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There are so many experiences to be had in Switzerland that it’s difficult to know where to start.
To solve this conundrum, the Swiss created The Grand Tour: a 1,643km circuit that encompasses the country’s ridiculously photogenic highlights, from palm-lined lakeshores to sparkling glaciers.
This most beautiful of road trips includes 46 top attractions and 13 UNESCO World Heritage sites, all conveniently divided into eight stages with dozens of scenic viewpoints that guarantee spectacular views.
I was lucky enough to experience five days of the tour on its 10th anniversary, travelling by electric car — although you could travel by bike or train.
My favourite moments? The Absinthe Museum, a Swiss watch workshop, and a fabulous tour of Lake Lucerne… but boy, was there so much more.
Here’s everything I saw and did.
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Day one: Geneva to Lausanne
After taking the train for the 45-minute journey from Geneva Airport to Lausanne (£12 one-way), I got the admin out of the way, checked into my hotel then beelined for a dip at Ouchy Beach, a new platform over the beautiful Lac Léman and not far from the iconic Olympic Museum.
From there, it was easy to get to the starting point of a tour of the stunning medieval centre, via a short jaunt on the metro.
Lausanne is the only town in Switzerland with an underground railway system, and Swiss hotels give their guests transport cards, so travel is free.
Supper was by the water at Brasserie de Montbenon where I ate perch from the lake. Sublime.
Day Two: Val-de-Travers and the Creux du Van
I took possession of the electric car and cruised to the Maison de l’Absinthe (£13 entry) in the Val-de-Travers, where the drink was first distilled in the late 18th century: a heady mix of wormwood, anise, and fennel which became so popular it spread across Europe, fuelling café culture in Paris.
The museum explains how by 1910, Switzerland banned it — blaming absinthe for crime, madness and the breakdown of society itself.
Yet in this valley, the drink never really disappeared.
Families kept distilling it in secret, passing bottles under the table, keeping traditions alive until the ban was finally lifted a century later.
Of course, my visit ended by being shown the proper way to drink it:adding water.
My next stop was the Creux du Van — Switzerland’s answer to the Grand Canyon, an impressive white rock arena towering over a valley basin with wonderful vistas.
A nearby stream provided trout for lunch at the Hôtel-Restaurant La Truite in Champ du Moulin and after a short rest, I headed on to the Gorges de l’Areuse.
This scenic trail follows the path of the river which evolves from babbling brook to thundering torrent and back again, with stone bridges, catwalks and stairways. It was like stepping into the set of the Lord of the Rings.
Outside the town of Neuchâtel at the Laténium Parc, is the Musée d’Archéologie (entrance £11), one of three UNESCO World Heritage sites in the region.
In 1990, during construction of the A5 motorway, a site was discovered by the lakeshore dating back to13,000 BC.
All that time ago, our ancestors built their homes on wooden stilts, driven into the shallows of the lake.
When the waters rose and the villages were abandoned, those timbers and all the small stuff of life — spoons, fishing nets, even scraps of food — slipped into the mud and were preserved in the oxygen-poor, marsh sediments.
The wood did not rot, the textiles did not unravel and the ordinary world of prehistory survived almost intact.
Seeing them displayed in this intriguing museum, it is easy to forget their great age. Now this pile-dwelling site has become an important reference for European prehistoric research.
Day 3: Gruyères
Neuchâtel also has UNESCO World Heritage status, as the Swiss (and arguably European) hub of watchmaking.
I have never had the chance to assemble a watch before, but in the Centre Horloger, I visited a workshop and discovered the intricacy of the craft.
It is possible to book the experience through the local tourist board, here.
Then on to one of Switzerland’s ‘Best Tourism Villages’ – Gruyères, the medieval town that gives its name to the region and a tasty cheese.
My dessert was eaten on a visit to the Maison Cailler chocolate factory (£15.80), where some of Switzerland’s finest chocolate has been produced since 1898 using local milk.
Full and happy, I continued to Bern.
Day 4: Switzerland’s ‘most boring’ city
It’s sometimes described as Switzerland’s most boring city, but in my opinion, it’s hard not to fall in love with Bern (Metro‘s Travel Editor Alice Murphy felt the same after her visit earlier this summer).
I wasn’t surprised to learn that the Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cobbled streets framed by medieval arcades and sandstone buildings exude the sense of a fairytale film set.
The best place to experience this is the Zytglogge, the city’s clocktower, the inspiration for Einstein’s thoughts on special relativity.
From the outside it is ornate, with gilded dials, colourful figures, and a touch of theatrics: a mechanical showing of a procession of bears, a jester, andcrowing rooster. But inside is something more intimate.
Some 130 narrow wooden steps wind upwards to the Middle Ages. My guide, Ornella Bieri, demonstrated the clock’s ancient mechanism, gently turning the cogs by hand.
The machinery is large but oddly delicate, a steady tick carrying with it the weight of six hundred years. Tours of the clock tower last an hour and cost £18 per person.
Bern in 48 hours: an itinerary from our Travel Editor
Day 1
Explore the Old Town, taking in the Zytglogge, the Minster, the Bear Park and the Rosengarten.
Walk along the River Aare, stopping for a snack at Grottino or a gelato from La Golosa.
Visit Einstein House, the museum inside the former home of Albert Einstein, and dip in and out of Bern’s quirky boutique shops.
Have a drink on the rooftop terrace of the Hotel Schweizerhof, followed by dinner at Jack’s Brasserie downstairs (order the schnitzel and a glass of Pinot Noir).
Day 2
Grab coffee and a pastry from Copain or Danieli (only open on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm).
Make for the Gurten. Hop on streetcar number 9 towards Wabern, and get off at the Gurtenbahn stop. Take the funicular up the hill and spend the afternoon wandering one of the many walking trails. It’s a good idea to bring a picnic as food at Gurten hotel is expensive (and, in my opinion, not worth the price).
OR
Try the Bernese Beer Tour, which takes in some of the city’s 200 breweries and microbreweries (more than anywhere else in Switzerland).
OR
Take the high-speed train to Zurich, a 55-minute journey that turns your stay into a multi-city break.
Head back into town and cool off with a swim in the river (if you’re capable) or in the free public pool.
Dinner at Kornhauskeller (order the veal and hash browns).
Day 5: Lucerne to Zurich
The final stop of my trip on the tour was the captivating city of Lucerne, known for its preserved medieval architecture, including the covered Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) built in 1333.
I liked the idea of the new coffee card initiative. For £19, you get a digital card that entitles you to a coffee in some of Lucerne’s best cafes, plus a pastry or sweet treat. Roam between them to your heart’s content.
My journey ended in pure luxury on the Legends of Lucerne, a five-hour cruise around the lake complete with gourmet cuisine, fine wine, and magnificent views of the mountains of Rigi and Pilatus.
A fabulous ending to a superb taste of the Grand Tour, before my return to Zurich airport.
Lucy Daltroff was a gust of Travel Switzerland. Prices start at £1,190 for eight nights on The Grand Tour.
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) fly direct from the UK, with fares starting from £76 to Zurich and from £54 to Geneva.
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