Best of Switzerland Summer

Welcome to Switzerland. Your driver meets you at Zürich Airport (ZRH) and transfers you to the Old Town. Check in, walk the Bahnhofstrasse and the Limmat riverfront, and settle into Swiss precision.

Afternoon: guided Old Town walking tour — Grossmünster, Fraumünster (Chagall windows), Lindenhof viewpoint. Welcome dinner — Zürcher Geschnetzeltes and Swiss wine.

Morning: train to Lucerne (45 minutes). Lucerne is the postcard — the Chapel Bridge (Europe’s oldest covered wooden bridge, 1333), the Lion Monument, and a medieval Old Town on a lake ringed by mountains.

Afternoon: explore at leisure. Lake Lucerne waterfront walk, the painted façades of the Old Town, and the Jesuit Church. Evening: lakeside dinner with mountain views.

Morning: the Golden Round Trip to Mt Pilatus — boat across Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad, the world’s steepest cogwheel railway to the summit (2,132m), panoramic views of 73 Alpine peaks, then cable car and gondola back down to Kriens.

Afternoon: Lake Lucerne paddle steamer cruise (historic steamers included in the Swiss Travel Pass). The lake is surrounded by mountains and the steamers are part of the Swiss experience. Evening at leisure.

Morning: train from Lucerne to Interlaken via the Brünig Pass (approximately 2 hours, the Bernese Oberland appears ahead). Interlaken sits between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz — the gateway to the Jungfrau region.

Afternoon: Lauterbrunnen valley — the valley of 72 waterfalls, vertical cliffs, Tolkien’s Rivendell. Staubbach Falls (297m free-falling cascade visible from the village). Check in. Evening: dinner with mountain backdrop.

Full day: Jungfraujoch (3,454m) — Europe’s highest railway station. The cogwheel train climbs from Lauterbrunnen through the Eiger and Mönch to the summit. Sphinx observation terrace with 360-degree views of the Aletsch Glacier (UNESCO, the longest in the Alps).

Return to Interlaken by late afternoon. Optional: paragliding from Beatenberg (tandem, landing in the Interlaken meadow — Europe’s most famous paragliding site). Or canyoning, rafting. Evening at leisure.

Morning: train from Interlaken to Zermatt (approximately 2.5 hours via Spiez and Visp — the landscape climbs from lake level into the high Valais). Zermatt is car-free — electric taxis and horse-drawn carriages only. Your first Matterhorn view from the village.

Afternoon: explore the car-free village — the Bahnhofstrasse, the Matterhorn Museum (story of the first ascent in 1865), and the old village quarter with its dark timber granaries. Evening: fondue dinner with the Matterhorn visible through the restaurant window.

Morning: Gornergrat railway (3,089m) — the open-air cogwheel train in 33 minutes to the summit. The Matterhorn reflected in the Riffelsee lake (morning light is best). Views of 29 four-thousand-metre peaks and the Gorner Glacier.

Afternoon: Five Lakes Trail hike (Stellisee, Grindjisee, Grünsee, Moosjisee, Leisee — each reflecting the Matterhorn differently, approximately 4 hours, moderate difficulty) or Klein Matterhorn cable car (3,883m, ice palace). Farewell dinner in the village.

Morning: final Matterhorn morning — a last coffee on a village terrace watching the peak catch the first light. Train from Zermatt to Zürich Airport (approximately 3.5 hours via Visp — a scenic return through the Valais).

Eight days of Swiss summer — Lucerne’s lake, Pilatus at 2,132m, Jungfraujoch at 3,454m, and the Matterhorn at golden hour. Your specialist remains reachable throughout. Safe travels home.