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- Day 1 Begin Your Swiss Journey in Lucerne You'll arrive in Lucerne between lake and mountains, where the covered Chapel Bridge crosses the River Reuss and the water catches its dark timber roof and octagonal tower in wavering reflections. After checking into your hotel, you’ll join your Travel Director and fellow travelers for dinner at a local restaurant. Over your first bites, you begin getting to know the people who will share the next two weeks with you. Locations Visited: Zürich CH, Lucerne CH.
- Day 2 Mountains and Monuments: Stanserhorn to Lucerne Your MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience begins as you ride the solar-powered cable car towards Mount Stanserhorn’s summit, standing on its open upper deck as lakes lie far below and Alpine ridges climb towards the horizon. On a clear day, you can look beyond Switzerland to Alsace in France and Germany’s Black Forest. At the summit, follow winding paths across the high slopes, watching for marmots scurrying between the rocks. A Swiss ranger may share how these mountain plants and animals are protected. Back in Lucerne, cross its wooden bridges, look up into the ornate interior of its Baroque church and pause before the Lion Monument, its wounded lion carved into the rock. With the afternoon yours, perhaps you take a walk beside the lake, browse for a Swiss timepiece or let a piece of chocolate melt slowly on your tongue. Locations Visited: Lucerne CH, Stanserhorn CH, Lucerne CH.
- Day 3 Capital to Vineyards: Bern to Montreux You’ll follow your Local Specialist, a local English teacher, to the Cathedral of St Vincent, the Federal Palace and the city’s floral displays. At the Ogre Fountain, you listen to water tumble into the basin beneath its brightly painted figure, while carved bears, a piper and a drummer march around the pedestal before you leave Bern for the broad green valleys of the Vaud Alps. Through the window, you watch rows of vines climb the lower slopes while alpine meadows fill the valley beneath snow-bright summits. In Gruyères, the town that gave its name to the famous cheese, you’ll wander the main street and climb towards the 13th-century castle. From Montreux, you travel beside Lake Geneva to a winery, where you raise a cool glass of local wine while the water stretches out towards the shore. Over a light Farm-to-Table dinner, you’ll taste produce sourced nearby and hear how the family is preserving the estate for future generations on your MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Locations Visited: Lucerne CH, Bern CH, Gruyères CH, Montreux CH.
- Day 4 Explore Chillon Castle and Montreux Across Chillon Castle’s drawbridge, you'll enter stone courtyards and great halls once used by the Dukes of Savoy before descending into vaulted chambers carved from the island’s rock. In the prison, you look up at Gothic arches while light from Lake Geneva flickers over the walls. Among centuries of names cut into the stone, you search for the signature attributed to Lord Byron, whose poem The Prisoner of Chillon made the fortress famous. Back in Montreux, the afternoon is yours, whether you explore beyond your quayside hotel or stay close to the water. Perhaps you claim a quiet hour beside the lake, listening to the water lap against the quay while the Alps unfold in pale layers beyond the opposite shore. Locations Visited: Montreux CH, Chillon Castle CH, Montreux CH.
- Day 5 Discover Geneva and Cruise Lake Geneva Approaching Geneva, you can trace the Jet d’Eau’s white plume as it vaults above the harbor and breaks into mist. At the Floral Clock, you read the time from hands laid across a dial planted with thousands of blooms. From your first-class seat on the cruise, you feel the boat’s low thrum as Geneva’s quays and gardens recede behind you. With the evening at leisure, you might linger along the promenade as the lights of Geneva begin to shimmer softly across the bay. Locations Visited: Montreux CH, Geneva CH, Montreux CH.
