What to do in the Pays-d’Enhaut region, Switzerland

The tranquil Pays-d’Enhaut Mountain Region is nestled between Lausanne and Interlaken, in the pre-Alps of the Canton Vaud. It is a beautiful place to visit on private tours of Switzerland as there are many things to see and do.

Rougemont

Enjoy the outdoors

All year round, outdoors enthusiasts can enjoy many activities in the Pays-d’Enhaut Region. In summer, there are more than 300 kilometers of hiking and mountain bike trails to explore. In winter, you can go skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing or sledging.  

Explore the Alpine villages

The traditional Alpine villages in the Pays-d’Enhaut offer a fascinating journey into the history of this stunning corner of Switzerland. In Rougemont, Rossinière and L’Étivaz you can see historic churches, old timber houses and chalets, and many historic monuments. Local artisans pass their skills from one generation to generation and visiting their wood carving, patchwork, lace making and pottery  workshops is like stepping back in time.

The Hot Air Balloons Festival

Ride a hot air balloon

Château-d’Oex is the world’s capital of hot air ballooning. The stunning views over the Alps, from Mont-Blanc to the Eiger, the Matterhorn, the Jura and Lake Geneva will take your breath away. Here you can also visit a hot air balloon museum, Espace Ballon, to discover how they are operated and learn how the first around the world hot air balloon flight was launched from Château-d’Oex in 1999. 

Every year, the town hosts the International Hot Air Balloons Festival that attracts visitors from across the globe.

Étivaz Cheese

Sample local Alpine cheese

Do not miss a chance to taste the famous Étivaz mountain cheese that has been made in the area since the 12^th century. In the charming village of L’Étivaz you can visit the maturing cellars and learn how the cheese is produced from the fragrant milk of the indigenous Simmental cows, one of the world’s oldest breeds of cattle. The best way to enjoy the Alpine flavours of Étivaz is in a local bar with a glass of crisp Swiss wine admiring the snow-capped peaks around the village.

Photos by: Roland Zumbühl/Wikimedia Commons, Festival International de Ballons à Château-d'Oex/Facebook, Joselu Blanco/Flickr.

Blooming beautiful: flower events in Switzerland

If you think Switzerland is all about snow-capped peaks and ski resorts think again. On private tours of Switzerland in spring and early summer you can also see some spectacular bloom displays that will take your breath away.

The Tulip Festival in Morges

The Tulip Festival, Morges

From mid-April for six weeks more than 120,000 tulips of 300 varieties burst in bloom in Parc de l'Indépendance in Morges, on the shore of Lake Geneva. This much anticipated free event attracts thousands of locals and tourists alike who come to the town to admire the riot of spring colours that the festival is. The event has been organized by the Lake Geneva Horticultural Society since 1971 with horticulture apprentices tending to the tulip bulbs in the park. Morges itself is a very pleasant town with several historic sites such as prehistoric pile dwellings, a castle, old inns and Bronze Age settlements.

Jardin des Iris

The Iris Garden at Vullierens Castle, Vullierens

In the Iris Garden (Jardin des Iris) 50,000 irises of over 500 varieties bloom for four weeks from mid-May at the private Vullierens Castle. American-born Doreen Bovet, the owner of the castle, started the irises collection in 1950 opening her garden to the public in 1955. Set against dramatic views of the Alps, you can admire irises in all imaginable shades and colours: honey, purple, orange, mahogany with many new varieties added every year. At the castle, you can also taste the excellent wines produced on its grounds and see a large collection of sculptures. After the irises finish blooming, the garden fills up with fragrant lilies until the end of August.

Alpine Flowers

Alpine Garden, Schatzalp

From June to September the two-hectare Alpine Garden (Alpinum Schatzalp) becomes a colourful display of blooming high-altitude flowers from the Pyrenees, New Zealand, China, Nepal and Tibet. The garden, which is part of the historic Hotel Schatzalp, is surrounded by dense forests, alpine pastures and is a pleasure to walk in listening to the sound of birds and running mountain brook at a distance.

Photos by: Maarten Danial, Jardin des Iris/Facebook, Peter Stevens.

Sechseläuten, springtime festival in Zurich

In mid-April, as the weather get warmer and trees burst in blooms, a springtime festival, Sechseläuten, is celebrated in Zurich. It is a beautiful event that attracts tens of thousands spectators and can be visited on private tours of Switzerland.

