Voyage through Switzerland
Back from a week of trekking across Switzerland, our resident Account Manager, Sophie, has a lot to dish about. From Lucerne and Lugano to Geneva and Zurich, Sophie is sharing her intensely packed itinerary and photos taken across the country. If you've been eyeing a Swiss trip for a while now, this might be a good place to start.
Before we even get into this trip, can you tell us when your last trip was?
I last traveled right before the pandemic hit in March of 2020 to Madrid, Spain, where a good friend of mine lives. That trip was absolutely phenomenal on its own–Madrid is a gorgeous city with tons of good restaurants, amazing art museums (I finally got to see my first Goya in person at the Prado), and some spots just outside the city that make for exciting day trips, like Toledo–but it was made all the better knowing that I still managed to travel right before it wasn’t possible anymore.
Alright, so talk to me about this trip. Where exactly did you travel to?
This time around, I chose to visit Switzerland with a close friend who was already in Europe for a wedding because I knew I wanted to go somewhere where I could speak some of the languages. Growing up in Montreal, I’ve always spoken French as a second language, but I’ve been studying German for the past few years and it just made sense to visit a country where I could practice both my German and French.
We traveled all across the country, starting in Bern, and then making our way across Aargau, Lucerne, Lugano, Zurich, Basel, and Geneva. We even managed to make a day trip to Como, Italy, as Como is only a 30 minute train ride away from Lugano.
And how did you manage to hit that many cities? How did you get around?
While we considered renting a car when we were still planning the trip, we actually opted for the Swiss Travel Pass to help us get around. The pass was not only cheaper than renting a car and paying for gas, but it also gave us access to a plethora of museums and mountains for free.
It was a bit of a hassle lugging our suitcases all over the country since we really only got to spend a handful of days in each canton, but since we both also packed pretty light (only carry-ons), it was definitely manageable. Plus, the public transportation system in Switzerland is incredibly convenient–the trains and buses were super accessible, with stops often just a couple of minutes away from our hotels.
Can you give us a couple highlights from your trip? Like any sightseeing, food, etc?
The biggest highlight for me, outside of all of Zurich in general–that city is just too cool and I definitely considered moving there once we had to leave–was staying in Lugano.
The cities that close to the Italian border just feel different from the rest of the country; the language was, of course, a stark differentiator, but also the colours and flora made for such a unique experience. Even if we hadn’t managed to visit Italy during our stay, we still would’ve gotten a similar experience just from visiting Lugano.
Where did you stay during your trip?
For the most part we stayed in hotels located within the city, so the Best Western in Bern, Walter au Lac in Lugano, the Crowne Plaza in Zurich, and the Hotel Edelweiss in Geneva, but we were also fortunate enough to have a friend in Aargau put us up for the night in an apartment her family owns. While staying in the city center was necessary for the most part, it was actually quite nice to spend a night outside of the city proper, as it gave us a chance to see what a more authentic experience of the country might be like.
Staying in the city was crucial for us given how frequently we were on the move; having to pack up every couple of days and take a train to another canton an hour or so away was hard enough without adding in needing to travel to and from our hotel every evening.
What would you change if you were to do another trip like this?
We didn’t spend nearly enough time in Lucerne or visiting any of the surrounding mountains. Originally we planned on spending at least a couple days in Lucerne, but when a friend offered us her apartment in Aargau, we modified our plans accordingly, so we only ended up spending a couple hours in Lucerne. If I ever returned to Switzerland, I would absolutely spend at least a solid half week there, which would also give me enough time to properly see Pilatus, Rigi, and some of the other nearby mountains.
What would you recommend?
Honestly, with how many countries that Switzerland borders and how multi-faceted its people are, there’s really no better way to visit the country than to make your way across the cantons. Geneva is nothing like Zurich, which is nothing like Lugano, and to visit the country and only experience a single city would be such a missed opportunity.
Also, if you’re at all familiar with any of the languages spoken in Switzerland, even if you’re a little shy, you definitely need to make at least a small effort to try speaking a language other than English. It might feel a bit silly, given that the majority of the locals are perfectly fluent in English and you might feel as though it’s a waste of time to stumble over ordering your coffee in German or Italian, but there’s no better way to practice than to just speak. Every time my friend and I went out to eat, I made a conscious effort to order in German and even though it took me a full way to realize that ‘oat milk’ was ‘hafermilch’ (I had just been ordering it anyway with zero idea as to what it meant), it was so worth it.
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