- Day 6 Meet St Bernards en Route to Zermatt Through the upper Rhône Valley, you’ll travel to Martigny, where the Roman amphitheater’s worn stone tiers curve in a broad oval beneath the Valais mountains. At Barryland, you’ll meet St Bernards among meadow, rock and Valais shrubs, their broad ears flicking and heavy white-and-russet coats stirring as they move through the grass. You’ll hear how generations of these dogs searched snow and fog for travelers in danger. In Sion, you’ll see the cathedral and Old Town Hall, then look above the old town roofs to Valère and Tourbillon, their fortifications poised on twin rocky hills. From the cogwheel carriage, you watch the Matter Valley open towards snow-lined peaks, the Vispa winding between green slopes as you climb towards traffic-free Zermatt. At a local restaurant, you’ll end the day over dinner with your traveling companions, high among the mountains. Locations Visited: Montreux CH, Martigny CH, Sion CH, Zermatt CH.
- Day 7 Alpine Freedom: A Day in Zermatt With a summer day in Zermatt entirely your own, you might cool off with a swim or follow a trail through larch woods, listening as mountain streams tumble between the trees. Perhaps take the cable car to Klein Matterhorn, watching summer greenery fall away until snow and glacier ice fill the horizon and 14 glaciers stretch across three countries. At the Church Bridge, you gaze beyond the chalet roofs to the Matterhorn, its pyramid perhaps crowned by a ribbon of cloud. In a village bakery, choose a slice of Kuchen and let your fork sink through the soft crumb. Locations Visited: Zermatt CH.
- Day 8 Cross the Simplon Pass to Lugano From Täsch, you’ll travel to Brig before the road curls towards the 2,006-meter Simplon Pass, lifting you above the valley until the Alps stretch away in broken lines of rock and shadow. In Stresa, perhaps join today’s Optional Experience to Isola Bella, where a Baroque palace rises above ten flower-filled terraces and white peacocks roam beneath a two-century-old camphor tree. By evening, you’ll arrive in Lugano, with Lombard-style buildings lining the old town and Italian voices drifting across its piazzas. Locations Visited: Zermatt CH, Tasch CH, Stresa IT, Lugano CH.
- Day 9 Explore Bellinzona Before Reaching St Moritz Beneath Bellinzona’s crenellated towers, you’ll meet your Local Specialist and pass through arched gateways into the cool courtyards of its UNESCO-listed fortress. From the ramparts, Bellinzona’s rooftops spread below as you hear how the three castles once controlled passage through the Ticino valley. Through San Bernardino and Tiefencastel, the young Rhine runs alongside the road, its narrow current curling between pasture and pine. Crossing the Julier Pass, you watch the landscape open into pale granite, tawny grass and broad sweeps of high country. Entering St Moritz, you’ll pass Belle Époque hotels and sgraffito-patterned houses, their carved walls and ornate balconies set against the Grisons Alps in the Engadine Valley. Locations Visited: Lugano CH, Bellinzona CH, Saint Moritz CH.
- Day 10 Ride High Above St Moritz With a day at leisure and mountain railways pass from your Travel Director (when available), you decide how high to go, traveling by cable car, funicular or chairlift. At the upper stations, you’ll follow the Upper Engadine lakes as they stretch through the valley in long ribbons of luminous blue between broad slopes and granite ridges. Perhaps you’ll take the Bernina train, looking across the Morteratsch Glacier from the Montebello Curve as crystal-white ice fills the valley beneath dark summits. Near the pass, milky-blue Lago Bianco lies beside the rails, pale against bare rock as you travel along its shore. Locations Visited: Saint Moritz CH.
- Day 11 Railways and Waterfalls: Andermatt to Lauterbrunnen Aboard the Glacier Express, you’ll cross the Landwasser Viaduct as the train bends above a forested ravine, its arches seeming to float between trees and sky. The route descends through the Oberalp Valley to Andermatt, where you’ll rejoin your coach and enter the Schöllenen Gorge. Sheer walls rise close to the road as the river races beneath Devil’s Bridge. Leaving the narrow gorge behind, you’ll enter the broader Grindelwald Valley, with the Wetterhorn peaks shining above pasture and the Lütschine scattering light beside the road. In Lauterbrunnen, you lift your gaze to Staubbach Falls as it drops 297 meters from the plateau and loosens into fine spray above the valley floor. Locations Visited: Saint Moritz CH, Andermatt CH, Lauterbrunnen CH, Staubbach Falls CH, Grindelwald CH.
