Switzerland Favorite Tips by Tripack Top 5 Page for this destination

Sunny or Snowy Swiss Stay ???

Favorite thing:
Check the Swiss forecast and adapt your activity depending on the news... especially if you're going in altitude. I would recommend the Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology website. You could have detailed forcast by entering the postcode or the name of the place. Forcasts are generally quite accurate for the Alpine region where I live.

Enjoy your sunny (I hope;-) Alpine stay.

Click on Swiss meteo

Visit the longest railtunnel in the World!

Favorite thing:

A new transalpine rail route with the world's longest tunnel – the 57 km Gotthard Base Tunnel is currently built for future travel through the Alps. This pioneering achievement of the 21st century will bring major improvements to travel and transportation systems in the heart of Europe. The total time for planning and building this tunnel will be about 25 years (opening expected in 2017). The construction project is also extremely demanding, both technically and financially. The estimated project costs are expected to amount to CHF 8,035 million.

Passengers trains will travel at speeds of up to 250km/h, Zurich will be only at 2h40 from Milano instead of 4h10 nowadays.

Do you want to know more about this Alpine challenge?

AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd and the Pollegio Visitor Centre offer the opportunity of experiencing the tunnel atmosphere also at Faido. Two groups per day, except Monday, of up to 12 persons each can travel to the multifunction station inside the Gotthard massif. After the project presentation at the Pollegio Visitor Centre visitors are taken to the Faido construction site where a learning trail awaits them. The tour lasts about three hours.

The Pollegio Visitor Centre is a first-class excursion destination in the canton of Ticino, a striking building for whose construction excavated rock from the Gotthard Base Tunnel was used. In the exhibition covering more than 400 m2, construction of the tunnel and the new Gotthard rail link, as well as topics relating to mobility, are attractively presented with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment as well as numerous models and original objects.

Entry to the exhibition is free of charge.

The wheelchair-friendly visitor centre also has a bistro where food and drinks can be obtained.

Opening times: Tuesday to Sunday, 9.00 am to 6.00 pm

All info on www.infocentro.ch

Fondest memory: The History of the Gotthard Railway

Save on unlimited rides on specific Swiss region..

Favorite thing:
Choose the right regional pass and save on your excursions by boats, buses, trains, cogwheel trains or cable cars...

- Central Switzerland
(Lucerne, Rigi, Pilatus, Titlis, Interlaken,...)

***TELL PASS 7 Days for Adults CHF 140.-/EUR 96.55 include: 2 days' unlimited travel, other days you'll receive a reduction of 50%, pick your days within a period of 7 days

***TELL PASS 15 DAYS for Adults CHF 188.40/EUR 129.65 include: 5 days' unlimited travel, the other days you'll receive a reduction of 50%, pick the days within a period of 15 days

Website TELL PASS


- Berner Oberland
(Interlaken-Thun-Brienz- Gstaad-Jungfrau-Schilthorn...)

***REGIOPASS-BERNEROBERLAND 7 Days for Adults CHF 220.-/EUR 147 include: 3 days' unlimited travel, other days you'll receive a reduction of 50%, pick your days within a period of 7 days

***REGIOPASS-BERNEROBERLAND 15 DAYS for Adults CHF 265.-/EUR 177 include: 5 days' unlimited travel, the other days you'll receive a reduction of 50%, pick the days within a period of 15 days

Website REGIOPASS-BERNEROBERLAND


- Jungfrau region
(Interlaken, Harder Kulm, Schynige Platte, Lauterbrunnen, Mürren, Jungfraujoch, Grindelwald...)

***JUNGFRAU RAILWAYS PASS offers unlimited travel on 6 consecutive days in the Jungfrau region and 50% discount on Eigergletscher–Jungfraujoch section.
Prices CHF 140.- with Swiss Pass/Swiss Card, Half-fare Card or CHF 190.- at full fare.

On sale from 1 May – 31 October at all stations of Jungfrau Railways, stations of the Wengen-Männlichen (LWM) and Firstbahn (BGF) Aerial Cableways and the Grindelwald-Männlichen (GGM) Aerial Gondola.

Website JUNGFRAU PASS

Fondest memory:
- Lake Geneva area
(Geneva-Lausanne-Vevey-Montreux-Gruyères-Gstaad-Aigle-Leysin-Villars-Champéry...)

***LEMAN PASS 5 Days for Adults CHF 89.-/EUR 60 include: 2 days' unlimited travel, other days you'll receive a reduction of 50%.

***LEMAN PASS 7 DAYS for Adults CHF 107.-/EUR 72 include: 3 days' unlimited travel, the other days you'll receive a reduction of 50%.

Website LEMAN PASS


- Graubünden
(Andermatt, Chur, Bad Ragaz, Davos, St Moritz, Klosters, Bernina Pass, Tirano,...)

