Tour de Switzerland
Cheese, cheese, skiing and more cheese
After 12 days road tripping through the Swiss and French alps - I am back home in New York to relax after all that skiing. Switzerland is a magnificent country and I am already excited to go back and ski again in the near future.
Day One: Zurich, Switzerland
After a nonstop red-eye flight, we landed in Zurich around 10 am, picked up our rental car from the airport and drove into the city in search of coffee. We spent our time in Zurich in Old Town because there is so much to see and do in that area. After a small brunch, we explored Altstadt (Old Town) by walking along the water and looking at all the beautiful buildings and churches.
Eventually, we checked into our hotel in Altstadt, Hotel Alexander. They had parking for a 35 CHF fee and it was in a perfect location. We spent the remainder of our evening drinking wine and had Swiss fondue at a restaurant called Raclette. I never thought I would find a country that loves cheese more than people from Wisconsin, but I stand corrected.
Day Two: Laax, Switzerland
We got up at 5:30 am and drove the 1 ½ hrs to Laax for our first day of skiing. On our way in, there were banners all over the town stating the Laax Open was going on! We got to see some of the best snowboarders in the world compete on the slopes when we were done skiing for the day. At the top of the tram, there is an outside space with a DJ and bar that overlooks the mountains and the ski resort. It was the coolest aprés ski I’ve ever seen and a great way to kick off our trip.
Our hotel was in the town of Flims, Hotel-Restaurant Bellevue. They had free parking and free breakfast included in our stay, so it was a great deal.
Day Three: LAUTERBRUNNEN, Blausee & Zermatt, Switzerland
After breakfast, we drove 3 hours to the famous Lauterbrunnen. Normally a summer destination, Lauterbrunnen is known for its glacial waterfalls and mountainous surroundings. From there, we took the train to Wengen, a ski town that is only accessible by train. This train is particularly special because of it’s breathtaking view of the village of Wengen as it rounds the corner into the town. The US Men’s Ski Racing Team happened to be going to Wengen for a competition, so we rode the train with them and wished them luck as we parted ways.
We ate at a cute Indian food place, walked up to the church for the famous view of the valley and joined the onlookers watching the ski racing event and cheering for Switzerland.
Our next stop was the gorgeous Lake Blausee, which was a 45 minute drive from Lauterbrunnen. There is a fee to get in and the lake is small, but it is stunning and crystal clear. From there, we drove 2 hours to Täsch, where we parked our car. The mountains are huge and unpredictable through those areas, so they have all the cars going through drive onto a train and the train takes all the cars through the mountain. It was a unique experience and I hadn’t even known that type of train existed.
We parked our car in Täsch and took the train into the car-less Zermatt, arriving by nightfall. It was a full moon and it cast a light over the Matterhorn as we lugged our massive ski bags to our hotel. After settling in at Hotel Phoenix, we walked around the bustling town and had wine and a cheese board at a local bar.
Day Four: Zermatt, Switzerland
Shockingly, we slept in a bit, enjoyed the view of the Matterhorn from our room, had our hotel breakfast and spent our day exploring Zermatt by foot.
From a curling competition in the town center to a graveyard for mountaineers that died climbing the Matterhorn. Zermatt was full of interesting and beautiful detail. We enjoyed our day of leisure and ended up at Cervo Bar and Lounge at the bottom of a ski slope for dinner. Cervo was one of our favorite restaurants on this trip and had a great aprés ski vibe.
Day Five: Zermatt, Switzerland
Only a short walk from our hotel was an underground train that took us diagonally up the mountain. We spent the entire day skiing Zermatt, stopping for lunch at Zum See - a ski-in, ski-out Michelin starred restaurant. The food was phenomenal and Paul said it was some of the best coffee he has ever had. Our only regret was not trying the Tiramisu.
Zermatt was the best skiing we have ever done and quickly became our favorite mountain. The views from the gondola are breathtaking and the town itself cannot be beat. We will definitely be returning to Zermatt for another ski trip.
NOTE: Zermatt is on the ikon pass, meaning pass holders can ski with their pass for seven days.
Day Six: Verbier4Vallées, Switzerland
An early wake-up call and a two hour drive later, we arrived in the town of Verbier. We parked in a parking garage near the ski resort and walked to the gondola up the mountain. Verbier has four separate mountains included in its pass and it was fun to ski all the different terrain. There was a lot of freeriding open, so we spent some time on those runs trying not to gouge out our skis but having fun in the process.
Our hotel was Hotel La Rotonde, which was right by the ski resort and across from a popular aprés ski place, Le Farinet. We spent majority of our evening there listening to the live music before ending our night with some fabulous food at Pub Mont Fort.
Day Seven: Verbier4Vallées, Switzerland
Another ski day in Verbier - this time we took the tram to the highest point in the resort, Mont Fort, and skied down the mougles. Overall the skiing in Verbier was fun, but it was hard to top Zermatt.
NOTE: Verbier is on the Epic pass and pass holders can ski for five days if staying at a qualifying hotel.
Day Eight: Chamonix, France
We drove one hour to Chamonix, France and crossed the border without even having our passports checked. Chamonix Mont Blanc is a large, spread out collection of mountains. We skied one of the mountains, checked into our cute little chalet Airbnb and walked around the town of Chamonix. We were on a mission to find a place with Raclette and the one we chose gave us our own personal wood stove and a huge chunk of raclette cheese to melt ourselves. It was a fun experience and a must do while in Switzerland or France.
Day Nine: Chamonix, France
Yet another ski day, this time we chose a different mountain. Chamonix featured some phenomenal views, but the skiing wasn’t comparable to the other places we had been thus far. The town itself is charming and a worthwhile visit, but the resort skiing wasn’t any better than the mountains we have in the states.
Day Ten: Les 3 Vallées, France
After checking out of our Airbnb, we drove 2 hours further into France to Les 3 Vallées. Looking back, we wished we would have spent two days here and one day in Chamonix because Les 3 Vallées was massive and a lot of fun. We skied Val Thorens the first day we arrived and were able to ski through all of the resorts connected to it by the 3 Vallées. It is the largest ski resort in the world and essentially makes for unlimited skiing terrain. We ended our time in France doing aprés ski on the mountain with wine, pizza, and a beautiful view of Val Thorens.
NOTE: Les 3 Vallées is on the Epic pass and allows pass holders to ski for seven days.
Day Eleven: Gstaad & Zurich, Switzerland
Our next stop was the ever-famous Gstaad, Switzerland. It is a 4 hr drive from Les 3 Vallées and is a popular holiday destination for celebrities and royalty. The upscale town has designer stores at every corner and people that make more money in a day than I do in a year. We walked around the town and had brunch at a cute place overlooking the main pedestrian street where horse drawn carriages would stroll past.
From there, we continued our drive for two hours to Zurich. We checked into Hotel Adler in Old Town and explored the city once again. Since we were all cheesed-out at this point, our last dinner was at a Japanese restaurant for sushi.
Day Twelve: Zurich, Switzerland
We ended our trip the same way we had started, at a cafe in old town for brunch. Then we dropped off our rental car, said farewell to Switzerland and flew home to New York.
This trip may have ruined future ski trips for us because it’ll be so hard to top. The country itself is gorgeous, the people are kind and the skiing is amazing. If you’re a skier or snowboarder, you simply must tour Switzerland.