Mountain Paradise: The Best of West Switzerland

The ancient Swiss town lies at the center of four key Alpine passes: the Gotthard Pass to southern Switz­er­land, the Gösch­en­eralp Pass to north-central Switz­er­land, the stunning Furka Pass to the Rhone Valley in the west, and the Oberalp Pass to the Rhine Valley. Many gorgeous Alpine drives of various length and diffi­culty can be taken from Ander­matt. A rela­tively unchal­lenging yet scenic excur­sion is the three-passes pano­ramic drive around the Rhone Glacier, either in your own car or in one of the canary-yellow Post buses. A truly unfor­gettable expe­r­i­ence is a ride on the Furka Steam Train from Realp to Oberwald.

Zermatt's world-wide renown stems from its proximity to the Matter­horn, the mountain of mountains and most famous landmark in the Alps. Anyone who has ever stood before the mighty peak knows that even the most enthu­siastic descrip­tion will fail to capture its true majesty. The mountain was first scaled by a party of Brits using local guides in 1865. In their rush to beat another party to the top one of the climbers slipped and caused three others to fall to their deaths. The trio are buried in the church­yard next to an English chapel in Zermatt set aside for them and the numerous other Brits who subsequently died attempting to scale the mountain. Climbs to the peak of the Matter­horn are almost a matter of course today. About 3,000 mountai­neers attempt the ascent each year, some­times even leading to overcrowding on the main routes. The Gorner Valley south-east of Zermatt boasts the highest cog railway in Europe. The higher you go the more incred­ible the views of the Matter­horn become.
The town of Zermatt is closed to private vehicles. Visitors must leave their cars at the free car park and take the train to the city.

 World history was written in Geneva during the Reforma­tion, when the reformer Calvin introduced a harsh and strict church discip­line in the city. While dancing, drinking and singing were banned, Calvin allowed an interest-based economy, which was forbidden to Chris­tians in Catholic surround­ings at that time. As a result Geneva became an important trade- and banking center. Today, 200 interna­tional orga­ni­za­tions have their head­quar­ters in Geneva. More than 40% of the inhab­i­tants are foreign nationals. Landmarks in Geneva are the lakefront and the Rhone, on whose bank the three-towered cathedral is located.

However, the name “Ober­land” has been retained and today describes the magnif­i­cent landscape south of Lake Brienz and Lake Thun. The high rainfall is all discharged from the Aare, which flows into the Rhine at Koblenz. To the south, the valleys rise steeply to the glaciated main ridge of the Alps, which reaches well over 4000 metres in alti­tude here. The most famous peaks are Eiger (3967 m), Mönch (4107 m) and Jungfrau (4158 m). They form the border with the canton of Valais.

The citi­zens and merchants benefited from the loca­tion on Gotthards­traße. When the Habsburg Duke Rudolph bought the town in 1291, the rebellious citi­zens joined forces with the orig­inal cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden to secure the survival of the young Swiss Confed­er­a­tion. Pros­perity and beauty are at home in all epochs of the city – in the medieval build­ings, the patri­cian houses of the Renais­sance, the Art Nouveau hotels and the bold build­ings of the present. The landmark is the Kapellbrück (Chapel Bridge) from the 14th century. It leads across the crystal clear lake, which reflects a magnif­i­cent mountain pano­rama.