Athens
Madeleine
In her element planning active, mountain-heavy itineraries. Also the one to call for group travel — reunions, milestones, friends going together.
The one country where the transport is a reason to go, not a thing to endure.
Switzerland is small enough to cross in a day and varied enough that you shouldn’t. Ticino in the south speaks Italian and grows palm trees; four hours north, you’re in glacier country. What connects them is a rail network so good that the journeys become the itinerary — the Glacier Express doesn’t get you somewhere so much as spend eight hours showing you the country through a panoramic window.
Stella has a particular soft spot for Switzerland, and the trip she’d build is not the one most people picture. Fewer stops, more time in each, and a Swiss Travel Pass rather than a rental car.
Where to go
Three places worth building a trip around
Few countries fit this many different landscapes into this little space.
Zermatt
The Matterhorn, up close
A car-free village beneath the most recognizable mountain in Europe, with the highest lift station on the continent above it. Skiers, hikers, and people who just want to look at it all end up in the same restaurants.
Jungfrau & Interlaken
Top of Europe
Two lakes, a valley of waterfalls, and a railway that climbs to Jungfraujoch at 11,000 feet. The mountain villages above Interlaken are quieter places to stay than the town itself.
Ticino
Swiss efficiency, Italian life
The Italian-speaking canton in the south — palm trees, lakes, grottos, and a mild climate year-round. Most visitors never make it here, which is exactly the argument for going.
Endless ways to experience it
What kind of Switzerland are you after?
The scenic railways
The Glacier Express, the Bernina, the Grand Train Tour. One pass covers trains, buses, and boats — and most of the country’s best views.
Hiking
Marked trails from valley walks to high alpine routes, with mountain restaurants along the way and a lift down when you’ve had enough.
Skiing
Zermatt, Verbier, St. Moritz, and dozens of smaller resorts with no lift lines. Snow-sure at altitude well into spring.
Cities
Zurich has over 100 museums and a lake at the end of the street. Lausanne was named the best small city in the world in 2020, and locals will tell you why.
Food and wine
The vineyards at Lavaux are UNESCO-listed and barely exported — which means the only way to drink most Swiss wine is to go.
Lakes
Geneva, Lucerne, Zurich, Maggiore. Boat travel is part of the transport system, so the lakes are a way of getting around, not just a view.
Who you’ll work with
Pick the office nearest you.
All four of our advisors plan Switzerland. Which one you work with is usually just a question of which office you’d rather walk into.
Dunwoody
Leslie
Planning European travel since 1990. Ask her about the history nobody told you to look for.
Dunwoody
Steve
Left a career as a chiropractor for a year-long trip around the world, and came back to help other people take theirs.
Tuscaloosa
Stella
Switzerland is one of her soft spots. She builds trips around local life — markets, long meals, the streets past the checklist.
Go deeper
More on Switzerland
Region guides, hotels, and current offers — kept up to date through our relationships with colleagues around the world.
Ready when you are.
Tell us roughly what you have in mind and we’ll take it from there.
