Swiss Mountain Treasures

DAY 1

Travelling by Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris, then onwards to Basel and our base for two nights, the GAIA Hotel*, where we check in and enjoy our first evening meal together.

*In October, our hotel will be the Hotel Victoria in Basel.

DAY 2

This morning, we enjoy a leisurely breakfast before our private guided tour of Basel where we will visit the best sights of the city and can admire the contrasting modern and historic architecture of this beautiful city. The evening is free for you to dine at leisure in one of the many local restaurants.

DAY 3

After breakfast this morning, we travel by train to Thun to set sail on Lake Thun, nestled against an imposing mountain backdrop, towards Interlaken. Here, we take the funicular up to the Harder Kulm whose peak boasts magnificent views of lakes and mountains, and a lovely Panorama Restaurant where we enjoy a coffee and cake. Following our visit, we continue by local train to idyllic Grindelwald and our hotel for the next seven nights, the Hotel Kreuz & Post, where we enjoy our evening meal together.

DAY 4

Today, we enjoy a day of steam in wonderful mountain scenery on the Brienz Rothorn Railway, an historic steam cog railway that has climbed Rothorn Kulm (2,244m) since 1892 at incredible gradients; the thrilling ride through meadows and forests leads to spectacular mountain panoramas. Afterwards, we enjoy a leisurely cruise along Lake Brienz to Interlaken before returning by rail to Grindelwald in time for our evening meal together.

DAY 5

This morning, we travel high into the spectacular mountains to Oberwald where we take a vintage train on the Furka Cogwheel Steam Railway along the original route of the Glacier Express - crossing viaducts, journeying through tunnels, and past alpine meadows full of flowers. Marvel at the Rhone Glacier viewed between snow-covered mountain peaks en route to the line's terminus at Realp before returning to Grindelwald by train.

DAY 6

After breakfast, we have the day at leisure to relax in Grindelwald or use your included Bernese Oberland Pass to explore the public transport system of this beautiful region. Most railways are covered in the pass, including the lines to Lucerne and Bern, Switzerland's handsome capital city, or maybe visit Gstaad on the Golden Pass Line or your pass will provide a discount on the Jungfrau Railway to the top of Europe.

Day 7

Today, we transfer by rail to Interlaken and enjoy our third nostalgic steam excursion of the tour as we travel to Meiringen on the superb Brünig Steam Railway. During the return journey on the 100-year-old rolling stock, we enjoy incredible views of the turquoise waters of Lake Brienz and the surrounding mountains before returning to Grindelwald in time for our evening meal together.

DAY 8

Today, another highlight awaits as we head for Wilderswil to join our train up to Schynige Platte through impressive forests and alpine pastures, with fantastic views of Lakes Thun and Brienz. On our journey, we are treated to beautiful views of the triple peaks: the Mönch, Eiger, and Jungfrau. This evening, we enjoy our evening meal together.

DAY 9

Today, we experience one of the most amazing rail journeys in Switzerland as we travel by train and cable car to the summit of the Schilthorn - the 'James Bond' mountain. We have free time to visit the revolving Piz Gloria Restaurant, Bond World, 007 Walk of Fame, and the Piz Gloria View embedded in a beautiful mountain environment with views of more than 200 Alpine peaks. Following our visit, we continue to the thundering, glacier fed Trümmelbach Falls, Europe's largest subterranean waterfalls, before returning in time for our evening meal together.

DAY 10

After breakfast this morning, we retrace our steps to Basel where we enjoy our final evening and farewell dinner together.

DAY 11

We bid farewell to Switzerland, returning by rail to Paris, where we will join the Eurostar service to London St Pancras.

B=Breakfast, LR=Light Refreshments, D=Dinner