- Day 12 Bernese Alps: A Day in Grindelwald With the day entirely your own beneath the Eiger, you might swim, browse Grindelwald’s village shops or follow a summer trail through wildflower meadows scented with pine towards high lakes among the ridges. For a loftier adventure, board the cogwheel train to Jungfraujoch, where the station opens onto a white expanse of snow and glacier ice at 3,454 meters, even in the height of summer. Inside the Ice Palace, you’ll pass through corridors carved into the glacier, their mirror-smooth walls catching the light around eagles, penguins and bears sculpted from ice. A lift carries you to the Sphinx Observation Deck, high above the Aletsch Glacier as it curves between four-thousand-meter peaks and descends towards valleys far below. Locations Visited: Grindelwald CH.
- Day 13 Discover Brienz Before Returning to Zürich Beside Lake Brienz, you'll enter a village where generations of carvers have shaped curling leaves, fine ornament and lifelike animals from blocks of timber. At the Jobin Swiss Woodcarving Center, you’ll move from the craft’s early 19th-century beginnings to figures so finely worked that feathers, fur and folds seem pressed into the grain. Beyond Brienz, you’ll cross the Brünig Pass and descend beside Lakes Lungern and Sarnen, their long shorelines curving beneath wooded hills. Along Bahnhofstrasse, watch faces and jewelry gleam behind glass as your Travel Director guides you towards the twin towers of the Grossmünster beside the River Limmat and the Fraumünster on the opposite bank. As wine is poured at a local restaurant, you share dinner with your traveling companions and toast the miles behind you. Locations Visited: Grindelwald CH, Brienz CH, Zürich CH.
- Day 14 Bid Farewell to Switzerland in Zürich Say goodbye to Switzerland and the traveling companions who have shared the journey with you. Your final hotel is at the airport, a short walk from the terminal, making your departure simple and transfer-free. Locations Visited: Zürich CH.
Name: Country Roads of Switzerland
Brand: Trafalgar
Quality: Superior First Class
Tour Type: Escorted
Start City: Zurich
End City: Zurich
Location Summary: Zürich, CH
Lucerne, CH
Stanserhorn, CH
Bern, CH
Gruyères, CH
Montreux, CH
Chillon Castle, CH
Geneva, CH
Martigny, CH
Sion, CH
Zermatt, CH
Tasch, CH
Stresa, IT
Lugano, CH
Bellinzona, CH
Saint Moritz, CH
Andermatt, CH
Lauterbrunnen, CH
Staubbach Falls, CH
Grindelwald, CH
Brienz, CH
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Highlights
- Dining Summary - 5 Dinner (D). 13 Breakfast (B).
- How You'll Travel - Business class coach with extended leg room. Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants. 4 & 5-star stays.
- Authentic Dining - Lucerne: Join your Travel Director and fellow travelers for your dinner served with wine.. Zermatt: Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant in Zermatt with your fellow travelers and Travel Director.. Zürich: Raise your glass and enjoy a delicious dinner featuring Swiss classics at a local restaurant..
- General Day Highlight - Stanserhorn: Journey to the top of Mount Stanserhorn on a panoramic, open-top cable car powered by solar energy, and enjoy spectacular views from the summit. Walk along beautiful scenic pathways, keeping an eye out for marmots and other native animals..
