Having Swiss ancestry, this tour was a natural choice for me. I have always wanted to see the resort towns as well as the Alps that were missed during previous family trips.

On our first full day we headed from Zurich to Liechtenstein, passing beautiful hillsides, meadow farms and green mountains as we motored alongside the Rhine River. Our Tour Director, Dawn, entertained us with history on the Prince of Liechtenstein and of this independent principality that we would be stopping at for our lunch break. The picturesque heart of Liechtenstein sits below the Royal Castle which is perched high above on the mountain’s hillside. It was fascinating to see all these small Swiss villages built many hundreds of years ago right into the hillsides with green meadows on slopes dotted with picturesque chalets.

As the coach wound upward through the Julier Pass, to just below 10,000 feet, the views out both sides of the coach were breathtaking. We were glad the driving was left up to our professional coach driver! We passed through the famous Davos ski area where Olympians train for all kinds of winter sports and stopped at the summit to breathe in the fresh mountain air and take photos of the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape. When the Romans passed through thousands of years ago, Julier Pass was the only access. Dawn showed us some of the ancient Roman Column trail markers still visible today!

We could also see where, in later years, the Swiss Army had moved huge boulders in a row to form a natural barrier to prevent Hitler’s tanks from entering Switzerland. Dawn showed us huge camouflage “trap doors” built right into the side of the Alps for the Swiss Army to protect this pass. Inside there are bunkers and equipment stored and some of these Cold War facilities are still in ready condition today!

Our chalet-style hotel in St. Moritz was situated at the top edge of town across from the former winter Olympic site, “The Cresta Run,” which provided us with an excellent view of the town and lake below. What I really enjoyed was the sound of cow bells from the green slope outside my window! I signed up for the optional Horse & Carriage ride to get a closer look at Roseg Glacier and enjoyed a very relaxing, beautiful and low-effort way to spend the afternoon as we passed along side the glacier runoff, the River Inn, which flows down to Innsbruck and eventually into the Danube before emptying out into the Black Sea.

While in St. Moritz I also opted for the optional tour on the Bernina Express. GET had its own coach reserved on this special train that wound through valleys, passed by villages on steep green meadows that ran right up into high cliffs, and through mountain passes, dense forest, high Alps and winding curves. This was by far the most beautiful Swiss scenery I have ever seen!

The summit of the Bernina pass was 10,500 ft which also represented the great European water shed. On the Swiss side the water drains to the Black Sea and on the Italian side, which we crossed into, the water runs down into the Adriatic Sea. The view was awesome! We arrived at our destination stop of Poschiavo, a small quaint Swiss village near the Italian border, for free time to browse around before meeting for our included patio luncheon; the authentic Italian meal was incredible! After lunch our motorcoach met us for the return journey over the Bernina Pass back to St. Moritz where we had the remainder of the afternoon to walk around the lake and do a bit of shopping.

The following day, we boarded our reserved car aboard the Glacier Express. This train is very modern and our included headsets gave interesting commentary on local history and sights that we were viewing. This 8-hour journey was the highlight of my entire tour and it seemed to pass by all too quick. Onboard attendants looked after us well with snacks, lunch, beverages & souvenirs while we made our way through the most picture postcard perfect scenery – some of the villages seemed to come alive right out of a storybook fairy tale!

We arrived into the pedestrian town of Zermatt in the late afternoon and were met at the train station by electric taxis which drove us the short distance to our hotel. The hotel was located at what felt like the base of the Matterhorn and all the rooms had balconies with great views of this Swiss icon.

The next day, I took the optional tour of the Matterhorn. The early morning light was gorgeous and gave us yet another perspective on this ever-changing mountain. We rode a series of sky gondolas/cable cars, which are normally used in the winter as ski lifts, up and out of Zermatt towards the Matterhorn. At 9,000 ft we stopped and met up with a photographer and his St. Bernard puppy, which must have been at least 250 lbs already, and took a group photo with the Matterhorn as our backdrop. Then those that could tolerate even higher altitudes boarded a 100 passenger cable car for the breathtaking ascent up to 12,000 ft through the Alps. You could view the Swiss, Italian & French Alps from this vantage – it was absolutely spectacular in every sense of the word!

The next day we departed by electric taxi to the main rail station for our reserved car on the Zermatt Express cogwheel train which took us down the short distance to where we met our motorcoach. We left through the valley between the Alps and headed towards beautiful Lake Geneva. On our way Dawn pointed out camouflaged Swiss military trapdoors built into the side of mountains allowing aircraft and army equipment to enter these secluded bunkers deep inside the mountains. I would never have been able to spot them my own.

