A Week in Switzerland - Itinerary
- Lucy and the lens
- Oct 4, 2018
- 5 min read
In Summer 2018 Patrick and I spent a week driving around Switzerland. We entered from the south, coming from Annecy in France's Haute Savoie region, and exited in the north, heading on into Austria. We had to adapt our original plans a little because of the weather - for example, we sadly had to bypass Lauterbrunnen but ended up in Lake Como for the day instead! So here are some details of our *adapted* week-long Swiss adventure!
Day 1: Driving Lake Geneva - Lutry and Chateau Chillon
Day 2: Thun and Spiez
Day 3: Oeschinensee hike, Blausee, Oberhofen Castle
Day 4: Brienz and Hinterburgseeli hike
Day 5: Gletsch, Furka Pass, Goms Bridge
Day 6: Hiking in Binntal Nature Park
Day 7: Day trip to Lake Como
Day 1: Lutry and Chateau Chillon on Lake Geneva
We drove into Switzerland from the south, and made two stops on our way to our AirBnB in the Bernese Oberland. The first was the pretty seaside town of Lutry. This is an upmarket beach town like no other we'd seen before: it was a very warm day so the pastel streets were quiet and peaceful, while the banks of Lake Geneva were lined with locals relaxing by the water while expensive sailing boats glided by.
Next stop, the absolute fairytale that is Chateau Chillon! It sits on an island jutting out into Lake Geneva, and dates back to Roman times, with bits added on here and there throughout history.. The view below can be seen from a dock that extends out into the lake.
Day 2: Thun and Spiez
The castle town of Thun is best known for its old wooden bridge that spans the River Aare, with colourful pastel buildings in the background. We visited on Swiss National Day, so nothing was open except for restaurants, but it was still a lovely walk up to the castle and back for a couple of hours. On our way back down, we noticed locals surfing the rapids created by the wier under the bridge...you can see the white water in the picture below!
We then headed to another beautiful town on the shores of Lake Thun: Spiez. We saw ominous storm clouds forming, but I was desperate to see the iconic view from the top of the town's castle tower, so I charged up the stairs as fast as I could, just in time to take in the view before the sky turned grey and the rain began!
Day 3: Oeschinensee hike, Blausee, Oberhofen Castle
We headed to Kandersteg early, to catch one of the first cablecars of the day up to the mountaintop lake, Oeschinensee. It's known for its vivid blue water which gets bluer the higher you climb above it. It was a scorching day and the hike was tough, but it was worth every drop of sweat when we finally stopped and took in the view of the lake!
After this, we headed to nearby Blausee to eat our picnic lunch, but we found it a bit of an anticlimax after Oeschinensee. The lake itself is a striking blue colour and crystal clear, but it's tiny and so, so busy, with a little boat puttering pointlessly back and forth across its short length.
Significantly more impressive was Schloss Oberhofen, another magical fairytale-like castle with a turret that rises from the lake. We sat beside the castle at Restaurant Pier 17 and had a few drinks before yet another rainstorm caught up with us!
Day 4: Brienz and Hinterburgseeli hike
We changed accommodation today, driving from the Bern area to the Goms area on eastern side of Lake Brienz. On the way, we stopped off at the village of Axalp, from where you can take a hike to the hidden lake of Hinterburgseeli, accessible only on foot. It was another scorching day, but we were treated to stunning alpine views along the way - fields of lupines, the vivid blue Lake Brienz far below, and the hidden lake itself, frequented only by cows whose bells serenaded us as we arrived.
The trail we chose to hike is called the Sculpture Trail (Schnitzlerweg in German!) Every few metres throughout the hike, you are treated to sculptures carved out of tree stumps along the way, culminating in a whole collection of animal carvings once you get to the lake. Spotting the sculptures kept us going despite the intense heat!
After the hike, we rewarded ourselves with an ice cream sundae at a cafe on the banks of Lake Brienz.
Day 5: Gletsch, Furka Pass, Goms Bridge
After a hair-raising drive along the winding and treacherous alpine Grimsel Pass (there weren't even barriers for much of the drive!) we arrived in the Obergoms region. This area might be best known for the Furka Pass, seen as one of the most dangerous mountain drives in Switzerland and featured in Goldfinger. The gateway to the Furka Pass can be found near Gletsch, known for its lonely little chapel. You can see the Furka Pass on the mountain in the background in the photo below.
Halfway up the Furka Pass, you can visit in ice tunnel carved into the quickly-receding Rhone Glacier. But I found something much more captivating - the abandoned alpine hotel, the Belvedere. This hotel fascinates me because it was built more than 100 years ago, when a horse and carriage was the only way to traverse the Furka Pass. It was built seemingly in the middle of nowhere on a switchback, but old photos reveal that the Rhone Glacier, now quite a distance away, used to extend to the Hotel Belvedere's front door. In its heyday, it was a spectacular glacier viewing point, but as the glacier receded, so did the customers. Eventually, unable to maintain itself, the hotel shut down for good a few years ago.
Our final stop of the day was Goms Bridge, located about half an hour's drive into the Binntal Nature Area from the base of the Furka Pass. This suspension bridge is exactly TWICE the length of Vancouver's famous Capilano Suspension Bridge, and not for the fain-hearted! If you can make it to the middle and dare to look down, though, it's worth it!
Day 6: Hiking in Binntal Nature Park
Today we stayed local, and explored the Binntal area more closely. We discovered villages made entirely of dark wood, little chapels perched on hills, and ancient stone bridges. Start exploring in the little village of Binn, and go from there!
Day 7: Day trip to Lake Como
Our final day in Switzerland was supposed to be a visit to the famous Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, but the terrible weather forecast and the idea of driving back over the terrifying Grimsel Pass in the rain was enough to put us off! Instead, we decided to drive to Lake Como for lunch and sightseeing, where we had the opposite issue - it was HOT!
Just to make the change it temperature even weirder, we passed this enormous snowbank on the way to Italy!
Once in Italy, we opted for a seafood tasting menu in the town of Tremezzo with pretty perfect views over Lake Como!
We then walked off our lunch by exploring Tremezzo, where we visited Villa Carlotta, one of the many luxury historic villas scattered around the shores of Lake Como. Brits on their Grand Tours would visit the villa back in the 18th century.
On the drive home, the rain caught up with us one final time, and we experienced the alpine storm to end all alpine storm. We crept along at about 5mph while it sounded like bullets were battering our car. When it all blew over, we were treated to this foggy autumn-scape, despite it being early August!
And that's it: our seven days dodging rain in Switzerland!
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