Geneva
Geneva is an instant heart-stealer: a chic, worldly, French-speaking city that sits on the shores of its namesake lake and peers up to Europe’s highest mountain, 15,780ft Mont Blanc. Such views whet the appetite for outdoor pursuits, which can easily be combined with a spin of the city’s trophy sights. Putter past the sky-high Jet d’Eau fountain on a mouette boat, swoon over views walking the Quai du Mont-Blanc’s flowery promenades, delve into the alley-woven, cathedral-topped Vieille Ville or experience the city’s contemporary art scene at factory-turned-gallery MAMCO.
And as for the lake, views of this glittering expanse are your companion on a cruise to one of the pretty villages on its shores, such as Nyon and Yvoire, with their turreted chateaux. If you’d prefer to leap into the lake’s inky depths, head over to the lido at Genève-Plage, where beach bar Tropical Corner rents out windsurfing, standup paddleboarding and hydrofoil surfing gear. Or rent out a bike to pedal the 118-mile Tour du Léman, which circumnavigates the lake.
Geneva is a brilliant springboard for diving into the wider region. An hour’s train ride east takes you to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Lavaux, where terraced vineyards perch dramatically on the northern shores of the lake. It’s a pretty region for strolls among the vines, like the seven-mile hike from St Saphorin to Lutry, coupled with tastings of Chasselas white and Pinot Noir red wines. Higher, you say? Nip over the French border to Salève, where a cable-car hauls you up to 4,525ft, for a taster of the Alps. On clear days, the peak affords a ringside view of Lake Geneva, the Jura Mountains and Mont Blanc massif.
Reached by funicular, Monte Brè affords spectacular views of Lake Lugano and the city that hugs its shoreline.
Lugano
Dipping from Switzerland’s southernmost tip into Italy, Lake Lugano has real southern swagger. Locals chat in Italian, palm trees and botanical gardens bristle along promenades, and forested mountains ripple down to the placid waters of the fjord-like lake. Lugano is the region’s culture-loving showpiece: a city with an easy-going air, cobbled lanes lined with an enticing assortment of trattorias, gelaterias, bars and boutiques, and the MASI gallery spotlighting 20th-century and contemporary art at the avant-garde LAC cultural centre.
This fetching setting will soon have you itching to get outdoors. For a quick dip, there’s the lakefront lido, with a sandy beach, Olympic-sized pool and diving boards. Boats and stand-up paddleboards can be rented at Rivabianca. Or if that sounds like too much effort, kick back on a cruise of the lake, gliding across to villages that cast pastel-coloured reflections into its brilliant blue waters, such as Meride, Morcote and Gandria.
Lugano is buttressed by the twin peaks of 3,035ft Monte Brè — a striking cone of a mountain — and the thickly wooded crag of Monte San Salvatore. Reached by funicular, both afford far-reaching views of the lake to the snow-dusted Alps beyond from their high-level hiking trails. To up the adventure, whizz down from the top off Monte Brè on a mountain bike or flirt with mountaineering on the challenging via ferrata (fixed iron rope way) at Monte San Salvatore.
Lugano is but the prelude for the wilderness that unfolds in the wider Ticino region. Just over an hour’s drive north brings you to the Vallemaggia, where granite-stone villages cower below 9,842ft-high peaks. It’s a lovely spot to swim, raft or canyon in the glassy turquoise Maggia River. The neighbouring Val Verzasca is every bit as ravishing, with hamlets perched like eyries below chestnut forests and above the river. The ultimate daredevil stunt, however, has to be a Bond-style bungee jump from the 720ft-high Verzasca Dam, where 007 made a spectacular leap in the 1995 film GoldenEye.
Essentials
Getting there & around
Regular direct flights connect London airports with both Geneva and Zurich. To hop between cities, the country has a comprehensive and efficient rail and road network. The Swiss Travel System provides a dedicated range of travel passes and tickets exclusively for visitors from abroad.
When to go
Switzerland’s cities and surrounding countryside are beautiful year-round, from the winter when snow carpets the ground to summer, when the sun shines and temperatures are mild.
To find out more, visit myswitzerland.com
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