Exploring Switzerland
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We need to ski again.
We need Switzerland.
Start your journey here.
Truly immersive travel is more about direction rather than destination. We walk down new streets and, following the whispers in the wind, explore new slopes, fall in love with new mountain ranges and bask in their wintery glow - catching snowflakes on our tongue as we go.
The way we travel has changed over the years, but the reason hasn’t. There’s nothing quite like discovering a new culture and cultivating a connection to a new part of the world - and never do we feel more connected than when we’re out exploring wild places, walking, climbing, ice-skating or skiing in the shadow of mountains.
Hop on a train from the mountain gateway of Geneva Airport and you can watch the world whizz by your window as lush Swiss lakes turn to mighty mountain ranges, and alpine pastures erupt into 4,000m peaks. We know it might be hard but trust us, stay on the train. It gets even better.
In the valley of Valais, the Region Dents du Midi awaits. It’s the gateway to Les Portes du Soleil, the largest international ski area in the world, with 600km of pistes waiting for you to carve some turns. The UNESCO-protected glaciers of the Aletsch Arena lie beyond, as do the north-facing slopes of Nendaz, a freeriding haven connecting to the 4 Valleés ski area. That’s not to mention the high-alpine beauty and via ferratas of Saas-Fee or the ancient mountain spas of Leukerbad.
Bernese Oberland Region
A region at the centre of mountaineering for over 200 years and where alpine history has been made.
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Lake Lucerne Region
Bernese Oberland Region
Arosa-Lenzerheide
Gstaad
Valais
Lake Geneva Region
Continue on to the Bernese Oberland and the lakes soon return, while some of the world’s most distinctive mountains emerge on the horizon. Interlaken is sandwiched between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, bodies of water which reflect the mountains back at you as you paddle or sail through them. The wider terrain of the Jungfrau Region is home to the iconic peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau - all of which have been at the centre of winter sports evolution for centuries.
Indeed, alpine history has been written in the Swiss Alps over and over again, from Alfred Wills’ ascent of the Wetterhorn (above Grindelwald) in 1854 to the opening of the Jungfrau Railway in 1912, which remains to this day one of the most remarkable train journeys in the world, leading up to Europe’s highest railway station at 3,454m.
Today, the Switzerland Tourism sustainability initiative - Swisstainable - rewards those who arrive by rail rather than aeroplane with deals on lift passes and more. And inspired by Brit Lucy Walker, who in 1871 became the first woman to summit the Matterhorn - wearing a long flannel skirt, no less - they also launched their ‘100% Women’ initiative, which aims to empower women to embrace and enjoy the outdoors in Switzerland.
The Swiss Alps have been the setting for some of the most remarkable, innovative and significant events in the history of outdoor sports and alpine adventure. Skiing, mountaineering, and truly, meaningfully connecting with nature aren’t just hobbies here - they’re a lifestyle.
The greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time; to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.
There are only a few things in this fine world capable of providing that buzz of a ‘first time’ - even when you’ve done the activity in question tens or hundreds of times before. That first drag of a paddle through a mountain lake is peace personified. That first line you pick from the chairlift with skis strapped beneath your feet can put butterflies in your stomach. That first breath of mountain air, or sight of the 4000m peaks on the skyline, or the first crunch of a snowshoe on a blanket forest floor or hike beneath a starry sky... it’s the feeling of genuine freedom. It’s the feeling of knowing that you’re about to make memories that will last a lifetime (and that’s before we’ve even got to your first taste of cheese fondue). Switzerland is a pure mountain paradise.
This is a land that cherishes nature, and through their glaciers, exquisite train connections, local food and culture built around the mountains - the perfect place to explore responsibly and sustainably. A trip to the Swiss Alps is not just a holiday. It’s a journey through alpine history.
These mountains remind us that we’re never truly apart from nature. We’re a part of it.
Exploring
Switzerland
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Valais
One of the most remarkable ski regions in the world and home of the iconic 4,478m high Matterhorn.
