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 […]
Lake Geneva’s beautiful paddlewheel boats – getting there is way more than half the fun
They say that “getting there is half the fun”. But sometimes it’s more. A lot more. For example: a Lake Geneva cruise on a grand historic paddlewheel steamboat. Destination? Who cares? On a recent gorgeous Sunday afternoon, I, your intrepid reporter, along with my intrepid stepson and two intrepid nephews, provisioned with our intrepid bottles […]
Foxtrail – an adventure game on the streets of Lausanne
As we zoomed down the metro line, the puzzle unfolded with the first clue we were given: watch for the fox’s green paw print on the rail track. Later, during our half-day adventure chasing the “fox”, we had to figure out a series of other clues: a barometer showing a thieving alligator, a particular sewer […]
Lausanne’s Olympic Museum – a great family day out
In 1915, the Olympic headquarters moved from Paris to Lausanne, a peaceful stable place at a time when war was tearing Europe apart. It is still there today, on the shimmering shores of Lake Geneva. Today’s picturesquely set modern International Olympic Committee (IOC) building contains a fascinating Olympic museum, spread over three levels, packed with detailed […]
Going underground – Touring Switzerland’s oldest salt mine
There is a reason why the Swiss excel at digging tunnels: they have been doing it for a very long time. In 1680, tunnels were dug into the Vaud Alps near Bex to get at salt buried there more than 200 million years earlier. According to legend, a young shepherd noticed his goats preferred to […]
Chaplin’s World – enter the home and life of a comic genius
Film legend Charlie Chaplin spent 24 years living in the Manoir de Ban, a grand old mansion above Vevey in Switzerland. In 2016, his charming former home and grounds were cleverly and artfully transformed into Chaplin’s World and opened to the public. Wandering through the rooms of the mansion it is easy to imagine you’ve been […]
CERN tours – go on, expand your universe
Would you like to take a tour of the universe, and also get a glimpse of the smallest subatomic particles currently known to humankind? At CERN, the world’s largest scientific research complex, physicists and engineers from 80 countries send protons racing around a 27-km. race track at nearly the speed of light, then smash them […]
The Rhaetian Railway – probably Switzerland’s best train journey
Rounding another curve on the Bernina Express, sometimes we glimpse something – an ancient stone hut, a cliff naturally carved with a quizzical face, a shimmering snow-covered village – then wonder later if it was really there. Sitting comfortably in our train car with panoramic windows is a little like being on a slow-motion toboggan, […]
The Swiss cheese train to Chateau d’Oex – fondue and alpine tradition
It’s called Le Train du Fromage – The Cheese Train – but after this day tour, you’ll remember a lot more than that steaming fondue you had for lunch at an alpine village restaurant. You can board The Cheese Train (just one of several trains) in either Montreux by Lake Geneva, or in the mountain […]
Here’s why the Chateau de Chillon is Switzerland’s most-visited castle
The Chateau de Chillon is the most-visited historic building in Switzerland. There must be a reason, beyond the fact that it’s easy to get to on the edge of Lake Geneva near Montreux. You enter the Middle Ages as you cross the little castle’s covered bridge into its walled courtyards. This is no fairytale castle, […]
