Culinary Tour through Switzerland

On arrival into Geneva Airport, it’s an easy walk to Geneva Airport Station for the beautiful journey east along the lake to Montreux. For those already in the city a transfer will take you straight from the hotel. The journey time between Geneva and Montreux is only around 1hr 20 minutes and it’s a lovely run along the shore so try to sit on the right-hand side for the best views.

After arrival, make your way along the lake to Chillon Castle, one of the best preserved medieval castles in Europe, located on a rock on the banks of the lake. Continue to the UNESCO-protected vineyards of the Lavaux. This region is known for its centuries-old wine-making traditions. Enjoy a wine tasting in tranquility surrounded by stepped terraces and views out to the lake and the French Alps. You may choose to have dinner at the vineyard (additional cost) or return to the hotel.

Today’s excursion is all about two of Switzerland’s most famous exports, chocolate and cheese. From

Montreux you will head to Gruyeres by 1st class train where you get to experience the show dairy at La Maison Gruyeres, where you will tour the complex and enjoy a tasting. After lunch, you will continue to visit La Maison Cailler, the oldest chocolate factory in Switzerland, where you will learn about the manufacturer of chocolate through a multi-sensory experience, meet the master chocolatiers, and if you wish, at an additional cost, create your own chocolates in one of their easy chocolate workshops.

Return to Montreux in time for dinner.

After two nights in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, it’s time to discover the Italian-speaking part. By 1st class train, you will travel through the Valais Region to Domodossola in Italy, where you board the panoramic Centovalli train that takes you through Italy to Locarno and the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. After a short train journey to Lugano, the biggest city of Ticino, you will take part in a Risotto Workshop in a typical Ticino style Grotto. A short boat ride across the lake takes you to Grotto San Rocco, where the host will provide you with all the ingredients and tools to cook your own classic “Grotto Risotto”, which will be accompanied by local wine. Enjoy your lunch on the terrace overlooking the lake. Once full you will take the east transfer to Lugano, the largest Italian-speaking city in Switzerland.

After a lazy morning, enjoy a guided city tour of Lugano, where you make several stops to enjoy various specialties from Ticino, including the famous and delicious and quite unusual white Merlot. After the tour, you will travel 1.5hours to Lucerne by 1st-class train. This small city is one of the most picturesque in Switzerland and is most famous for its 14th-century Chapel Bridge. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy at your own pace

Start your day with a guided city walking tour of Lucerne where you learn important and humorous facts about the history of this pretty city. From Lucerne, you travel to the Emmental region to Affoltern im Emmental, which is home to the world-famous cheese. Here you get to enjoy the “Königsweg” experience, which is an interactive tour through the factory, to see how Swiss cheese is made and of course, enjoy a tasting!  Continue by 1st class rail to Bern, one of Europe’s most charming and historic capital cities.

Explore Switzerland’s capital with a guided walking city tour in Bern’s old town which dates back to Medieval times and is inscribed in UNESCO. After a lunch break and some time at leisure, you get to discover a new side of the relaxed Swiss capital. With a local guide, you get to spend the afternoon on a beer tour that includes sampling some local beers from the many small breweries that have sprung up across the city in recent years.

As you are in position on a Swiss Rail Pass, we can arrange rail transfers to any major city in Switzerland, or onwards into Italy or France for an additional charge.