Sechseläuten in Zurich

The festival’s tradition goes back to the 16th century, when the City Council decided that in summer work should stop an hour later than in the winter. The second largest bell rang out at 6.00pm to introduce the new working hours and the beginning of spring for Zurich’s residents. The festival’s name, Sechseläuten, literally means “the six o’clock ringing of the bells”.

In the 19^th century the bell ringing was combined with another great tradition that existed in the city, - burning of a snowman-like figure called Böögg to chase winter away. 

The festival opens on Sunday afternoon with up to 3,000 children marching through the city dressed in historic costumes.

Parade of the Guilds

On Monday afternoon, the Parade of the Guilds takes place with 3,500 members of the various city’s guilds walking through the streets accompanied by 350 horsemen, 50 horse-drawn parade floats and 30 music bands. Until the end of the 18th century, the guilds, associations of craftsmen, played an important role in governing the city, however, nowadays, they mainly carry out social functions.

Burning of the Böögg

The climax of the festival is the burning of the Böögg at 6pm on Sechseläutenplatz, on the shore of Lake Zurich. The snowman figure is 3.40m high and is placed on the top of a 10m tall bonfire. The popular believe is that the faster the fire reaches the snowman figure and his head explodes, the hotter the summer will be. If it takes 10-15 minutes for the Böögg to explode, summer will be rainy and cold. Horse riders gallop around the burning snowman, music plays and everyone cheers waiting for the explosion to greet arrival of the spring. 

The festival continues with a street feast of grilled sausages and other local delicacies. 

Photo via Flickr by: Conrado Plano, Adnan Yahya, Denis De Mesmaeker

Saas Fee, the Pearl of the Swiss Alps

At the foot of the Dom, the highest mountain in Switzerland that rises 4545m above sea level, lies a glacier village of Saas Fee. It is often called the Pearl of the Swiss Alps for the stunning views of the thirteen high peaks that surround the village.
This gorgeous little town is the perfect destination for unforgettable Private Tours of Switzerland!

Saas Fee

Good reliable snow at an altitude between 2500m and 3500m makes Saas Fee a popular winter sports resort. With its 22 lifts, 62 miles of ski pistes, 12 miles of winter walking trails, many toboggan runs and a long cross-country ski trail keep the visitors busy. 

Saas Fee is also a busy destination in summer as outdoors enthusiasts love the 200 miles of walking trails and the “adventure forest” with various obstacle courses, rope bridges, the «Feeblitz» summer toboggan run and a network of mountain-bike tracks.

Friendly Marmots

Adrenalin junkies enjoy crossing the Alpin gorge between Saas-Fee and Saas-Grund, swinging on ropes and squeezing past steep rock walls accompanied by a mountain guide. Nature lovers can observe wild live and befriend a few marmots who love getting treats from humans.

One of the most stunning attractions is the Ice Pavilion, a 200-feet long tunnel inside an ancient glacier that is located at the Mittelallalin stop of the subterranean Alpine train (Metro Alpin). Saas Fee is also home to the world's highest revolving restaurant called “Threes!xty”, which sits at an altitude of 3500 metres allowing breathtaking panoramic views of the Swiss Alps.

Saas Fee form above

The traditional village of Saas Fee is car-free and has charming narrow streets with old wooden chalets. There are many excellent restaurants for all budgets. The Michelin-starred Fletschhorn restaurant serves such local delicacies as reindeer, white asparagus and an impressive range of Swiss cheeses. The cosy Vieux Chalet is famous for hearty fondue, raclette and röstis. The village’s several bars and clubs offer great entertainments, live music, wine and beer. 

Photos via Flickr by: Vismar Ravagnani, Andy Harbach, Martha de Jong-Lantink.

International horse race on ice in St. Moritz

Every February, the glamorous town of St. Moritz hosts the White Turf Horse Races. One of the top events in Switzerland, it attracts almost 35,000 spectators from all over the world. The setting cannot be more spectacular: the frozen expanse of the Lake St. Moritz with the majestic Engadine Mountains as a backdrop. 

International jockeys on fine thoroughbreds race at a dizzying speed on the frozen lake three Sundays in February. The event has been running since 1907 and requires a minimum of 12 inches of ice on the lake. Although mild winters are rare in this part of Switzerland, once in a while the race are cancelled due to insufficient ice.

