Where are the best places to go in Switzerland?
The New York Times recently posed that question to six executives and creators in the Swiss watch industry — and got a raft of insider tips that included Brutalist architecture, wrestling festivals, vineyards, Wes Anderson-esque trains and, of course, where to get the best fondue.
The interviews have been edited and condensed.
Maximilian Büsser
Owner and creative director of MB&F Watches, 57
Rent a car and drive around for four or five days in summer. I love Therme Vals in Graubünden by Peter Zumthor. It is these incredible baths all made of locally quarried Vals quartzite slabs, which feel like black granite. This is really off the beaten track; a valley in the middle of nowhere amongst mountains and forests. Zumthor is this insanely creative Swiss architect, and for me, who loves things that are different and have strong character, Therme Vals is just one of the most amazing places.
I was lucky when I was there with my wife 11 years ago, as there was an Alphorn concert inside the baths. Lying in these chambers filled with naturally hot water, with the horns resounding everywhere — I still get goose bumps when I think about it!
As you have a car, I would also say to bring your hiking boots and go hiking in the incredibly green hills around Appenzell — this landscape in northeast Switzerland reminds me of Iceland. Stop in Solothurn where the little river in the middle of the Old Town turns into a kind of carnival in summer, with people passing by on all sorts of weird floating contraptions; stay in the beautiful Chenot Palace in Weggis, where the mountains meet Lake Lucerne; head for La Tour de Gourze, a little house where you can have a fondue with breathtaking views over Lac Léman [Lake Geneva]; drive along the legendary hairpins of the Furka Pass into Andermatt.
And don’t miss Zurich, where you should, if you like Brutalism, stay at the B2 Hotel, a conversion of an old brewery.
Audrey Raffy
Vice president at Bovet, 31
I do love hiking, and one of my favorites is to walk through the UNESCO Heritage-listed Lavaux vineyard terraces between Lausanne and Montreux. I love the mix of the leafy vineyards and the lake below and the gray rock of the Alps across the lake.
Depending on the season you have completely different sceneries: pink flowers in the spring, super green foliage in summer and fiery orange, red and yellow in the autumn. I normally take the train to Cully, and then walk all the way to Montreux, which takes around three hours.
Along the way you can find places where you can brunch — and of course, you can sample great wines! The Chasselas grape is typical for the region and one of my favorites in Switzerland. It has got a beautiful, fresh, light kind of mineral taste. It is perfect for an apéro, which is a French word for the fantastic moment before dinner when you have a drink and something to snack on together with friends and family.
Jasmine Vidal
Communications consultant on jewelry, watches and wellness, 49
I absolutely love getting people who come to visit here in Switzerland onto the GoldenPass Belle Epoque train from Montreux up to Gstaad. The three-hour train going up the mountain from the lake is just magical. Velvety turquoise seats, dark wood paneling, golden brass details and purple floors — it is like a mini Orient Express that feels like a Wes Anderson movie! When you go up, you want to sit on the right side for the best views.
When you arrive in Gstaad, you are up for a truly Swiss experience. Sure, it is a superluxury resort with Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Graff shops, but it is still authentic. And it is not a show-off place.
When I go with my family, we normally pick up the best dairy produce from a little refrigerator at an egg farm with a trust cash box on the edge of town, before we head to the Sportzentrum Gstaad. This is a beautiful high-ceilinged timber construction with heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
And don’t miss Cadonau Papeterie on the promenade, the little shop where all the celebrities go to buy stationery. This is just around the corner from Mango on Viktoriastrasse, a tiny little Indian joint screening Bollywood videos filmed in Gstaad with stars like Shah Rukh Khan. Bollywood has come here for years to make films, and you can also make a Bollywood tour in the valley to visit the locations.
Laurence Bodenmann
Heritage director at Zenith, 41
The best places to visit in Switzerland are the museums. There is an incredible, super-dense network of 1,081 museums scattered all over Switzerland, a country of 8.7 million people.
To pick a few I would say the M.I.H., the international horology museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds, where you can travel through the development of the art of watchmaking. As a visitor, I would also contact workshops to see the art in action — for instance, François Junod, who took the art of moving figures known as automatons into the 21st century, and to discover how watches are made today you can contact the tourist office to organize a visit to the Zenith manufacturer in Le Locle.
This is the thing: The history of Switzerland is completely alive today, and not only when it comes to mechanical innovations. I have rediscovered Switzerland by going to local pop-rock music festivals and traditional wrestling competitions in the villages. When you eat a sausage or a fondue in such a context you really feel like you can start to grasp people’s perspectives.
If you want to stay in style after such local experiences, I recommend the five-star Hôtel Palafitte, which is built on stilts on Lake Neuchâtel. It’s so cool and unique, and it is also a historical experience: The Latians, who lived here between 4,400 B.C. and 750 B.C. also had their houses on stilts, and these were called palafitte.
Pierre Biver
General director of Biver, 24
Geneva is a perfect place for a city break! It is not too big and not too small, so you can do a lot in just a couple of days, and just about everything is in walking distance.
On the luxurious side you have all the watchmaking boutiques along the Rue du Rhône, and great classical hotels overlooking the lake and the fountain, the Jet d’Eau — like the Four Seasons des Bergues, which opened in 1834, or the Woodward hotel, which also houses the restaurant L’Atelier Robuchon by the legendary chef Joël Robuchon.
Great restaurants in all different ranges are scattered all over the city and two of my favorites are the Auberge d’Onex which has amazing Italian food in the former clubhouse of Geneva’s first golf course, and the tiny and casual Nagomi, which serves the best sushi and tempura, in the Pâquis area.
Such high-end aspects of Geneva are famous, but not everybody knows that the city has a great urban feel with a lot of hipsters. In summer, the parks are full of Genevan people having a picnic or a drink after work, and there are often open-air concerts. And the non-mainstream, more secret cafe scene is great. Mame cafe in Plainpalais and in St.-Gervais serve very fine filter and espresso coffee, and its baristas have been named Switzerland’s best five times.
Rolf Studer
Co-chief executive at Oris, 52
For me, the best place to go in Switzerland is the alpine region of my ancestors: Entlebuch, and the village of Flühli, where my grandfather built a house which is my second home.
This far-out place is a UNESCO biosphere region with deep forests and high mountains — great for skiing, hiking and mountain biking. It’s wild there! It looks a bit like Canada, but you are in fact not so far away from civilization; it is only a 45-minute drive from Lucerne. The people of this region are predominantly farmers who are very earthy and not polished, but in the best way: authentic, open, down to earth and no blah blah.
The best food in Entlebuch you get in the restaurant of Wiesner Mysterion, where Stefan Wiesner, known as the Sorcerer of Entlebuch, performs, as they put it in Guide Michelin, “culinary wizardry” on stones and big rings of fire. He also has cooking schools, by the way.
The Hotel Kurhaus in Flühli has been where travelers rest since 1899, a classic hotel that has been continuously upgraded and today combines luxury with soothing natural surroundings. Eight kilometers from the hotel is the Genossenschaft Flühli Wasser, in the forest at the foot of the Schwändelifluh mountain. Here you can rejuvenate with cold baths and textural experiences in accordance with the Kneipp principles of water, plants, movement, nourishment and balance.
But again, the best luxury to me of this region is to meet people who are still grounded. It grounds me, puts things in perspective and makes me smile.