Have you ever been in a place that has everything? Like, literally everything! And all very close to each other? Beautiful mountain views, with the sea just across the corner, classic charming streets but also futuristic endless tunnels, historical architecture, incredible food and cultures, and the people…oh the people, beautiful, classy and so relaxed! Ladies, meet Switzerland! I made a video to make sure you get to see as much as possible, in case you ever plan to visit the country, but don’t skip the pictures below, either!

Since I was here for a few days on our #cartrip, we had the chance to explore much, and our dear friends that live there were really great hosts, but not everyone has friends in Switzerland to carry them around, so I will make a list with what we did, and what could you do, if you’d like, on your trip there.

I have a gallery with amazing photos to share from Switzerland & Co. I also have a few recommendations that I cannot leave behind, because I’m sure you will appreciate it if you ever visit any of the places!

Visit the Rhine Fall in Schaffhausen!

It’s a must, and do not hesitate to take the boat over there and make a tour. I skipped that and I still regret it…

Gotthard Tunnel

The tunnel is located under the Alps mountains, but if you have a little bit extra time, go for the mountain drive! You’ll see amazing places, make stops and just enjoy!  This is one of them:

Lugano

Just a 2 hours drive from Zurich is Lugano city which is such a lovely town to get an ice cream in, take a boat tour or just walk along the beautiful promenade. Lugano has many parks and lakesides, you can just google around and find many of them, or just ask the locals, they’ll guide you through.

Monte San Salvatore

Once you get to Lugano, don’t hesitate to visit this place. It’s basically the top of Lugano, from where you can see the aquatic border between Switzerland and Italy. You can climb the mountain, or of course, you can choose the 10-minutes ride with the red funicular, which for me was an incredible experience, because I got to see how high up we got second by second, while watching the beautiful views around. Once you get up, you have a restaurant over there, but don’t settle for it, since you’ll want to go even more up stair by stair (a few hundreds of them, damn!), where you’ll find a small church. A few more stairs here (YES, take your COMFORTABLE shoes) and you’ll really be on the top of Lugano, where you’ll experience the most incredible views! Breathless panorama! I promise you, you won’t regret it!

Ticino

It’s an amazing little town or maybe village, I haven’t memorised that part, very close to Lugano, or maybe part of it, where you can get a nice swim in this beautiful place almost everywhere, but a very, very special place, which is like a hidden gem for locals, is Valle Verzasca. You’ll see that the pictures don’t serve it’s real beauty, when you get there. A great, great plus is Rustici della Verzasca (I don’t even really know what it is!) – it offers accommodation in really cozy rooms, with breathless views and an incredible restaurant/oysteria. Ticino is more Italian than Swiss, so you should expect the whole La Dolce Vita experience, because, my friends, it has never been more real! Here’s a few of my pictures, which I believe are better than any of the ones I found online:

 

James Bond 007 GoldenEye Bungee Jump

Extremely high, incredibly beautiful – pay it a visit, and if you don’t dare jumping, just go see it, enjoy the fabulous views from the 220 meters high dam and watch others jumping, it’s really, really worthy!

Lucerne

A beautiful town very close to Zurich – I only got to visit it in the evening, so I haven’t gotten the opportunity to take many pictures, but visit their official site and see this national treasure.

And of course, the center of Zurich, which is absolutely fabulous, and there I have 2 tips that I am not sure you’ll find by yourself: Sprungli – best macarons ever!!! and Salvator Dali gallery. 

I definitely decided I want to live here someday, for three main special reasons:

1. Its location in Europe is so perfect, so convenient, you can practically take breakfast in France, dinner in Italy, and be back home by night in Switzerland just so you can wake up in the morning and close a deal in Germany 🙂
2. Because of the numerous jazz festivals they host in places as Lugano, on the seaside, which I find extremelly romantic and perfect food for the soul.
3. The weather! The Swiss have it all, compared to us in Scandinavia! It can be cold, or warm, or very warm, or just right, but never so dramatic weather changes as in Sweden…

[bs_lead]

A ONE DAY TRIP: Take a day tour from Zurich to Lugano, drive over the mountain instead of the tunnel, so you can experience the wonderful views, visit Lugano’s lakeside park and take a gelatto at La Gelateria di Lugano, then drive to Ticino, see Valle Verzasca and take two jumps: one in the beautiful blue water from the bridge in the Valley, and one from the world famous James Bond Verzasca dam. 

[/bs_lead]

Have you ever visited any of this places or have any more tips for my next visit? Let me know in the comments!

Until next article in…..France!

Love,

L