-
Palais des Nations
Home to the UN since 1966, the Palais des Nations was built between 1929 and 1936 to house the now-defunct League of Nations. Visits are by guided tour (reserve in advance online; bring ID card or passport) and include a one-hour tour of the building and entry to the surrounding 46
-
Château de Gruyères
This bewitching turreted castle, home to 19 different Counts of Gruyères, who controlled the Sarine Valley from the 11th to 16th centuries, was rebuilt after a fire in 1493. Inside you can view period furniture, tapestries and modern ‘fantasy art’, plus watch a 20-minute multimedia
-
ICT Discovery
The evolution of information technology, from primitive times through to the future, is explored in this fascinating exhibition. Its peppered with hands-on gadgets and devices to fiddle with, and a games room (test your reaction to a volcanic explosion or a cyber attack). Kids love
-
Circus Knie
All the Swiss know this family-run national circus based in Rapperswil, which has been travelling the length and breadth of the country (on tour from March to November) since 1919. The circus employs about 100 animals and the Knie have another 300 at Knies Kinderzoo , southeast of
-
Musée de l’Art Brut
Brut means crude or rough, and that’s what you get in this extraordinary gallery with its huge collection of works by untrained artists (many from the fringes of society or with a mental illness), put together by French artist Jean Dubuffet in the 1970s in what was a late-18th-cent
-
Mont Fort Sunrise
Nothing stirs the soul quite like seeing the sun rise from the top of Mont Fort, at a panoramic 3329m. The Médran cable car offers departures on Thursdays in July at 4.45am and in August at 5am. The trip cost covers unlimited travel on cable cars for the rest of the day, and includ
-
Tour de Gourze
Built in the 12th century as a defence tower, this old stone structure peers out on Lavaux vines, Lake Geneva, the Vaud and the Jura beyond from its hilltop perch at 924m. Best of all is the simple wooden chalet-restaurant here, Café-Restaurant de la Tour de Gourze , that cooks up
-
Musée d’Art et d’Histoire
Fribourg’s art and history museum, with an excellent collection of late-Gothic sculpture and painting, is housed in the Renaissance Hôtel Ratzé. Gothic meets Goth in the underground chamber, where religious statues are juxtaposed with some of Tinguely’s sculptural creations. Dont m
-
Nietzsche Haus
Sils-Maria might be a sleepy lakeside village now, but the rumble of existential philosophy once reverberated around these peaks, courtesy of Friedrich Nietzsche who spent his summers here from 1881 to 1888 writing texts concerning the travails of modern man, including Thus Spake Z
-
Rütli Meadow
Perched on hillside above Lake Uris western shore, this meadow is the legendary cradle of Swiss democracy. It was here that the Oath of Eternal Allegiance was allegedly signed by the cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden (1291) and where General Guisan gathered the Swiss army during
-
Wasserschloss Hallwyl
About 20km south of Lenzburg is Wasserschloss Hallwyl, a ‘Water Castle’ so named because it is built in the middle of a river – a natural moat. It is, in fact, two modest castles joined by a bridge. Walking paths wind southwards towards Hallwilersee, a peaceful lake that can be cri
-
Triftbrücke
The Hasli Valley is laced with 300km of signposted walking trails. A huge hit is this 170m-long, 100m-high suspension bridge, Europe’s longest and highest. To reach the glacier from Meiringen, take a train to Innertkirchen, then a bus to Nessental, Triftbahn. Here a cable car takes
-
Schweizerisches Landesmuseum
Inside a purpose-built cross between a mansion and a castle sprawls this eclectic and imaginatively presented museum. The permanent collection offers an extensive tour through Swiss history, with exhibits ranging from elaborately carved and painted sleds to household and religious
-
Maison Cailler
Cailler has been making chocolate since 1825 and its factory tours take visitors on an extravagant twirl through its history, including, naturellement, a chance to taste and visit to the factory shop. Best up are Caillers chocolate workshops - themed, one- to 2-1/2 hours long, some
-
Val Bavona
A smooth road follows a mountain stream through this valley, where narrow meadows are cradled between steep rocky walls. Its series of tightly huddled stone and slate-roofed hamlets are irresistible. The impossibly pretty grey-stone hamlet of Foroglio is dominated by the wispy spra
-
Schloss Wildegg
Set amidst a working farm with gardens and orchards, Schloss Wildegg crowns a green hilltop 5.5km south of Habsburg. Guests can wander at liberty through the multistorey castle, filled top to bottom with original furniture and other possessions of the Effinger clan dating back to 1
-
Peak Walk by Tissot
On clear days the views from this world-first peak-to-peak footbridge are heaven-sent; think legendary Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn, plus Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. The 107m-long walk, between View Point Peak and Scex Rouge (2971m), culminates with a spacious viewing platform and
-
Kloster Disentis
This baubly Benedictine monastery has a lavishly stuccoed baroque church attached. A monastery has stood here since the 8th century, but the present immense complex dates from the 18th century. Left of the church entrance is a door to the Klostermuseum crammed with memorabilia on t
-
Château de Grandson
This imposing fortress lies 5km along the lakefront from Yverdon. Its thick stone walls hide a smattering of small museums; the history museum evokes the fate of Charles the Bold who, in early 1476 in his battle against Swiss Confederate troops, found some of his routed Burgundian
-
Grossmünster
Founded by Charlemagne in the 9th century (but heavily reworked since), Zürichs twin-towered landmark cathedral sits directly across the river from Fraumünster. The interior showcases stained-glass work by Augusto Giacometti. For nice views, climb the southern tower, the Karlsturm
Total
577 -travel
FirstPage PreviousPage NextPage LastPage CurrentPage:
24/29 20-travel/Page GoTo Page:
