Grand Tour Switzerland: The Complete Round Trip

Basel thrives around the powerful Rhine, which splits the historic city center in two and dictates the city's rhythm. On the hill stands the Basel Minster, an eleventh-century red sandstone cathedral with colorful roof tiles. From the Mittlere Brücke, you can watch cargo ships pass on the water. The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the oldest public art collection in the world. Residents enjoy a relaxed atmosphere when they gather on the steps of the Rhine Promenade.

With a width of 150 meters and a height of 23 meters, the Rheinfall is Europe's largest waterfall. You can view the masses of water from the platforms near the ninth-century Schloss Laufen or take a boat to the Rheinfallfelsen in the middle of the current. A walk across the railway bridge offers views over the full width of the river. Parking facilities are available for visits with larger vehicles.

Zürich combines an Old Town full of historic guild houses with the expansive shores of Lake Zurich. You can see the striking towers of the twelfth-century Grossmünster rising high above the rooftops. In the Fraumünster, you can admire the colourful 20th-century stained-glass windows. The Limmat River flows right through the city centre, bringing a lively atmosphere to the quays. Along the lakeside promenade, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the snow-capped peaks of the Alps.

Colourfully painted wooden houses give Appenzell's Hauptgasse a lively appearance. From Wasserauen, a cable car takes you to the 1644-meter-high Ebenalp in the Alpstein massif. Here you'll discover the Wildkirchli caves with a unique rock chapel, carved into the mountainside. Nearby is the Berggasthaus Äscher, spectacularly built against a vertical rock face. A hiking trail leads you to the tranquil Seealpsee at an altitude of 1143 meters, where the mountain peaks reflect in the clear water.

Walensee is located in Eastern Switzerland between the seven peaks of the Churfirsten and the rolling meadows of the south bank. The Seerenbach Waterfall plunges 585 meters here in three stages, making it one of the highest waterfalls in the country. You can only reach the car-free village of Quinten by boat or on foot, where even figs and grapes grow due to the mild climate. In the harbours of Weesen and Walenstadt, you can swim in the clear water.

Chur is considered the oldest city in Switzerland and preserves its history in a car-free centre full of narrow alleys. At its heart stands the Kathedrale Sankt Maria with its monumental architecture. With the cable car, you float to the mountain pastures of Brambrüesch at 1600 metres for a panoramic view over the Rhine Valley. In local wine bars, you can taste wines from the Bündner Herrschaft. On the station square, a lively hustle and bustle prevails at the departure of the red Bernina Express.

Scuol is a Rhaeto-Romanic village in the Lower Engadine where you will find houses with traditional sgraffito paintings. In the Bogn Engiadina Scuol wellness center, you can bathe in mineral water from local springs. Just outside the village center stands Schloss Tarasp, an eleventh-century castle perched on a hundred-meter-high rock above the Inn River. Via the side valley Val S-charl, you reach the edge of the Swiss National Park for walks through larch forests.

The Swiss National Park in Graubünden is the oldest national park in the Alps, founded in 1914. From the gateway Zernez, you hike through larch forests to Val Trupchun to observe red deer, chamois, and ibex. The ascent of Munt La Schera at an altitude of 2587 meters offers views over the mountain peaks and the Livigno reservoir. You explore the area via marked trails where you strictly adhere to the routes.

St. Moritz is located at over eighteen hundred metres in the Engadin, on a lake that freezes over in winter to become a plain where horse races are held. The town saw the first winter tourism in the Alps in 1864 and hosted the Winter Olympics twice. From Corviglia, you can look across the valley to the Bernina glaciers. According to local counts, the sun shines here for more than three hundred days a year.

Steep granite peaks and vast chestnut forests define the rugged landscape of Val Bregaglia. In the charming village of Soglio, you can stroll past the seventeenth-century Palazzo Salis, where historic gardens overlook the mountain peaks. The north face of Piz Badile, at 3,308 meters high, towers above the jagged peaks of the Sciora group. Those who follow the paths through the forests will experience the tranquility of this Alpine valley as the sun shines on the grey rock faces.

In Lugano you experience a charming mix of alpine grandeur and Mediterranean atmosphere. A cable car takes you to the 925-meter high Monte Brè or Monte San Salvatore, both with expansive views. The Cattedrale di San Lorenzo in the center displays its Renaissance facade. Along the waterfront, you can stroll through Parco Ciani, a green oasis of 63,000 square meters. The lively city offers a relaxed atmosphere for a walk along Lago di Lugano.

Locarno exudes a Mediterranean atmosphere on the shores of Lago Maggiore. On Piazza Grande, you can stroll under the historic arcades. A cable car takes you to the fifteenth-century pilgrimage church Madonna del Sasso, high above the city. At Falconeria Locarno, you can see demonstrations with birds of prey. Along the Lungolago di Ascona, you can enjoy a relaxed promenade with views over the water. The lively squares and the shimmering lake invite you to a pleasant stay.

The Gotthard Pass is located at an altitude of 2106 meters and connects Central Switzerland with the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. On the south side, you drive along the Tremola, a cobblestone road that climbs the slope with dozens of hairpin bends. At the Gotthard Pass summit, you will find the San Gottardo Museum in a building from 1834, where you can learn more about the history of this Alpine crossing.

Andermatt is located in the Urseren Valley at a crossroads of eight mountain passes in the Swiss Alps. In the nearby Schöllenenschlucht, the Teufelsbrücke spans the Reuss River. Take the cable car to the summit of the Gemsstock at 2961 meters for a view of hundreds of mountain peaks in Central Switzerland. Hikers and cyclists will find paths here that lead deep into the surrounding valleys.

Sharp hairpin bends lead over the Furkapas along steep walls to an altitude of over 2400 meters. At the pass height, you walk through the blue ice cave of the Rhône Glacier, which is carved into the ice annually. The abandoned Belvedere Hotel stands in a bend above the rugged granite massif. Historic steam trains of the Furka-Dampfbahn pull with white plumes of smoke across the mountain flanks. From the motorhome pitches, you can see the snow-capped Bernese Alps among the alpine flowers.

The Aletsch Glacier in the Bernese Alps, with a length of 23 kilometers, is the largest glacier in the Alps and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. From the Eggishorn and Bettmerhorn, you can overlook the ice mass and the deep glacial crevasses. Here you can hike along the Märjelensee or through forests of Swiss pines, surrounded by mountain peaks over four thousand meters high. In the nearby car-free mountain villages, you can stay in a high-alpine environment.

The Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Bernese Oberland is a deep U-shaped valley with vertical rock faces and 72 waterfalls. In the valley are the 297-meter-high Staubbach Falls and the Trümmelbach Falls, where glacier water forces its way through the interior of the mountain. By cable car, you can reach the 2970-meter-high summit of the Schilthorn for views of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau, or you can hike to the car-free villages of Mürren and Wengen.

Interlaken is situated on a plain between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz in the Bernese Oberland. From the viewing platform on the 1322-meter-high Harder Kulm, you can overlook the town and the peaks of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. In the centre, you'll find the Höheweg, where paragliders land on the Höhematte, and cable cars lead to the alpine hiking trails. Due to its flat location in the valley, you can easily explore the surroundings and the shores by bicycle.

The car-free Gruyères is located on a hilltop and is known for its eponymous cheese and the thirteenth-century Château de Gruyères. In this castle, you can visit the halls and gardens, or view the surreal collection of artist HR Giger in his museum. At the cheese dairy La Maison du Gruyère, you can see how the cheese is produced in the traditional way. The cobbled streets lead to the surrounding alpine meadows.

Montreux is a lakeside resort on Lac Léman that charms with its thirteenth-century water castle Château de Chillon. This castle, situated on a rock in the lake, shows you medieval life. To the west are the Lavaux vineyard terraces, a UNESCO World Heritage site where narrow roads connect wine villages. From the flower-lined promenade, you look out over the water to the snow-capped French Alps. The relaxed atmosphere of Montreux, with the Alps as a backdrop, offers a magnificent view over the lake.

Bern owes its prestige to its medieval core, which is entirely on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In the heart of the city stands the Zytglogge, a fifteenth-century astronomical clock where moving figures indicate the time. Those who climb the tower of the Bern Minster look out over the old town and the winding Aare. On the riverbank, brown bears forage in the Bärengraben. The facades along the banks define the lively cityscape as the Aare flows by.

Basel thrives around the powerful Rhine, which splits the historic city center in two and dictates the city's rhythm. On the hill stands the Basel Minster, an eleventh-century red sandstone cathedral with colorful roof tiles. From the Mittlere Brücke, you can watch cargo ships pass on the water. The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the oldest public art collection in the world. Residents enjoy a relaxed atmosphere when they gather on the steps of the Rhine Promenade.