Swiss Alpine Glories and the GoldenPass Train

Tour Itinerary

• Day 1 • Fly to Geneva

  Upon arrival, meet your tour manager and make the scenic transfer by coach to Chateau d’Oex and your hotel. Settle in and get to know your surroundings, and depending upon your time of arrival, take a stroll through the village before dinner is served.

• Day 2 • Included visit to Gruyeres

  Start the day with breakfast at your hotel before embarking on your first excursion to charming Gruyères, a medieval village famous for its cheese-making heritage and cobbled main square. You’ll have the chance to tour a local creamery (entrance payable locally) and learn about the origins of Swiss cheese-making and its evolution over the centuries. Witness the fascinating blend of modern technology and age-old traditions with a demonstration of the production process before stopping to take in the rest of the village. Continue to visit the village of Le Broc then later this afternoon, return to your hotel for dinner.

• Day 3 • Day at leisure

  Today is free for you to explore Chateau d’Oex and its surroundings a little further. In the heart of the Pays d’Enhaut (Upper Country) region, the village has been a favourite of Newmarket guests for over 30 years and offers everything to ensure a memorable stay. For the energetic, there’s a fine outdoor pool (open mid-May until early Sept), a super sports complex, riding stables, mini-golf, ten pin bowling, tennis courts and miles of walking trails. A trio of fascinating museums chronicle life in this corner of Switzerland, the history of cheese-making, and, thanks to the village’s world renown as a hot-air-balloon centre, the magnificent men (and women) and their flying baskets!

• Day 4 • Optional Glacier 3000 excursion plus a visit to Gstaad

  You’ll have the choice to spend the day at your own pace taking in the town and its surrounding areas or join a captivating optional excursion deep into the heart of the Swiss Alps to Glacier 3000. After arriving at the base of the mountain, ascend to the summit aboard a cable car, taking in the spellbinding vistas below as you go. You’ll then set off on the station’s thrilling Peak Walk where you’ll spot a number of the Alps’ most recognisable peaks from Matterhorn to Mont Blanc. Once you’re finished, you can either unwind in one of the station’s lounges or opt to embark on the Glacier Walk, which promises impressive views of the range’s frozen crevasses and pristine ice caps. Call at the exclusive resort town of Gstaad, a favourite retreat of celebrities and royals, on the way back to the hotel and enjoy some time to explore at your own pace. Immerse yourself in the town’s traditional wooden architecture and perhaps stop for a spot of coffee and cake at one of its delightful local cafés. Afterwards, return to your hotel for the evening.

• Day 5 • Included GoldenPass Train to Interlaken then coach to Grindelwald and return to Chateau d'Oex

  Set off on today’s excursion aboard the GoldenPass Express train to Interlaken. Travelling through stunning countryside, you’ll take in scenic Lake Thun and the famous resort town of Interlaken, overlooked by the snow-capped peaks of the Jungfrau range, and one of Switzerland’s most popular places to shop. After a brief stop in Interlaken, the tour will continue by coach to the magnificent Mount Eiger. Here, you’ll stop briefly in Grindelwald, a secluded alpine village ringed by imposing mountain ridges, before making the journey back to your hotel for dinner.

• Day 6 • Optional excursion to Bern

  Today you can discover and explore Switzerland’s historic capital city, Bern, on an optional self-guided tour. With its medieval houses, great churches and wonderful covered shopping arcades all huddled together above a sweeping meander in the River Aare, Bern is one of the world’s most picturesque capitals. One of its most unusual features is the fascinating mechanical clock, be sure to hear – and see – it strikes the hour. We return to Chateau d’Oex in the late afternoon, time-permitting making a call in the charming town of Fribourg, an ancient university seat boasting an especially attractive Old Town, with haphazardly arranged houses on cobbled streets sloping steeply away from the river Sarine.

• Day 7 • Included GoldenPass Train to Montreux

  Today’s included excursion heads to the sun-kissed shores of Lake Geneva, travelling on the spectacular GoldenPass Train through the heart of the Swiss wine-producing Valais region to the fashionable resort of Montreux. You’ll enjoy a fantastic panoramic view as the train rolls gently down the mountains and through a picturesque patchwork of vineyards, framed by a dramatic mountain backdrop and the shores of Lake Geneva. Basking in a microclimate, sheltered from the north wind by the Alps, Montreux is home to the famous Jazz Festival, has a delightful lakefront promenade and a host of shops and stores. Close by, brooding Chateau Chillon, Switzerland’s most famous landmark, guards the dark secrets of the past, and makes for a fascinating visit. Enjoy some free time to explore before your return train later.

• Day 8 • Fly back to the UK

  Bid farewell to your Alpine idyll, returning to Geneva Airport for the return flight, after a memorable few days.