Our 16-day Swiss Grand Circle itinerary was born out of the following philosophies:
1) Keep a low budget. Ditch the car and hop on Switzerland’s peerless train network. Cook our own meals in apartments where possible instead of staying in hotels and dining out. You get the picture.
2) A broad sampling of Switzerland’s diverse regions. From ultra-traditional Appenzell to the glitzy resort of St Moritz. From the German-speaking highlands to the Italianate canton of Ticino to the French-speaking towns of Lake Geneva. Even passing through small town Italy for a night, all covered by the Swiss Travel Pass.
3) Iconic sights. Matterhorn looming over Zermatt at sunrise. Jungfrau and its eternally glaciated summit. The cliff-side mountain tavern at Ebenalp. Afternoon tea at Badrutt’s Palace in St Moritz. Bern and its medieval townscape. Turquoise mountain lakes. A cheese factory. 13th century castles. Vineyard hikes. And hitting eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites en route.
The Swiss Travel Pass came in 4-day, 8-day or 15-day versions at the time of writing. For our 16-day itinerary we had the choice of paying full price on either Day 1 or Day 16. Our final itinerary was as follows:
Day 01: (Start of 15-Day Swiss Travel Pass) Zürich Airport - Ebenalp Aescher Hike - Appenzell
Day 02: Appenzell - Urnäsch - St Gallen - Appenzell
Day 03: Appenzell - St Moritz - Muottas Muragl Panorama Hike - St Moritz
Day 04: St Moritz - Diavolezza Hike - Corviglia Hike - St Moritz
Day 05: St Moritz - Bellinzona - Castle Hike - Locarno
Day 06: Locarno - Domodossola - Sacro Monte Calvario - Domodossola
Day 07: Domodossola - Saturday Market - Zermatt - Gornergrat Rail - Zermatt
Day 08: Zermatt - Klein Matterhorn Cableway - Zermatt
Day 09: Zermatt - Chillon Castle - Lake Geneva Cruise - Lavaux Vineyard Hike - Montreux
Day 10: Montreux - Gruyères - Montreux
Day 11: Montreux - Murten - Bern
Day 12: Bern - Schilthorn Cableway - Trümmelbach Falls - Lauterbrunnen
Day 13: Lauterbrunnen - Männlichen-Kleine Scheidegg Hike - Jungfrau - Lauterbrunnen
Day 14: Lauterbrunnen - Lake Brienz Cruise - Ballenberg - Lauterbrunnen
Day 15: Lauterbrunnen - Luzern (End of 15-Day Swiss Travel Pass)
Day 16: Luzern - Zürich Airport (Pay full price)
Note that I purposely skipped Basel after visiting the city several years back, but that can be inserted into the itinerary by adding one more day before Bern. Also, fans of Geneva or Lausanne could replace Montreux with their favourite city on Lake Geneva as a homebase, albeit with longer travel times to Gruyères and possibly warranting at least one more day.
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