From Art to the Alps, Switzerland Stirs the Soul

From cosmopolitan cities, beautiful scenery and an array of outdoor activities, Switzerland has everything anyone could ever want. Lucerne offers priceless art, medieval architecture and musical revelry. View the exhilarating mountains, waterfalls, and gorges of pastoral Graubünden. Lake Geneva abounds with a variety of festivals, shopping, dining and wine tours.

When our family was transferred to Zurich, the initial prospect was daunting: a foreign city thousands of miles away, with a way of life very different from our own. Of course, the inevitable “growing pains” of relocation reared their ugly heads, but we did not need to worry. Switzerland’s unfathomable beauty and exquisite diversity quickly piqued our curiosities, and it wasn’t long before we were abandoning our homesickness for greener pastures and exotic escapes. We quickly learned that no matter who you are or where you’re from, Switzerland has something—many things—for everyone. While Zurich is our newly adopted home, through weekend retreats with my wife and longer family vacations, we’ve discovered three other regions that have made our move to Switzerland a welcome change.

Lucerne

Festival City

The cultural wealth of Lucerne is astounding, especially for a city of less than 60,000 people. For an introduction to the city, we recommend a short walk from the train station, with its entrance hall by Santiago Calatrava, along the River Reuss and then to the Medieval-era Old Town.

Old Town plays host to several festivals throughout the year, including the end-of-winter Carnival. Our favorite, which we haven’t missed since we moved here, is the Lucerne Festival. This has been the city’s flagship festival since its beginning over 65 years ago.

The world acclaimed festival started when Arturo Toscanini conducted a memorable Concert de Gala in front of Richard Wagner’s residence on Lake Lucerne in 1938. Other events that give Lucerne its nickname, the Festival City, include the Piano, Blues, Mozart and Blue Balls festivals. All of them call the wonderful and acoustically astonishing new festival hall their home.

The Lucerne Theater, one of the most acclaimed theatre companies in Europe, is Lucerne’s performing arts nexus, with its own opera, dance, and acting companies. And the sheer number of museums is mind-boggling, from the Swiss Transport Museum with its IMAX Theatre (the kids’ favorite), to several historical museums (one of which includes a Labyrinth of Mirrors) and many art museums—including my favorite, the Picasso-Museum—as well as the nearly 23,000 square foot Museum of Art Lucerne.

Lucerne’s cultural splendor is complemented perfectly by its natural beauty. A cable car trip to nearby Mt. Pilatus provides amazing Alpine views and over 100 km of trails highlight scenery as far afield as Germany and France.

Graubünden

Nature’s Masterpiece

There’s a reason why Graubünden is Switzerland’s number one tourist destination. Switzerland’s largest canton has it all—including 150 scenic valleys and several dialects of German, Italian, and Romansch. Graubünden is the austere Switzerland of postcards and films like Heidi, and there is no better way to see the area than on the more than 6,500 miles of hiking trails and nearly 2,500 miles of cycling routes that wend their way past lakes, waterfalls and thermal baths. The best hikes are along the Rhine River, where we discovered the river’s source, Lake Toma, and the village of Zillis, home to Europe’s oldest painted wooden ceiling. Our favorite way to relax after a hike is a breathtaking Alpine ride on the Glacier Express train, which links the world-famous resorts of St. Moritz and Zermatt. The train travels through the country’s most beautiful countryside and has been a Switzerland icon since it began in 1930. Graub¨unden also boasts Switzerland’s best skiing, its only National Park, and, for refueling at the end of the day, some wonderful restaurants (try those serving delicious herb dumplings called capuns).

Lake Geneva and Matterhorn

The grown-up’s playground

The best thing about the Lake Geneva region—comprised of Vaud, Valais and Geneva cantons—is its diversity. There’s almost nothing more astonishing than the Matterhorn region and Aletsch Glacier, a UNESCO World Heritage site. For unparalleled views of the legendary Matternhorn, an excursion to the Gornergnat is a must.

Then there are the cities of the region playing host to many festivals, including the Athletissima sports championship, the world renowned Montreux Jazz Festival, and our favorite, the Avenches Opera Festival, held in the breathtaking amphitheatre of the same name. Lake Geneva also has impressive museums, including my favorite, the Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, a factory-turned-43,000 square foot gallery opened in 1994, featuring art of the last 40 years. There is also shopping for traditional music boxes in Sainte Croix (which I have sent as gifts to many friends back home) and Switzerland’s world-famous watches in the Joux Valley.

And for food and dining, no region of Switzerland has more to offer. Countless restaurants provide delicious renditions of traditional Swiss dishes, from crowd-pleasers like fondue to my personal favorite, papet, comprised of sausage, leeks, and potatoes served in a creamy sauce. There are also innumerable tours offering an overview of Lake Geneva’s wineries. My wife and I traveled on the wine train from Vevey to the village of Puidoux-Chexbres, stopping at wineries along the way. To sample the area’s best wines in one location, our pick is L’Oenotheque, where 500 wines and over 70 winemakers are represented.