My Three Travel Secrets, Part 1

I was recently tagged by Lori of The 3 Star Traveler, to share three of my best kept travel secrets. Lori is a fellow blogger who just left Brazil to move back home to the States. I met her through her other blog, Fake Food Free.

I've spent the better part of the past two years traveling. My travel partner, Nate, and I have become pretty good at navigating European roads, airports, and train stations. With my careful planning, travel books, maps, and neurosis coupled with Nate's sense of adventure, fingers crossed that Google Maps on the Blackberry works, and calmness we take Europe by storm.   

My first secret: Western Switzerland Road Trip

Geneva, Switzerland was our first stop when we moved to Europe. We spent six months there and nearly every weekend we rented a car and drove - East to France, North to Germany, South to Italy. If you are an American and used to driving, the distances to so many places from Geneva will seem like a breeze. From all of our roadtrips here is an itinerary of a circular road trip that hits some of Switzerland's best. This roadtrip takes you through the Swiss and French Alps so take note that some roads may be closed during the winter months.

You can fly into Geneva easily from the US. There are direct flights from New York and connections with every major European city. Geneva is part of the French speaking part of Switzerland and right on the western edge of Lake Geneva or Lac Léman. It sits just under the Alps, and glacier skiing is a mere 45 minutes away by car. Geneva is a charming town with cobblestone streets running through the old town and clocks and chocolate in abundant supply.

From Geneva head north-east along the lake towards Montreux. There are multiple towns along the way that are worth a stop. Just past Montreux is Château de Chillon. 

A tour of the castle on the lake is absolutely worth it and look for Lord Byron's name in the dungeon - he etched into one of the pillars when he was held captive there in the 1500s.

From Montreux head north to Bern, stopping at Gruyère along the way. Park at the base of the old town and walk up, checking out the lovely cows, who even have the Swiss bells tied to their necks!

They are responsible for the milk that makes the lovely Gruyère cheese for the best grilled cheese!

Make sure to tour the Old Town.

And, visit the Château de Gruyère for its wonderful views.

Eat lots of cheese and continue on to Bern.

Bern is home to a gorgeous medieval old town and a famous, 800 year-old clock tower.

From Bern head south towards Thun to get to Interlaken. 

At Interlaken head into the Alps taking both forks to Grindelwald and Gimmelwald. Definitely take the train up to Wengen for this amazing view - 

From Gimmelwald take the series of cable cars up to the Schilthorn. From here you can see the Eiger and Jungfrau. This shot was taken last year on a gorgeous April spring day.

After you return back to Interlaken, head east and then south towards the Grimselpass. This is the famous Swiss mountain pass, with amazing views. The Grimselpass is closed during the winter months.

After crossing the pass, head west towards Brig. Just past Brig is Visp. From Visp you can take a train to Zermatt. Visitors can not drive into Zermatt. This is in an effort to protect the air quality, reduce congestion, and provide a better view of the Matterhorn.

Once you have collected your car at Visp, continue west towards Sierre and Sion.

In Sion visit the Château de Tourbillon for a great view of the town's fortified church, the Basilique de Valère.

Continue west towards Martigny. You have now entered the region from where the Swiss mountain rescue dogs - St Bernards - come from. You can take the Great Saint Bernard Pass back towards Lake Geneva, but I suggest continuing west towards the French Alps. You could take the road a bit and backtrack. You will be treated to some quintessential Swiss landscapes...

And, you may also get a chance to see a few of the St Bernards born and bred here. Nate has his heart set on one of these.

After you leave these pups behind, continue west towards Mont Blanc. Ski Chamonix or any of the many surrounding ski areas for glacier skiing.

And, if you get lucky you might just see another puppy.

After you've had your fill of skiing and hiking the alps, treat yourself to a large, hot pot of Swiss fondue!

For a relaxing reward after all this roadtripping head to Lake Annecy. During the warmer months of the year you can swim in the lake.

The town is beautiful and peppered with many fabulous restaurants.

Nate and I often traveled in Switzerland without booking in advance. We figured, worst case we would sleep in the car. This allowed us to take more time in the places we liked and to quickly visit the places that didn't interest us as much. We always found a place to stay, but it also meant not being picky, or driving on to the next town. If you must plan in advance and are taking this roadtrip I would recommend staying a few nights (2-3) in the Interlaken area, one night in Zermatt, one night in the Martigny area, one night in the French/Swiss (Bernese) Alps (more if you are skiing or hiking), one night at Lake Annecy, and one night in Geneva (possibly two if you are there during the summer months). 

This was a pretty long secret so, my second and third secrets to follow...

Comments

[OysterCulture]

What fun, and you hit Annecy which I think is a gem! If you navigated that town driving with google on your blackberry - I salute you!

There is something to be said for spontaneous road trips and this sounds like one of the best! We've traveled like that as well and the added sense of adventure heightens the fun. We never had to sleep in our car or train station - yet!

I look forward to your upcoming installments and am curious about your traveling secrets to NorCal - look forward to hearing stories in person.

[Sophie]

I so love Switserland!! I visited it many years with my parents & friends! I so love walking in the summer in the mountains, eating & tasting the lovely food such as cheeses, wine, choclates,etc!! I love Sion as well!

What lovely trips you made!! I also love spontaneous road trips from time to time,..

[Natasha - 5 Star Foodie]

What a great trip! I love the virtual tour! Thank you for sharing this secret, looking forward to the other two secrets!

[lisa]

Gorgeous, is all I can say. You must have had a blast! My boyfriend and I were talking about taking a trip to Switzerland to go snowboarding sometime. What a beautiful secret you've shared! And those grilled cheese sandwiches?? Awesome.

[Daily Spud]

My favourite part of the tour? The instruction to "eat lots of cheese" of course :) I've really seen very little of Switzerland - just Geneva, Zurich and not much else. If and when I get there again, I'm taking your itinerary with me!

[Crystal]

Your photos are magnificent, as are the distances you travel! But as you say, for non-Europeans (I'm South African born) it's not that far. I live in the south-west of France and will be back at the end of Feb, so if you want to explore France countryside, pop on by.

[Lori]

The grilled cheese, St. Bernard and fondue - I am in love with that place. Ha, ha! What a beautiful tour that makes me want to visit even more! So glad you participated. This is great.

[zerrin]

These photos are gorgeous! I hope I can visit these places one day. You definitely made me so curious.
Happy new year to you and your family.

[Cynthia]

Sleeping in your car! You are truly a die-hard traveler. And finding Lord Byron's name in a dungeon sounds straight out of a fairy tale. I hope to have as many adventures as you have in my life. What great things to aspire to see.

[Jamie]

Wow would I love to travel with you! Sadly we have never visited Switzerland (except for a fab weekend in Basle during carneval) even though we took the habit of driving through it between Italy and France. Your photos are stunning and makes me want to visit everything you've seen.

[lisaiscooking]

Sounds like a fantastic road trip! The mountain views are just amazing.