The jockeys compete for Switzerland's most generous race prize of almost half a million Swiss francs (about 490,000 USD). The racing programme is adapted to the winter conditions and includes a trotting race where jockeys ride in a sled and traditional-style horse races. However, the event’s highlight is, undoubtedly, the skikjöring race with male and female jockeys on skis pulled by thoroughbred horses along a 2,700-m-long track. Skikjöring is the only race of its kind in the world and exclusive to the White Turf event. The horses run at a speed up to 31 miles per hour with the skiers being able to control not more than 10 percent of the horses’ movements. Apart from daredevil courage, the race requires exceptional strength, skills in handling the thoroughbreds and high level of preparation. The jockey who collects most points over three Sundays wins a money prize and the title of “King of the Engadine”. 

Skikjoring

Apart from enjoying the races, there are many other things to do. You can enjoy a drink or two in a pop-up bar set up in a decommissioned submarine, browse temporary exhibitions in the tent city covering 130,00 square metres, gorge on hearty Swiss dishes, shop at gastronomic stands or people watch while sipping your champagne.

Photos via Flickr by: Lisa Mardell, Robert Varadi.

Horn sled races in Switzerland

In winter, many horn sled races take place in Switzerland keeping an age-long tradition going. Once farmers used the horn sled to transport hay in winter but they were replaced by modern tractors. The sled has handles that look like ram’s horns, hence the name of this sports equipment Hornschlitten (“horned sled”). 

Hornschlitten

The sled races are believed to have started in Swiss Valley of Grindelwalder in the Bernese Oberland and have a nostalgic tone to them as some teams sometimes dress traditional folk costumes for the competition and load the sled with hay and wood. The world’s first international sled competition took place in Davos in 1883 with nineteen participants from England, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia and the United States racing on a three mile kilometre stretch of road. 

The horn sled has no steering or breaks and is different from other types of sled because of its shape and the upright riding position. It is often referred to as a Grindelwalder after its birthplace and notoriously difficult to ride, as it was not designed for high-speed trills. 

Horn sled race

The races run from January and run until March in the cantons of Graubünden, Valais, Glarus and Bernese Oberland. Teams of two or three people ride the sleds downhill at a breakneck speed of up to 50 miles per hour. Spectators stand along the route and cheer on the racers zooming past them. The competitions are so popular in Switzerland that they are always more than 100 sleds racing in each location. A great comradery exists between racers and they always greet each other with a traditional exclamation “Horn heil!” (“Hail horn!”). 

Each race is more like a festival than just a sports competition. There is always a great atmosphere with folk music, dances, gastronomic stands selling local delicacies and plenty of hearty food and 

drinks to keep the spectators warm and happy.

Photos via Flickr by: Ethreon, Renate Dodell. 

Celebrating the Swiss carnival Fasnacht

It is carnival time in Switzerland from February to March with more than 200 of them celebrated across the country.  The Swiss carnival, Fasnacht, differs from town to town but all of them are noisy, colourful and fun events to see.

Celebrated since the 14th century from Monday to Thursday following Ash Wednesday, Fasnacht in Basel is the largest Swiss carnival. Up to 20,000 dressed up members of local cliques participate in the only Protestant carnival in the world attracting large crowds of spectators. 

Carnival in Basel

The festivities start as the clock strike four in the morning with flute players and drummers in masks costumes march through the old centre. The Cliquen, groups of local carnival participants, carry nine feet high lanterns, as the street lights are switched off for the event.

Costumed parades with floats are organized for Monday and Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday evening, masked musicians (Guggenmusigen) spill out on the streets trying to outplay each other, the louder and more out of tune the better. Dressed up characters walk from one bar to another reading out loud Schnitzelbank, short satirical verses in Swiss German criticizing and ridiculing politicians, the church and celebrities.

Lucerne Fasnacht

One of the main events during Fasnacht celebrations are fire ceremonies. Oversized brooms (Chienbäse), wooden sculptures (Chluri) or straw figures (Böögg) are burnt to symbolise the end of winter. In Sissach, a town near Basel, a wooden figure depicting a public figure is burnt to the crowd’s cheering. The Böögg (the boogie man) is set on fire in Winterthur on the last day of the carnival. 

Carnival in Lucerne

Lucerne’s Fasnacht lasts for six days and is as noisy and colourful as it the famous carnival in Basel. Here, the carnival’s symbols are Fritschi, an elderly man with his wife known as Fritschene, and their child, Fritschikind. The Lucerne carnival is more chaotic and merry than the one in Basel as masked characters and musicians mingle with the crowds rather than march orderly along the streets.

Photos via Flickr by:  Noel Reynolds, Benjamin Chaulet, Roger Levy.