Glorious Switzerland

With glaciers, flower-filled meadows and deep green valleys still ahead, you meet your Travel Director and fellow travellers for the short walk to a dinner of Swiss specialities. Inside, you take your seat amid cosy décor as the rich scent of warm cheese fondue drifts across the table. Tear off a piece of bread, dip it into the silky cheese and share your first meal together as your time in Switzerland begins.
Meals: Dinner
Hotel: N'vY Manotel, Geneva
 

Beside Geneva’s gardens, you hear the rush of the Jet d’Eau and pause at the flower-petalled face of the Floral Clock. The road continues along Lake Geneva to Montreux, where free time invites you to explore the lakeside promenade and watch boats cut across the water. At Chillon Castle, your host leads you through thick-walled chambers once occupied by the Dukes of Savoy, their voice echoing between the stone walls. Look for the mark Lord Byron is rumoured to have left after immortalising the castle in ‘The Prisoner of Chillon’. Vineyards and fruit trees cover the Rhône Valley before you climb by cogwheel train to traffic-free Zermatt. During an orientation with your Travel Director, pause beneath the Matterhorn’s unmistakable triangular peak before sharing dinner in a local restaurant.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: Hemizeus & Iremia Spa, Zermatt
 

With Zermatt yours for the day, you can slip into cool water or follow a hiking trail between deep-green slopes and pale rock. Or rise into a world of snow and ice on the Optional Experience to Klein Matterhorn. A cable car carries you above dark ridges and blue-white glaciers to Europe’s highest mountain station at 3,883 metres. At the summit, snowfields stretch towards Switzerland, Italy and France. Your gaze traces the glaciers far below as they wind between dark ridges, their crevasses cutting long, jagged lines through the ice.
Meals: Breakfast
Hotel: Hemizeus & Iremia Spa, Zermatt
Optional experiences
Klein Matterhorn Excursion - A unique electric taxi service will drive us to the foot of Zermatt's highest and most spectacular mountain ride. You’ll enjoy stunning views as we ascend to Furi and Trockener Steg, before boarding Europe's highest cable car to 3883m (12,740ft) to view the magnificent snow-capped top of the world.
Adult: 147.00 CHF
 

Leaving Zermatt, you’ll descend to Täsch and rejoin your coach for the ascent over the Simplon Pass. Stone closes around the road in galleries cut through the rock, then falls away at bridges along Napoleon’s 63-kilometre route between Switzerland and Italy. At the 2,000-metre summit, you pause above the pass before continuing towards Lake Maggiore for lunch. Choose the Optional Experience by boat to Isola Bella and listen to water brush the hull as the wake fans out behind you. Ahead, terraces of formal gardens climb towards the island’s Baroque palace, layer upon layer above the lake. Then continue to Lugano in Ticino, Switzerland’s only canton where Italian is the sole official language.
Meals: Breakfast
Hotel: De La Paix, Lugano
Optional experiences
Discover The Borromean Islands - Take a private launch across Lake Maggiore to explore Isola Bella. Join a Local Specialist for a guided tour of the island’s Baroque palace and gardens, home to white peacocks, terraces and sweeping views across the lake. Look out to Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori as you uncover this Borromean gem.
Adult: 69.00 EUR
* This optional is only able to be operated between mid-March and the end of October.
Cruise and Cook -
Embark on a serene cruise across the stunning Lake Lugano, where you are whisked away to a charming, traditional Ticino grotto. Enjoy a captivating demonstration from your expert hosts as they reveal the secrets to crafting a mouth-watering Italian risotto. Afterward, savour the exquisite dish as the sun sets over the shimmering lakeside.
Adult: 119.00 CHF
 

Across the San Bernardino and Julier Passes, you gaze out at high pastures spreading between stretches of bare rock as the road curls through the Grison Alps. In St. Moritz, your Travel Director leads you through the spa quarter to the glacial lake, where you pause at the shore and watch white sails drift across deep green water, with pine-clad slopes beyond and pointed hotel turrets along the shoreline. Afterwards, you can explore the resort at your own pace or travel by train over the Bernina Pass. Aboard the train, you feel the carriage lean into broad curves while Swiss stone pines stream past and Lago Bianco runs milky-white beside the rails.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: Steffani, St. Moritz
Optional experiences
Rail Journey Over The Bernina Pass - Enjoy one of the most exciting train rides in Switzerland as you cross the Bernina Pass to the Alp Grum. Spectacular views of the Alpine peaks, glaciers, waterfalls, green valleys and mountain villages. We then descend to Poschiavo to reboard our touring coach.
Adult: 62.00 CHF
 

On the Glacier Express route, you'll cross high stone viaducts above green meadows and stone-built villages, with ice-capped peaks beyond. At Chur, you rejoin your coach and follow the Upper Rhine Valley to Vaduz, where you explore the streets below its princely castle, high on a wooded slope. You continue beside Walensee and Lake Zürich to Lucerne, pausing before the wounded lion carved directly into a rocky grotto, its immense body seeming almost alive in the stone. With your Travel Director, you gaze up at the Jesuit Church’s twin green domes piercing the horizon before stopping at Chapel Bridge, where painted panels sit beneath the dark timber roof.
Meals: Breakfast
Hotel: Astoria Lucerne
Optional experiences
Lake Lucerne Cruise - Widely considered to be the loveliest of the mountain lakes, much of the shoreline of Lake Lucerne can only be fully appreciated from the water. As we cruise gently by, you'll admire the spectacular homes of the fortunate few privileged to live on its scenic shores.
Adult: 51.00 CHF
Secret Switzerland - Incredibly, Switzerland provides all its citizens protection in case of nuclear disaster or war. Go behind the scenes for a unique tour of one of the world's biggest civilian fallout shelters! Cold War secrets of the Swiss will be revealed by our expert guide.
Adult: 55.00 CHF
Swiss Folklore Evening with Dinner - Tonight you’ll enjoy a tasty Swiss meal, including the famous Swiss cheese fondue, in a typical restaurant. During dinner, you can also join in a lively folklore show which includes yodelling, flag-throwing and Alpine horn-blowing. Two drinks are also included.
Adult: 120.00 CHF
 

Along Lucerne’s promenade, you may pass the landing stages and music pavilion before browsing the city’s fine watch boutiques. On your MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, you ride the solar-powered CabriO towards Stanserhorn, stepping onto the open upper deck as the wind tugs at your sleeves and the valley lies far below. Along the summit path, you pause beside alpine flowers, listening for a marmot’s sharp whistle, with a chance to meet a Stanserhorn ranger pointing out an eagle circling overhead. At the foot of Stanserhorn, you sit down to dinner and raise a glass to the miles shared across Switzerland.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: Astoria Lucerne
Optional experiences
Swiss Countryside & Carriages - A chance to get to know the Swiss, you’ll meet local farmers and enjoy a delightful countryside tour in horse-drawn carriages. Soak up the stunning scenery as we trot around a typical rural community, en route to a local homestead where you’ll savour local drinks and snacks.
Adult: 83.00 CHF
* Children must be accompanied by an adult.
 

You leave Lucerne with one last look towards the lake and Alpine peaks, then travel to Zurich to say goodbye to your Travel Director and fellow travellers.
Meals: Breakfast