- Top Rated Highlights - Stanserhorn: Journey to the top of Mount Stanserhorn on a panoramic, open-top cable car powered by solar energy, and enjoy spectacular views from the summit.. Lucerne: See the emotive Lion Monument, Jesuit Church and Chapel Bridge.. Bern: Discover Switzerland’s charming capital with a local historian, uncovering the stories behind its colorful floral displays, the Gothic Cathedral of St. Vincent, the grand Federal Palace, the medieval clock tower and the curious Ogre Fountain.. Gruyères: Travel along valley floors covered with rich meadowland, to the pretty town of Gruyeres. Your Travel Director will lead the way with an orientation tour where you’ll see the main street and 13th-century castle.. Montreux: Set on the shores of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps, Montreux offers one of Switzerland’s most scenic lakeside promenades. Join your Travel Director for an orientation before enjoying free time to explore this elegant resort town.. Geneva: Join your Travel Director to see Geneva’s iconic Jet d’Eau and the colorful Floral Clock, set within the city’s lakeside gardens.. Lake Geneva: Enjoy first-class seats as you cruise on the serene waters of the King of Lakes, inspiration to the early Romantic movement.. Martigny: Uncover Martigny’s ancient past as you view the remarkably preserved Roman amphitheater during your orientation of this historic town.. Sion: Join your Travel Director to explore the twin fortress-churches that crown the town, along with the cathedral and Old Town Hall in Sion’s medieval hear.. Zermatt: Ride the shuttle trains of the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway up to the traffic-free Alpine resort. Should weather permit, you may even see the majestic peak of the Matterhorn.. Zermatt: Join your Travel Director for an orientation of this car-free alpine village, where wooden chalets and snow-dusted peaks frame every view.. Martigny: Visit Barryland, a pioneering project funded by the Barry Foundation, which works to protect, breed and promote St. Bernard dogs. Meet these much-loved Swiss mountain dogs and discover a story rooted in the Great St. Bernard Hospice, where a 300-year breeding tradition continues through the Barry Foundation. Learn how Barry, the legendary rescue dog, shaped the breed’s enduring Alpine reputation.. Lugano: Explore this Italian-speaking Swiss city by the sparkling lake with your Travel Director.. St. Moritz: Take in the elegant spa quarter and the sparkling glacial lake of this chic alpine resort, famed for its high-altitude glamour.. St. Moritz: With your included mountain railways pass, explore St. Moritz by cable car, funicular, chairlift and select public transport options, with crisp alpine air at every turn.. St. Moritz: Travel along the route of the world-famous Glacier Express, through looping tunnels and dizzying viaducts, in the scenic heart of the Swiss Alps, on a regional train fully powered by hydroelectricity.. Lauterbrunnen: Enjoy your orientation of the village that takes its name from 'many fountains,' referring to the 72 waterfalls that are within the surrounding valley.. Staubbach Falls: In Lauterbrunnen’s Valley of the Waterfalls, marvel at Staubbach Falls as they cascade nearly 300 m (984 ft) from a sheer cliff face in a breathtaking display.. Grindelwald: Explore this famous glacier village with your Travel Director. Embedded in a unique Alpine landscape at the foot of the Eiger north face, Grindelwald is one of Switzerland’s most beautiful Alpine towns.. Brienz: Learn the history of woodcarving at the Jobin Swiss Woodcarving Center.. Zürich: During your orientation of the city, your Travel Director will show you the Grossmünster, Fraumünster and elegant Bahnhofstrasse..
- MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® - Lake Geneva: Visit a family-run winery overlooking Lake Geneva. Enjoy a tasting and learn how the family is preserving the estate for future generations. Savor delicious farm-to-table fare, made from locally sourced produce. Alongside using sustainable agricultural practices, they source majority of their good locally. They have strict procedures about waste reduction and any waste from the production is being re-used as fertilizer or food for their animals. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production..
- Premium Experience - Lake Geneva: Visit Chillon Castle with the Head of Collections to discover the artifacts, treasures and history of the chateau.. Bellinzona: Explore the stunning town of Bellinzona with your Local Specialist. Julie will passionately share with you her insights into the three marvelous castles, and her personal stories about how she fell in love with this city and decided to move to the area..
