ROAD TRIP

The ultimate Swiss driving tour traversing the Swiss Alps, crossing alpine mountain passes and relaxing on the shore of pristine lakes. You will rest comfortably at 5-star hotels, and enjoy various food & wine specialties from Switzerland in award-winning restaurants. Pass through famous ski resorts, and enjoy views of a varied landscape from mountains to glaciers, and rolling farmland.

• ZURICH TO LUCERNE: This morning your car will be delivered to The Dolder Grand, a vehicle specialist will give you a vehicle briefing, special driving instructions and walk - through, and you will be on your way. From The Dolder Grand enjoy a scenic drive along Zürich Lake, climbing the Ibergeregg Pass where you will discover the typical farm lands of Switzerland, rolling green hills flanked with farms, cows, and historic chalets. The descent on the western side of the pass leads to the spectacular lake of Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee)
• LUCERNE - BERN: Enjoy breakfast overlooking the lake, before continuing your journey west over the Brunigpass to the Bernese Oberland and the Jungfrau Mountains. From Interlaken, head up the dramatic Lauterbrunnen Valley, lined with water falls and hanging glaciers. Park at the Lauterbrunnen train station and board the historic cog railway to Wengen, and upward to Kleine Scheidegg (1hour), lunch on the terrace of the historic Hotel Bellevue des Alpes overlooking the Eiger. descend to the valley and continue on to Bern.
• BERN - LAUSANNE: This morning explore Switzerland’s capital city, tour the UNESCO World Heritage medieval city center, with its colonnaded streets and fountains, finishing with a visit to the famous “Zytlogge”, or astrological clock (option to add private guided tour). Then it's off to Gruyères and the Saananland, explore the walled medieval city of Gruyères, visit the castle that towers of the green Fribourg hills. Climb the Col du Pillon, the border with the Swiss Romande (French-speaking regions of Switzerland), and descend to the Lavaux, terraced vineyards cascading into Lac Leman.
• LAUSANNE - ZERMATT: Set off on a scenic cruise on Lac Leman back to Lausanne aboard a Belle Époque steamship, or set off to explore the city of Lausanne; climb the Escaliers du Marché (wooden stairs) to the Notre-Dame Cathedral built in 1275, the queen of the Old Town of Lausanne, and one of the most important Gothic monuments in Europe. Then it’s back to the mountains; from the south-eastern end of Lac Leman, follow the Swiss Rhône Valley south to the Valais Canton, stopping the city of Sion for lunch and to explore the old town, once a strategic northern outpost of the Roman Empire. Afterwards, the journey to Zermatt continues up the Mattertal, where the valley grows narrower and narrower and hanging glaciers and 4000meter peaks surround you on all sides. 
• ZERMATT: More than 20 gigantic 4,000-metre-high peaks surround the rocky ridge between the Findeln and Gornergletscher, at 1,500 meters above Zermatt. For over a century, a cog railway has made its way here – and still does today. Morning train ride on the historic Gornergrat cog railway (Europe’s highest open-air cog railway built in 1898) direct from Zermatt to the summit of the Gornergrat, with a vertical climb of 1,469 meters. The line leads over dramatic bridges, through galleries and tunnels, across forests of larch and Swiss stone pine, and past rocky ravines and mountain lakes. Spend the morning on an ibex hunt, quietly scanning the cliffs for local wildlife.
• ZERMATT - ASCONA: This morning set off for Ticino the Italian speaking canton of Switzerland. Today’s drive is the most technical of the trip, after descending the Mattertal, climb the Simplon pass and drop down to Lombardy Italia, through Domodossola, and then set off on the incredibly windy and scenic Centovalli - the "Valley of a hundred valleys" which lies between Domodossola and Locarno. Pass deep gorges, waterfalls, chestnut woods and picturesque villages, before dropping down to the palm trees of Lago Maggiore. 
• TICINO - GRAUBUNDEN - ZURICH: Leave the palm trees behind, and head back to Northern Switzerland, stopping first in Bellinzona for a visit to “I Tre Castelli” (The Three Castles), the medieval fortifications, with the castles of Castelgrande, Castello di Montebello and Castello di Sasso Corbaro, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lunch in Bellinzona before heading over the San Bernadino Pass to the Graubunden Canton, considered to be one of the best driving passes in the Alps.