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For that famous Swiss quality in your outdoor gear, check out Mammut, offering high-quality products and trailblazing innovation and safety measures in the outdoor space since 1862. There's a reason the ski instructors in Switzerland all have that famous woolly mammoth icon on their arm.
If you’re going to be flying to Switzerland, book flexibly and with confidence with SWISS. Ski equipment typically flies for free with the Swiss national airline.
For the ideal accommodation, check in at any one of the many excellent Snow Sports Hotels. These accommodation services are purpose-built for winter sports enthusiasts. Each hotel is right in the middle of the ski area, with a full range of winter sports on their doorstep.
After a big day out on the slopes, you can have your equipment serviced and be first back on the mountain the next day. Plus, there are overnight laundry facilities and equipment rooms. These hotels aren’t just for skiers or snowboarders either, they offer delicious fare and high-quality infrastructure - plus a generous breakfast and lunch on request.
Swiss travel system
Cheeses from switzerland
Mammut
Switzerland TraveL CeNtre
SWISS INTERNATIONAL AIR LINES
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Geneva Airport
Zürich Airport
Check out a full piste report here
Arosa-Lenzerheide
Elementary powder, panoramic views of over 1,000 Alpine summits and
225km of stunning slopes await.
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Bernese Oberland Region
A region at the centre of mountaineering for over 200 years and where alpine history has been made.
READ MORE
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Bernese Oberland Region
A region at the centre of mountaineering for over 200 years and where alpine history has been made.
READ MORE
READ MORE
Photography: Dominik Baur
Photography: Dominik Baur
We need to ski again.
We need Switzerland.
Start your journey here.
Photography: © LITESCAPE
Photography: ©LITESCAPE
Photography: Dominik Baur
Photography: David Birrir
Photography: ©Gabriel Premand
Swiss travel system
Gstaad
A town oozing glitz and glamour complete with over 200km of pistes, the sort most skiers dream of.
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Lake Geneva Region
Fairytale towns and remarkable mountains, the Vaud Alps offer a plethora of winter activities.
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Lake Lucerne Region
In winter the magical town, lake and ski resorts look like they’ve been plucked from a Disney film.
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Valais
One of the most remarkable ski regions in the world and home of the iconic 4,478m high Matterhorn.
READ MORE
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Arosa-Lenzerheide
Elementary powder, panoramic views of over 1,000 Alpine summits and 225km of stunning slopes await.
READ MORE
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Read more on Sustainable winter activities in Switzerland here
Swisstainable: A Mountain Philosophy
The mountain air is crisp and clear in the Swiss Alps. The glimmering lakes reflect the mountains that face them, and the mountains are blanketed by pure, white, powdery snow. As we wander through this enchanting environment, we feel at one with it - as should be the way.
Winter in Switzerland is a scene as idyllic as it gets, but we have to look after nature if we’re going to continue enjoying it - and continue hiking through enchanting forests, snowshoeing past scenic waterfalls and skiing on fluffy snow, in front of remarkable mountain views. The way we travel should reflect that. It should be mindful, appreciative, and it should be eco-friendly.
The Switzerland Tourism initiative Swisstainable rewards those arriving by train rather than plane, with deals available on accommodation, ski tickets and ski rental and practical luggage transport.
The Swisstainable approach means appreciating nature, embracing local culture and regional experiences, consuming regional products and staying for longer - to delve deeper into all of that. As far as getting around on public transport in Switzerland, you’re in good hands. There’s railway heritage here. Not only do you have Europe’s oldest mountain railway, the Vitznau-Rigi train, which dates back to 1871, you also have Europe’s highest train station (the remarkable Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe) and the world’s longest and deepest railway tunnel, the Gotthard tunnel (57km).
Travelling by train gives you a lay of the land. You don’t just pop up at your final destination - you watch the world go by your window, stress-free, as lakes turn to foothills and mountains.
Check out the Switzerland Travel Centre for info and advice on those iconic panoramic rail journeys with spectacular mountain views. The train truly is something special in Switzerland.