Mid morning we stopped in the beautiful San Bernardino mountain pass, then went on to Medieval Chillon Castle for our guided tour of this fortress which housed former royals and was later used as a prison. Then we rode on to the famous lakeside French-style city of Montreux with its warm breezes and palm trees everywhere. We had a couple hours to see the city, have lunch and walk along the lakeside promenade before boarding the coach for Geneva.

As we arrived in Geneva, our home for the next two nights, Dawn gave us a city tour and showed us Nestlé’s world headquarters along with the United Nations, W.H.O. and several other international sights housing Heads of State. We also stopped at Reformation Monument, housed in a huge central park, and had time to stretch our legs. Most folk were eager to get back into the nice air-conditioned coach as the temperatures now were in the 90′s; a sharp contrast from our alpine climate hours earlier.

We woke up to a welcome change in the weather as we headed out of Switzerland for the seamless crossing into France. We arrived in the quaint village of Chamonix at the base of several mountains including the famous Mont Blanc. After a brief city tour by Dawn, the coach parked giving us an excellent opportunity to explore the entire town on foot or have lunch.

When we arrived back in Geneva Dawn led us on more sightseeing around the lake before giving us the option to get out and enjoy central Geneva or stay on the coach back to hotel. The remainder of day was free and that evening most guests went out for the Optional Dinner in France via cable car ride to a mountaintop vista restaurant overlooking Geneva. Those that went said they had never seen such a beautiful night city views before. I was lucky enough to enjoy dinner locally with some relatives of mine.

As we left Geneva, we went through the Neuchatel lake area which was very beautiful and different from anything we had seen so far. Our morning stop was in the Swiss capitol of Bern where we visited the iconic “Bear Grotto” and watched the baby bears play. Then we went into the central old town of Bern so we could walk through the arcade markets with each block featuring a different artisan centuries-old fountain. We stood at the base of the famous Bern Astronomical Clock and watched the movements of bears and elves come to life every hour at 4 minutes till the hour, very intriguing for all.

We had time for lunch before heading out of Bern to Interlaken which means “city between the lakes”. The hilly crossing was again dotted with small farms and postcard perfect Swiss chalets. Upon arrival in Interlaken Dawn gave us a city tour before allowing us time to explore on our own.

Afterwards we went down the other side of the mountains towards “Vierwaldstattersee which roughly translates into “Lake Lucerne” and our 1st stop was at the famous Lion Monument” honoring fallen Swiss soldiers who were from this region and perished defending Switzerland during the French Revolution. This enormous crying lion is carved right out of a huge rock hillside with a reflection pond at the base. It draws crowds from all over the world on a daily basis and is deemed the “Worlds Saddest Lion”.

We enjoyed a brief city tour of Lucerne before arriving at our city center hotel for the next two nights. This hotel was in an excellent location for strolling down to the water and crossing both of the covered wooden bridges as well as being close to shops and restaurants. This evening we joined the optional “Swiss Fondue Dinner & Folklore Show” in old town. It proved to be the most humorous night of the tour with everyone leaving with their sides hurting from laughing so hard. We learned to yodel as well as play the Alp horn and the fondue was excellent too!

The next day, we joined the optional excursion to Mt. Stanserhorn which began with a lake cruise. We were pleased to find our small charter boat to be quite inviting and the weather beautiful as we crossed the lake. Our captain provided interesting points of interest and pointed out many castles and resorts that dotted the lake side. We met our coach on the other side of lake for the short drive over to the town of Stans where we then boarded an old fashioned, small, wooden funicular for the 1st leg of our journey up to the top of Mt. Stanserhorn. The 2nd leg of our ascent was by a 90-passenger cable car to an elevation of 7,000 feet, the highest peak in the area. From there we could see Mt. Pilatus, Titlus, Junfrau, Eiger and Monch – again another spectacular vantage point offering a different perspective of the Alps. We enjoyed a 360 degree view from there and could see towns and villages everywhere and incredibly, I could even see all the fingers of Lake Lucerne!

Back in Lucerne we had time at leisure to stroll the covered wooden bridges and the city before our farewell dinner at a local restaurant. The dinner was good but the mood was a bit melancholy as everyone seemed a bit sad that the tour was coming to a close. We all had such a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed each others company. It was truly a trip of a lifetime and one that I will always hold dear in my heart.

Click here to view pictures from my tour.

For more information about our 11-day Switzerland & Glacier Express tour, including the day-by-day itinerary, accommodations, and dates & prices, click here.

At GET we strive to provide our clients with accurate and current information about our tours. In order to do this we invest significantly in our staff, sending them out on tours so that they can share their stories and experiences with you, our clients, upon their return.

Our Travel Specialist, Steven Frazee, recently joined our 11-Day Switzerland & Glacier Express tour. We hope you enjoyed his report.