiences.

Switzerland has 65,000km of marked walking paths — the most comprehensive trail network of any country relative to its size on earth. The paths are graded (yellow = easy valley paths; white-red-white = mountain paths; white-blue-white = alpine routes — no special equipment needed but good footwear required) and signposted to the minute (the yellow signs show the walking time to the next junction, always accurate to within 10%—15%). The Eiger Trail (a path from Eigergletscher to Grindelwald along the base of the Eiger North Face — 6km, 3hrs, the rock face 1,800m directly above — accessible via the Jungfraujoch trains), the Haute Route (the high alpine traverse from Zermatt to Chamonix — 7–12 days, mountain hut overnight — the finest multi-day alpine walk in the Alps), and the Rigi circuit (the “Queen of the Mountains” above Lucerne — a full day’s walking on a mountain accessible from both Lucerne and Lake Zug by cog railway) are the three essential Swiss hiking experiences at different fitness levels.

The Château de Chillon — the medieval fortress on a rock in Lake Geneva, 3km east of Montreux — is the most visited historic monument in Switzerland and the most completely intact lake castle in Europe. Built from the 10th century, expanded continuously by the Counts of Savoy, and made famous by Byron’s “The Prisoner of Chillon” (1816 — Byron carved his name in the dungeon pillar, visible to this day — a remarkable piece of Romantic-era literary heritage). The castle is entirely on an island, connected to the shore by bridges — you can walk its full perimeter on the water-level rampart, 50m above the lake’s east face. CHF 13.50 (free with Swiss Travel Pass). The 2km lakeside walk from Montreux station is the correct approach — the castle grows progressively more imposing as you approach along the water. Allow 2 hours inside.

Switzerland’s ski areas are the finest and most varied in the Alps. Zermatt (the Klein Matterhorn cable car at 3,883m provides the highest ski terrain accessible by lift in the Alps — 360km of marked runs, skiing from the glacier into Italy via the Italian side is possible — a genuine trans-national ski day), Verbier (the 4 Vallées — the most challenging off-piste terrain in the Alps, the preferred destination of expert skiers — the Backside connection to Nendaz and Thyon), St. Moritz (the Corviglia, Diavolezza, and Corvatsch areas — the most glamorous ski resort in the Alps, the Cresta Run for toboggan — serious skiing combined with the Badrutt’s Palace Bar), and Wengen/Mürren (car-free — accessible only by train, the original British ski culture — the Lauberhorn World Cup downhill, the steepest and longest World Cup course in the world, runs in January) are the four essential Swiss ski destinations.

Gruyères — the medieval hilltop village above the Sarine valley in the Fribourg pre-Alps — is one of the finest intact small historic towns in Switzerland and the home of Gruyère cheese (the original AOP — only produced in the La Gruyère and Fribourg regions, aged 5–36 months, a hard, nutty cheese of genuine quality and Swiss cultural identity). The La Maison du Gruyère dairy (at the base of the hill — the production process visible through glass windows, including the cheese pressing and the cave-aged wheels — free to observe, tasting EUR 3–8 — the affinage section where the wheels are regularly brushed with brine during ageing is the most interesting part) and the Château de Gruyères (the hilltop castle with a surprisingly excellent collection of Romanesque art and the finest views of the pre-Alpine landscape) complete the visit. Combine with a fondue lunch in the village (where the dish was invented — the fondue moitié-moitié, half Gruyère and half Vacherin Fribourgeois, is the correct order — CHF 25–35 per person).

Lucerne’s Kapellbrücke — the covered wooden bridge from 1333, built diagonally across the Reuss River, its interior decorated with 17th-century painted panels depicting Swiss history (the originals destroyed by fire in 1993 — the building was rebuilt within months and the remaining 47 original panels restored and rehung — the bridge has been the symbol of Lucerne for 700 years) — is at its most beautiful in the early morning before the lake cruise tourists arrive. At 7am, with the morning mist still on the Vierwaldstättersee and the Pilatus visible above the city, the 14th-century bridge and the octagonal water tower beside it (the oldest surviving building in Lucerne, used as a treasury and torture chamber in its history) reflect perfectly in the still river. Free to cross at any hour.

Switzerland produces 95% of the world’s luxury mechanical watches by value — the Jura Arc (the watch-making valley running from Basel to Lake Geneva) contains the workshops of Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Rolex, IWC, and more than 600 other manufacturers. The Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva (rue des Vieux-Grenadiers 7 — five floors, 2,500 timepieces spanning 16th-century automata to contemporary Patek complications — the finest horology museum in the world, CHF 10, closed Mondays — book at fondation.patek.com) is the reference museum for anyone with an interest in mechanical watches or the history of precision engineering. The Uhrenmuseum (Museum of Watchmaking) in La Chaux-de-Fonds (the UNESCO-listed watch-manufacturing city in the Jura — free) covers the industrial history.