Every day, 9,600 trains travel along the 3,000km SBB rail network, and over six million people are transported by rail. A full 70-80% of the pollutants created through travel come from the arrival, departure and method of transport. A train ride produces 27x less CO2 than a comparable car drive, so every journey adds up - and there’s nothing quite like the mindful travel of the Swiss railways.
On the plate, it’s no secret how fresh, and locally-sourced, alpine food is. This isn’t some sustainability-drive, this is just the way here; the culture of eating in the mountains. When you’ve got such organic brilliance on your doorstep, why look further afield? Switzerland is where the water is clear and the air is pure. Coming to enjoy it? Do so Swisstainably. It’s the Swiss way.
100% Women: Getting Women Out in the Mountains
In 1864, at a time when women still faced extreme stigmas for climbing mountains, the British climber Lucy Walker became the first to ascend the Balmhorn, in the Bernese Alps, on the border of the Bernese Oberland and Valais. Walker would follow up the feat with the first ever female ascent of the Eiger the same year - and the Wetterhorn two years later, in 1866.
Come 1871, it was clear that it would be either Walker or the American mountaineer Meta Brevoort who would become the first woman to climb the Matterhorn. After hearing that Brevoort was in the midst of planning a route, Walker dropped all other plans and, wearing a long flannel skirt, ascended the 4,478m mountain - earning international acclaim in the process.
As a mountain guide, I have often experienced how female climbers can be more relaxed tackling challenges as part of a women’s rope team.
"
Competitors so far include the Swiss pop singer Beatrice Egli, who is a passionate hiker and nature-lover, but was completely new to alpine climbing and mountaineering.
She ascended the Matterhorn in July 2021, describing it as “a lifelong dream and one of the greatest challenges of my career.” The British Mountaineer Olivia Jane also decided to take on the Matterhorn, following in her hero Lucy Walker’s footsteps exactly 150 years to the day that Lucy Walker climbed the mountain. “If I can do it, anyone can,” she said. “They’re my words of wisdom.”
In 1863, the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) was founded to aid climbers. In 1907, women were actively excluded from this group - leading to the founding of the Women’s Alpine Club, who refused to be bystanders, in 1918. These two clubs merged back into one in 1980 - and today, 40% of all SAC members are women, with that number rising above 40% for new members.
The 100% women initiative is aimed at helping women fulfil their high-alpine potential and shows that discrimination doesn’t decide who can access the mountains. Determination does.
Today, inspired by the feats of Lucy Walker, the Switzerland Tourism initiative 100% Women celebrates the achievements of women in the mountains, and is empowering even more women to get out into the Alps and follow in her footsteps on the high summits.
The 100% Women campaign is encouraging women to turn a passion for hiking into a love of mountaineering, by organising exclusive all-women rope parties to encourage more outings.
Rita Christen is the President of the Swiss Mountain Guide Association, and said:
Photography: ©Valais/Wallis
Photography: Melanie Uhkoetter
Photography: Caroline Fink
Photography: Caroline Fink
Photography: ©Gabriel Premand
The Swiss Alps have been the setting for some of the most remarkable, innovative and significant events in the history of outdoor sports and alpine adventure. Skiing, mountaineering, and a truly, meaningfully connection with nature aren’t just hobbies here - they’re a lifestyle.
Barriers to the outdoors are broken down in Switzerland. The mountains are open to all.
snow sports hotel
Barriers to the outdoors are broken down in Switzerland. The mountains are open to all.
Read more on Sustainable winter activities in Switzerland here
The mountain air is crisp and clear in the Swiss Alps. The glimmering lakes reflect the mountains that face them, and the mountains are blanketed by pure, white, powdery snow. As we wander through this enchanting environment, we feel at one with it - as should be the way.
Winter in Switzerland is a scene as idyllic as it gets, but we have to look after nature if we’re going to continue enjoying it - and continue hiking through enchanting forests, snowshoeing past scenic waterfalls and skiing on fluffy snow, in front of remarkable mountain views. The way we travel should reflect that. It should be mindful, appreciative, and it should be eco-friendly.
