ADVERTISEMENTI smile as Silvia – our tour leader on Intrepid’s eight-day Best of Switzerland rail trip – guides us confidently through Zurich’s main station, tickets to Lucerne in hand. Though Italian, Silvia now spends much of her time in Germany and Switzerland, and she navigates the local railway systems with ease.
Trains are arguably the best way to explore Switzerland, renowned for its punctual transport and panoramic vistas. But there’s more to train travel than hopping on and enjoying the view: timetables, routes and accommodation along the way. All of these factors require know-how and planning, which can prove challenging for time-strapped travellers.
Consequently, companies such as Byway, which help customers book self-guided train itineraries, are proving very successful.
Yet there’s an even easier way to get onboard, thanks to a rise in small-group rail trips like Intrepid’s. Here, a knowledgeable guide and the chance to meet like-minded travel companions are added bonuses.
Intrepid’s Best of Switzerland goes from Lucerne to the Alps, Bulle to Bern
Such benefits inspired me to try my first European Intrepid trip. Driven by a soaring demand for train travel, the small-group adventure company recently launched a rail-based collection spanning old favourites to new itineraries, and it was here that I spotted the Best of Switzerland. Cheese, chocolate and superlative scenery? Swiss bliss indeed.
Switzerland is expensive, and this tour reflects that, with prices starting from €3050. Perhaps due to this, my group was on the older side of Intrepid’s demographic: ranging from 60-something Americans to an Aussie in her forties. I am 33 and there was just one person younger than me. Yet, as I often find on these trips, we bonded well despite our various ages and all relished the ride.
The tour begins: Switzerland’s biggest city and lakeside Lucerne
We begin with an evening welcome meeting and walk in Zurich, before leaving the next morning. With little time spent in Zurich on the trip, I agree with Intrepid’s advice to arrive early and explore.
From fondue spiked with cherry liquor in the old town, to myriad museums and Bahnhofstrasse’s dazzling jewellery, you’ll find plenty here besides watches and banks. I recommend staying three or four days and buying a Zurich Card, which covers public transport, plus discounted entry to multiple attractions.
Up next is Lucerne, about an hour from Zurich by train. Cue a typically scenic journey, where jagged snowy Alps glint in the distance and buzzards soar overhead, followed by a small city with big charm. An azure lake spanned by wooden bridges, frescoed buildings depicting craftsmen and jesters, medieval cobbled streets and city walls – Lucerne is a true supermodel, right down to its mountain backdrop.
Our two days here also include a ‘golden round-trip’ Mount Pilatus tour: covering a steamboat cruise across Lake Lucerne, the world’s steepest cogwheel railway up to the summit, and finally a gondola back. This is slightly ruined by foggy conditions on Pilatus, but as our next stop, two and a half hours by train from Lucerne would show me, fickle mountain weather is hard to avoid.
Into the Alps: The Jungfrau Region and ‘Top of Europe’
Hills dotted with gingerbread chalets, tinkling cowbells, streams rushing through conifer forests; then suddenly fog, mist, a brutal world of rock and snow. Such is my disorientating experience of ascending towards Jungfraujoch, 3454 metres above sea level, in the Eiger Express gondola.
I then catch the Jungfrau Railway – an awesome feat of engineering that saw a tunnel blasted through mountains far above the perennial snow line – and emerge onto the so-called ‘Top of Europe’, where clear conditions promise a stellar Alpine view.
My view? Snowy blizzards. It’s lucky Jungfraujoch has indoor entertainment, including a karst cave and an ice palace, too.
Mountain weather is indeed fickle, but I enjoy our two days of free time in the Jungfrau Region nonetheless. My favourite excursion is Trümmelbach Falls, where subterranean waterfalls plummet through rock ravines in a milky-blue roar. Enhanced by adjacent wildflower meadows, impressionist canvases of purple and yellow, it feels like the setting of a fantasy movie.
The Grindelwald Hotel is also a highlight, with its abundant wood and mellow lighting, as is my cheesy Alpine macaroni in the restaurant. Talking of which, our next stop is cheesy indeed.
Savour cheese, chocolate and Giger in Gruyères
After around three hours and two train changes from Grindelwald, we arrive in Bulle: a pretty pastel town in French-speaking Switzerland.
Our final destination is nearby Gruyères, where we visit a small factory to learn more about its renowned hard nutty cheese. This is often used in fondue, and so beloved that it’s inspired a tradition of intricately carved wooden Gruyère spoons.
My unsurprising highlight is the tasting, as with the chocolatier we visit afterwards. Chocolate is another product that Switzerland famously makes well, particularly via artisanal makers like Richard Uldry, who sources quality cocoa from places like Peru and São Tomé. After explaining his bean-to-bar process, Richard offers us samples of products like his Gruyère double-cream truffles. Yum.
Backed by a massive fang-like mountain that recalls the Matterhorn of old Toblerone packets, Gruyères is as delectable as its food. The red-roofed hilltop town is complete with a medieval château.
It’s also home to a bar and museum celebrating sci-fi artist H.R. Giger (best known for his work on the 1979 film Alien) – visiting this during our free time, I enjoy it almost as much as the cheese. Almost.
The tour ends in UNESCO-listed Bern
Alas, all good things come to an end. Our last stop, around a one-hour train ride from Bulle and back into German-speaking Switzerland, is Bern. Home to a UNESCO-listed old town, complete with unusual underground shops, the Swiss capital is also celebrated for its 13th-century clock tower: a landmark whose secrets we learn on an included behind-the-scenes tour.
Saying goodbye to the group over a rösti dinner, I reflect on my first-ever guided rail journey. Granted, it had been ‘lazier’ than my usual Europe trips, which I navigate with friends or family, but I’d saved several days of planning and met some lovely companions from across the world.
Getting from A to B without worry, thanks to guide Silvia, was also a novelty; after all, mistakes are possible even in Switzerland, especially during tight train changes. I appreciated the mix of included activities and free time too.
Want a multi-stop rail tour without hassle? I believe tours like Intrepid’s are just the ticket.
The writer was a guest of Intrepid.