When traveling to Geneva for either business or pleasure, one must dedicate some time to explore the nearby Swiss Alps and simply admire the sheer glory and splendor of this infamous mountain chain.
Train travel in Switzerland shows you countryside like no other. The panorama takes you on a journey though rolling vineyards and gardens, manicured farms and hidden lakes, perched villas and jaw-dropped cliffs. As to which train ride to choose and what station to stop at, well, that is up to you.
One can choose to take the Swiss Chocolate Train which takes you from Gruyères to Montreux in a vintage 1915 “Belle Époque” Pullman car or in a panorama car. Gruyères is a stunning little hill-top medieval town adorned with a quaint castle that has now become world-famous for its cheese.
As for Montreux, it is Switzerland’s own version of the French Riviera. The city offers a delightful flower-bound promenade along Lake Geneva that leads to the legendary Chillon Castle .
One can choose the Golden Pass Train that glides from Montreux to Luzern by way of Gstaad and Interlaken. Gstaad is internationally known as of the most striking and luxurious sky town resort in the Swiss Alps.
Interlaken is a small town notorious for its impressive mountain scenery set on a alluvial plain between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz while Luzern is simply heaven-sent with its small wooden Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) and its charming medieval center.
Or one can make up its own itinerary by hoping on or off wherever and whenever it beauty of the surrounding strikes. One thing is for sure, regardless of your journey, you will enjoy every minute of your train ride through the dreamland of Switzerland.
Roxanne Genier