***GRAUBÜNDEN SUMMER HOLIDAY PASS, Pass validity 7 days (CHF 150/EUR 79) or 14 days (CHF 150/EUR 99) offer: 2 or 4 days unlimited travel by Rhaetian Railways and PostAuto Graubünden, the remaining validity period 50% reduction, mountain transport system during the validity period 50% reduction

***GRAUBÜNDEN WINTER HOLIDAYS PASS, Rhaetian Railway inclusive: Valid within 7 days (CHF 90/EUR 59) for unlimited travel on two days of your choice and for travel to half price on 5 further days, determined Mountain Railway inclusive: One free up and downhill trip, post bus and Engadine bus inclusive: travel to half price on all days

Website GRAUBÜNDEN HOLIDAY PASS


- Alps
(Zermatt, Saas Fee, Visp, Brig, Furka, Oberalp, Disentis and Domodossola)

***Adventure Card (Erlebnis Card) includes: Free travel on 485 km of railway and postbus lines, 50% discount on the remaining coach lines, railways, steam trains and cableways, 50% discount at over 50 sports and leisure facilities, museums, swimming pools,... Erlebnis Card 2 Days for Adults CHF 89.-, 3 Days CHF 119.-, 5 Days CHF 169.-

Website ERLEBNISS CARD


NB: Reduction available with Swiss Pass, Swiss Card, 1/2-Abo, GA

Wellness in Valais

Favorite thing:
A delightful journey for body, mind and soul. Experiment a thermal spa resort :

- Val d'Illiez : more info...

- Lavey-les-bains : more info...

- Ovronnaz : more info...

- Bains de Saillon : more info...

- Leukerbad : more info...

Raining days ???

Favorite thing: Aquaparc

Indoor water activities in an exotic Caribbean atmosphere located in Le Bouveret on the shores of Lake of Geneva. Equivalent of a WetnWild but indoor.

Enjoy and slide!!!

Website: Aquaparc

For lovers of train miniatures...

Favorite thing: Swiss Vapeur Parc

At the mouth of the Rhone river, next to the lake harbour of Le Bouveret lies the Swiss Vapeur Parc, one of Europe's most magnificent miniature railway layouts. A real delight for train amateur and all the family...

Website: Swiss Vapeur Parc

Beware of the wolf? (Alpine fauna)

Favorite thing:
If somebody whistle for you on the Alps, don't worry it is certainly a marmot. You will able to observe some typical Alpine fauna during your stay as marmots, ibex, chamois, mountain hares, white fieldmouses, hawks, eagles,…

More about the marmots, which eat the different types of grass growing at this altitude in the mat-like vegetation and alpine meadows. They hibernate in winter in their tunnelled burrows, living on the fat reserves they have accumulated during the summer. The dry leaves they collect to line their nests make their homes extremely cosy. Marmots are solitary animals and emit a short, piercing alarm call (danger on the ground) or a long drawn-out call (danger from above). The golden eagle is their greatest enemy.

Another Alpine athlete, the chamois can run along a 60° steep rockface, jump down easily from a height of 8 metres and overcome an altitude of 1,000 metres in 15 minutes, a trained person would take 3 hours to do the same thing.

Lately we have a polemic especially about the reintroduction of the wolf (and soon bear?) in our Swiss Alpine region due to repetitive attacks against local sheep herds. So do not be surprise to met some around, although you will be very lucky ;-)

Fondest memory: Alpine fauna

Edelweiss & company (Alpine Flora)

Favorite thing:
Edelweiss is probably the best known flower on the Alps. As you will discover during your Alpine tour, many others are perfectly adapted to this hostile environment.

Be aware that many of Alpine flowers are rare and protected by Swiss law, so respect the nature.

Plants have deployed many inventive resources to survive at these high altitudes.
The bright colours of the mountain meadow flowers are not there by chance, they are vital to their survival and reproduction. In the first place, the pigments protect them from the intensive ultra violet rays found at high altitude. Secondly, weather conditions often prevent insects from flying, so the plants cannot afford to waste a moment of precious pollination time. The colours attract the insects without which they could not reproduce.

As glaciers melt, they leave behind unstable, stony ground, with no water and no nutrients. And yet within just a few years, specially adapted plants manage to colonise this apparently hostile terrain. Mosses move in first, producing a thin layer of humus when they die, which gives a chance to another species to take root. The greatest problem for these pioneers is not so much the lack of soil as the constantly moving ground: even the tiniest plants anchor themselves with roots that can be a meter long, and their underground shoots are always ready to put out new sprouts if they find themselves buried by rolling stones.

Plants growing on rock faces have developed various strategies to deal with water shortage. The poor soil is unable to retain moisture, and the sun beating down on the cliffs soon removes what is left. Strong winds, common at high altitude, would dry out the leaves of normal plants. But the ones here have developed different coping strategies. Some are covered in hairs, which deflect part of the sun's rays, and also form a layer of air which traps moisture, while others have a waxy coating.

Fondest memory: The Edelweiss...

Valais SkiCard

Favorite thing: Good value card for your snow sports : Valais SkiCard

This is a point chipcard offering an "handfree" access to the ski domains of 28 ski resorts in Valais and to 2 thermal baths, all equiped by the electronic ticketing and access control SkiData 370. So no queue in the morning at the skipass desk.

It's like a debit card that users can get with 100, 200, 300, 400 or 500 loaded points, with progressive discounts from 200 points :

Ski Value Discount Sales price
500 points 10% 450 CHF
400 points 8% 368 CHF
300 points 6% 282 CHF
200 points 4% 192 CHF
100 points net 100 CHF

The Valais SkiCard is valid for 2 years from the acquisition date and is freely reloadable, that means that the validity is automatically increased after each reloading.

The Valais SkiCard is available at all cashdesks of the ski resorts and by the highway at the restoroute du Grand Saint-Bernard in Martigny.

Internet : Valais Ski Card

Visit my region in the heart of the Swiss Alps

Favorite thing: I've decided to concentrate my tips on my alpine region in order to offer you good memories for your future trip here... Welcome to Valais