The Switzerland Tourism initiative Swisstainable rewards those arriving by train rather than plane, with deals available on accommodation, ski tickets and ski rental and practical luggage transport.
The Swisstainable approach means appreciating nature, embracing local culture and regional experiences, consuming regional products and staying for longer - to delve deeper into all of that. As far as getting around on public transport in Switzerland, you’re in good hands. There’s railway heritage here. Not only do you have Europe’s oldest mountain railway, the Vitznau-Rigi train, which dates back to 1871, you also have Europe’s highest train station (the remarkable Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe) and the world’s longest and deepest railway tunnel, the Gotthard tunnel (57km).
Travelling by train gives you a lay of the land. You don’t just pop up at your final destination - you watch the world go by your window, stress-free, as lakes turn to foothills and mountains.
Check out the Switzerland Travel Centre for info and advice on those iconic panoramic rail journeys with spectacular mountain views. The train truly is something special in Switzerland.
Every day, 9,600 trains travel along the 3,000km SBB rail network, and over six million people are transported by rail. A full 70-80% of the pollutants created through travel come from the arrival, departure and method of transport. A train ride produces 27x less CO2 than a comparable car drive, so every journey adds up - and there’s nothing quite like the mindful travel of the Swiss railways.
On the plate, it’s no secret how fresh, and locally-sourced, alpine food is. This isn’t some sustainability-drive, this is just the way here; the culture of eating in the mountains. When you’ve got such organic brilliance on your doorstep, why look further afield? Switzerland is where the water is clear and the air is pure. Coming to enjoy it? Do so Swisstainably. It’s the Swiss way.
Swisstainable: A Mountain Philosophy
100% Women: Getting Women Out in the Mountains
In 1864, at a time when women still faced extreme stigmas for climbing mountains, the British climber Lucy Walker became the first to ascend the Balmhorn, in the Bernese Alps, on the border of the Bernese Oberland and Valais. Walker would follow up the feat with the first ever female ascent of the Eiger the same year - and the Wetterhorn two years later, in 1866.
Come 1871, it was clear that it would be either Walker or the American mountaineer Meta Brevoort who would become the first woman to climb the Matterhorn. After hearing that Brevoort was in the midst of planning a route, Walker dropped all other plans and, wearing a long flannel skirt, ascended the 4,478m mountain - earning international acclaim in the process.
Swisstainable: A Mountain Philosophy
Today, inspired by the feats of Lucy Walker, the Switzerland Tourism initiative 100% Women celebrates the achievements of women in the mountains, and is empowering even more women to get out into the Alps and follow in her footsteps on the high summits.
The 100% Women campaign is encouraging women to turn a passion for hiking into a love of mountaineering, by organising exclusive all-women rope parties to encourage more outings.
Rita Christen is the President of the Swiss Mountain Guide Association, and said:
As a mountain guide, I have often experienced how female climbers can be more relaxed tackling challenges as part of a women’s rope team.
"
Competitors so far include the Swiss pop singer Beatrice Egli, who is a passionate hiker and nature-lover, but was completely new to alpine climbing and mountaineering.
She ascended the Matterhorn in July 2021, describing it as “a lifelong dream and one of the greatest challenges of my career.” The British Mountaineer Olivia Jane also decided to take on the Matterhorn, following in her hero Lucy Walker’s footsteps exactly 150 years to the day that Lucy Walker climbed the mountain. “If I can do it, anyone can,” she said. “They’re my words of wisdom.”
In 1863, the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) was founded to aid climbers. In 1907, women were actively excluded from this group - leading to the founding of the Women’s Alpine Club, who refused to be bystanders, in 1918. These two clubs merged back into one in 1980 - and today, 40% of all SAC members are women, with that number rising above 40% for new members.
The 100% women initiative is aimed at helping women fulfil their high-alpine potential and shows that discrimination doesn’t decide who can access the mountains. Determination does.
Photography: Melanie Uhkoetter
Photography: Caroline Fink
Photography: Caroline Fink