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Lake in the middle of green mountains — Bachalpsee, Switzerland

Destinations · 10 places

Ten places,one rail pass.

Switzerland is small enough to cross in a morning and varied enough to need a month. These are the ten places we keep coming back to — and when to go.

(01) The map

Smaller than you think.

About 350 km east to west at its widest and 220 km north to south. Most of these places are under three hours apart by train.

Map of Switzerland showing Swiss Horizon’s ten destinations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Map of Switzerland with pins for Zermatt, Jungfrau Region, Lucerne, Lake Geneva, Lugano & Ticino, Bern, Zurich, St. Moritz & Engadin, Appenzell, Basel.
  1. 01Zermatt
  2. 02Jungfrau Region
  3. 03Lucerne
  4. 04Lake Geneva
  5. 05Lugano & Ticino
  6. 06Bern
  7. 07Zurich
  8. 08St. Moritz & Engadin
  9. 09Appenzell
  10. 10Basel

(02) All destinations

Four languages, 26 cantons and about 5,000 km of railway. Pick a region, or let us join three of them into one week.

  1. A view of a city with a mountain in the background — Zermatt, Switzerland

    01 Valais · Mountains

    Zermatt

    A car-free village at the foot of the Matterhorn.

    Electric taxis, larch-wood chalets and one of the most photographed mountains on earth. Come in July for the five-lakes walk and wildflowers, or in winter for skiing that crosses into Italy.

    Best season
    Jun — Sep for hiking · Dec — Apr for skiing
    Altitude
    1,608 m
    Getting there
    Train via Visp. No private cars beyond Täsch.

    Don’t miss

    • Gornergrat cogwheel railway
    • Stellisee at sunrise
    • Hörnli hut trail (for strong walkers)
    Plan a week here
  2. Brown and white houses on green mountain under blue sky during daytime — Wengen, Switzerland

    02 Bernese Oberland · Mountains

    Jungfrau Region

    Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau above a valley of waterfalls.

    Grindelwald, Wengen, Mürren and Lauterbrunnen sit within an hour of each other by train and gondola. Huge north faces, gentle meadow walks, and the highest railway station in Europe.

    Best season
    Jun — Oct · Dec — Mar
    Altitude
    796 m (Lauterbrunnen) – 3,454 m (Jungfraujoch)
    Getting there
    Train to Interlaken Ost, then Bernese Oberland Railway.

    Don’t miss

    • Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe
    • Staubbach Falls in Lauterbrunnen
    • Eiger Trail from Eigergletscher
    Plan a week here
  3. A large body of water next to a tall building — Lucerne, Switzerland

    03 Central Switzerland · Lakes

    Lucerne

    Wooden bridges, painted façades and a lake with four arms.

    A compact old town on the Reuss, paddle steamers to Vitznau and Flüelen, and two classic mountains — Rigi and Pilatus — within an hour of the station.

    Best season
    May — Oct
    Altitude
    436 m
    Getting there
    About 1 h by train from Zurich Airport.

    Don’t miss

    • Chapel Bridge and Water Tower
    • Paddle steamer to Vitznau, rack railway up Rigi
    • Lion Monument
    Plan a week here
  4. House near the river — Chillon Castle, Montreux, Switzerland

    04 Vaud & Geneva · Lakes

    Lake Geneva

    Vineyard terraces, a castle on the water and the French Alps opposite.

    Montreux, Vevey and the UNESCO-listed Lavaux terraces line the north shore. Take a Belle Époque steamer, walk between wine villages, and finish at Chillon Castle.

    Best season
    Apr — Oct
    Altitude
    372 m
    Getting there
    Geneva Airport, then about 1 h by train to Montreux.

    Don’t miss

    • Chillon Castle
    • Lavaux vineyard walk from Lutry to Saint-Saphorin
    • Montreux lakeside promenade
    Plan a week here
  5. Aerial view of city buildings near body of water during daytime — Lugano, Switzerland

    05 Ticino · Lakes

    Lugano & Ticino

    Italian-speaking Switzerland: palm trees, piazzas and granite valleys.

    Lakeside Lugano, stone villages like Morcote and Gandria, and the green water of the Verzasca and Maggia valleys. The food changes too — risotto, polenta and merlot.

    Best season
    Apr — Oct
    Altitude
    273 m
    Getting there
    Through the Gotthard Base Tunnel, about 2 h from Zurich.

    Don’t miss

    • Funicular up Monte San Salvatore
    • Morcote by boat
    • Ponte dei Salti, Verzasca valley
    Plan a week here
  6. People walking on street near buildings during daytime — Bern old town, Switzerland

    06 Canton of Bern · Cities

    Bern

    The federal city, wrapped in a bend of the Aare.

    Six kilometres of covered arcades, sandstone fountains and the Zytglogge clock tower — the whole old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In summer, locals float down the Aare to work.

    Best season
    All year
    Altitude
    540 m
    Getting there
    About 1 h by train from Zurich.

    Don’t miss

    • Zytglogge clock tower
    • Rose Garden view over the old town
    • Swimming the Aare (strong swimmers, in summer)
    Plan a week here
  7. Aerial view of city buildings during daytime — Zurich, Switzerland

    07 Canton of Zurich · Cities

    Zurich

    Lakeside, lively, and far less serious than its banks.

    Medieval lanes in the Niederdorf, lake baths (Badis) in summer, a serious food scene and the main gateway airport. A good first or last night.

    Best season
    All year
    Altitude
    408 m
    Getting there
    About 10–15 min by train from Zurich Airport.

    Don’t miss

    • Grossmünster towers
    • Lindenhof viewpoint
    • A summer evening at a lake Badi
    Plan a week here
  8. Houses near snow field — St. Moritz, Switzerland

    08 Graubünden · Mountains

    St. Moritz & Engadin

    High valley, frozen lakes and famous winter light.

    The Upper Engadin is a wide, sunny valley of lakes at 1,800 m. Golden larches in October, cross-country skiing in winter, and the end point of the Glacier Express.

    Best season
    Dec — Mar · Jul — Oct
    Altitude
    1,822 m
    Getting there
    Rhaetian Railway via Chur — the Albula line is a UNESCO site.

    Don’t miss

    • Glacier Express or Bernina Express
    • Larch forests in October
    • Walk around Lake St. Moritz
    Plan a week here
  9. Green mountain slope and lake scenery — Seealpsee, Appenzell, Switzerland

    09 Eastern Switzerland · Mountains

    Appenzell

    Painted houses, cheese and the Alpstein limestone.

    A small, traditional corner of Switzerland with its own cheese, its own bitter liqueur and a cliff-side guesthouse you have seen on a thousand screensavers.

    Best season
    May — Oct
    Altitude
    780 m
    Getting there
    About 2 h from Zurich by train via St. Gallen or Gossau.

    Don’t miss

    • Seealpsee
    • Aescher guesthouse below Ebenalp
    • Painted façades on Hauptgasse
    Plan a week here
  10. A river with a boat in it — Basel, Switzerland

    10 Basel-Stadt · Cities

    Basel

    Art, architecture and swimming in the Rhine.

    Where Switzerland meets France and Germany. Nearly 40 museums, a red sandstone cathedral, and in summer the whole city floats down the Rhine in waterproof fish bags.

    Best season
    All year · Fasnacht in Feb or Mar
    Altitude
    260 m
    Getting there
    About 1 h by train from Zurich.

    Don’t miss

    • Rhine swim with a Wickelfisch bag
    • Fondation Beyeler
    • Basel Fasnacht
    Plan a week here
A house on top of a mountain surrounded by clouds — Above the clouds, Switzerland

Three regions.One week.Zero timetables.

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