The wine tasting season is approaching in Vaud, the Swiss canton stretching around the shores of Lake Geneva. With its six distinctive wine growing regions and eight appellations, Vaud is Switzerland’s second largest wine producing region. Little known outside of Switzerland, Vaud’s wines, produced from Chasselas, Pinot Noir and Gamay, are so popular with the […]
New exhibition opens at Lausanne’s Olympic Museum – We are Olympians, and You?
The latest exhibition at Lausanne’s Olympic Museum is all about the athletes and their stories. And while their record-breaking exploits might be difficult to relate to, the human stories of passion, heartbreak and solidarity that lie behind them, contain something we can all connect with. For the exhibition, the Museum interviewed 50 athletes on what […]
Basel Fasnacht around the corner
A parade that starts at 4 in the morning? With piccolos? And drums? In winter? Really? Yes, and you’ll be enchanted by the whole thing. Every year in the city of Basel on the Monday after Ash Wednesday (this year, March 11th), the Morgestraich (“Morning sweep” in Basel dialect) marks the beginning of the three-day […]
Chateau d’Oex balloon festival gets set for take off
The 2019 Château-d’Oex International Hot Air Balloon Festival is close to launch. The festival, which brings together 60 pilots and balloons from 15 different countries, takes advantage of the exceptional ballooning conditions in this corner of the Alps at this time of the year. It kicks off on Saturday 26 January 2019. Created in 1979, […]
Thanksgiving 2018: where to go in Switzerland
Every year on the fourth Thursday of November – the 22nd this year, Americans come together with family and friends to reflect, be thankful and consider those in need, while sharing a traditional, usually sizable, meal. The traditional thanksgiving feast is not for committed vegans. The turkey is the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table, but […]
Swiss ski season starts early
Recent heavy snow has allowed several Swiss winter resorts to open early. Some high-altitude resorts have received as much as two metres of snow. Some of the resorts that have opened are only running lifts at the weekends. Last weekend, Verbier opened the area of the resort known as Lac des Vaux. Snow up to […]
Halloween in Switzerland
Many expats, particularly north Americans, may be surprised to discover that Halloween is not widely celebrated in Switzerland. Long before Halloween existed, a Gaelic festival known as Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the descent into winter darkness. Some believed it was the time when the souls of the dead roamed the […]
Patrouille Suisse’s Alpine aerobatics display set for take off
Next month Switzerland’s iconic air display team, known as the Patrouille Suisse, will take to the skies above the mountains of Fliegerschiessen Axalp in the canton of Bern. Founded in 1964, the Patrouille Suisse has featured as the support act at concerts by the Rolling Stones and Madonna. This year’s Axalp Alpine aerobatics display, featuring […]
The Swiss National Museum Château de Prangins celebrates its 20th birthday with lights and Lunch on the Grass
This year, Château de Prangins, the largest 18th-century castle open to the public in Switzerland, celebrates its 20th year as home to the Swiss National Museum in French-speaking Switzerland. To celebrate, the chateau is hosting a party, which includes a light sculpture on Saturday 29 September 2018 and the déjeuner sur l’herbe (Lunch on the […]
Flower-covered cows take to Swiss streets – Switzerland’s désalpe (alpabzug) explained
By Bill Harby What exactly is the alpine descent or désalpe / alpabzug? This article explores the event’s history and where to see it. In Switzerland, we know the clock will soon strike autumn when processions of cows crowned with flowers and hung with huge clanging bells, descend from summer alpine pastures to their winter […]
