Switzerland Archives : TRAVEL/FOOD

The Ultimate Summer Adventure: Swiss Huts and Alpine Views

Nature, Outdoors, Switzerland, Uncategorized

A series of huttes or huts tucked away on hiking trails in the mountains of Switzerland offer a “cool” summer escape. In Switzerland, where 60% of the landscape is covered in Alpine splendor, huts and hiking are an unbeatable combination offering fresh, clean, and crisp air, panoramic views, and a break from life’s daily stresses. It’s all part of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC).

Founded in 1863, the club now has over 150,000 members, making it Switzerland’s largest mountaineering club and one of its biggest sports associations. The club’s goals include: promoting mountain sports, protecting and sustainably developing the Alpine region, practicing mountaineering responsibly, and making the mountains accessible to the public at a low cost.

With sustaining the natural environment a top priority, the SAC’s huts are designed to a be a leader in developing centers of sustainability. The goal of SAC’s new climate initiative is to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2040 by employing renovations that rely on renewable energy sources such as solar panels and photovoltaic systems.

SAC’s Huts fits in well with one of Switzerland’s most popular leisure activities–hiking. So lace up those boots and get your camera ready for a unique summer adventure.

Monte Rosa Hut (SAC)

The Monte Rosa hut, known as the “Highttech hut” with its special shape and silver aluminum shell, accommodates up to 120 guests in a sustainable way, as it generates over 90% of its own energy. With an advanced energy management system from ETH Zurich (Technology University of Zurich) and innovative water filtration, it is a symbol of innovation in the mountains. Nevertheless, it retains its cozy charm and serves authentic Valais and Swiss cuisine on its terrace with breathtaking views of the mountains.

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Zernez, Graubünden

Chamanna Cluozza (SAC)

An overnight stay in the wild and romantic Val Cluozza is an unforgettable experience. The recently renovated Chamanna Cluozza is the only managed hut located in the heart of the Swiss National Park, the oldest national park in the Alps and a UNESCO biosphere reserve at 6,180 feet above sea level. It is open from mid-June to mid-October and offers hikers simple but sustainable accommodation with 61 beds, 34 of which are in a dormitory and 27 in rooms.

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Zinal, Valais

Cabane de Tracuit (CAS)

The Tracuit Hut, nestled on the edge of the Turtmann Glacier, stands among the highest SAC huts. Its sunny dining area offers views of towering 13,000-foot peaks, while cozy sleeping quarters ensure restful nights. With last year’s webcam installation, visitors can conveniently monitor the breathtaking mountain scenery and trail conditions from the comfort of their kitchen or sofa, aiding in tour planning.

Alternatively, it offers a chance to experience the alpine world for those hesitant about the long, demanding ascent to the hut, which demands alpine skills.

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Bever, Graubünden

Chamanna Jenatsch (SAC)

The Swisstainable-certified Jenatschhütte is the highest SAC hut in Graubünden and serves as a stage destination on the “Bernina Trek” in summer. Mountain enthusiasts, climbers and mountain bikers appreciate the peace and seclusion in Val Bever between the Julier and Albula Passes as well as the unique hut atmosphere. A highlight of the hut, situated at 8,701 feet above sea level, is the sauna.

While the cuisine offers regional specialties such as pizzoccheri, polenta and maluns, and the hut cellar stocks fine wines from the Bündner Herrschaft and Italy.

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Engelberg, Nidwalden

Hiking Heaven

Nidwalden leads the way with its 40 cable cars, including 26 Buiräbähnli, and offers a range of transportation facilities that is hard to beat. These cable cars criss-cross the Alps and provide access to the most beautiful places in the Engelberg Valley. Ready for nostalgia, adventure and breathtaking views?

The Buiräbähnli Safari with its 8 rustic cable cars around Engelberg is waiting to be discovered and offers a unique hiking experience. The entire route spans 28 miles with over 12,000 feet in elevation and is perfect for a multi-day hike.

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Across Switzerland: Glacier Bike Tour

The Glacier Bike Tour, a new offering in Swiss bike tourism, stretches 230 miles from St. Moritz via Andermatt to Zermatt, covering a total of 31,000 feet in altitude. The route is divided into ten stages and combines gravel, asphalt and easy trails, making it ideal for 3 to 4 hour rides that combine physical activity with cultural exploration. Highlights include the beautiful town of St. Moritz, the Matterhorn, picturesque villages and breathtaking Alpine landscapes in three Swiss cantons.

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Overnight stays at the huts are popular, especially in the high season and at weekends. It is therefore strongly recommended that you reserve your bed well in advance by phone, email or simply via the online reservation system.

Swiss hotels to fall in love with

Adventure, Resorts, Switzerland, Thermal Baths, Thermalbaths

Nestled amid the picturesque Alpine landscape, two extraordinary hotels captivate discerning travelers with their distinctiveness: THE OMNIA in the enchanting Zermatt, Valais, and the 7132 Hotel in the charming village of Vals, Grisons.

THE OMNIA seamlessly blends sensory delights with refined luxury, offering a holistic and sophisticated travel experience in its modern interpretation of an American mountain lodge.

Perched at an elevation of 5,410 ft, with awe-inspiring vistas of the iconic Matterhorn, the 5-star superior hotel welcomes guests with a unique arrival experience. A rock tunnel guides them to an elevator within the mountain, leading to the lobby.

Beyond its unparalleled location, THE OMNIA enchants elegant interior design, world-class cuisine, an extensive wellness program, and a dedicated team committed to curating an environment where guests can revel in moments of tranquility harmonized with nature.

Dorfbrücke über den Valser Rhein, Vals GR

In the quaint village of Vals, with a population of just 1,000, the 7132 Hotel stands out as one of Switzerland’s architectural gems, notably for its Thermal Baths. Inspired by the town’s postal code, the hotel’s name embodies a distinctive tourism concept focused on preserving Vals’ authenticity and exclusivity.

The 5-star superior hotel, deeply intertwined with the history and essence of Vals, harmoniously blends with the architectural vision of Peter Zumthor, winner of The Pritzker Architecture Prize. After a complete structural transformation, renowned architects were invited to unleash their creative ideas, resulting in a hotel that pays homage to Vals’ heritage while offering a uniquely curated experience.

Discover the allure of these exceptional hotels, each with its narrative, and explore our curated highlights that render them unparalleled.

Historic Swiss Journeys

Family Excursions, Historic Restaurants, Trains, Vintage Trains

Travel back into the past by car or aboard the Treno Gottardo, a VIP train trip along an ancient trade route that crosses the fantastical Gotthard Pass, a north south journey connecting the German speaking region of Uri to the Ticino, the Italian speaking area of Switzerland.

Prehistoric Pile Dwellings in the Alps

In 2011, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee added the remains of prehistoric pile-dwelling also known as stilt house settlements in and around six Alpine countries that were built from around 5,000 to 500 B.C. on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands to their list.

The sites provide glimpses into what life was like in prehistoric times during the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Alpine Europe as well as the way communities interacted with their environment. In an exciting new find, archaeologists diving in Lake Lucerne discovered pile dwellings from the Bronze Age.

Exploring Roman History

Augusta Raurica near Augst/Kaiseraugst, a 2000-year-old settlement on the southern bank of the Rhine, is located near the beautiful city of Basel. Named after the Celtic Rauriker tribe and the Roman Emperor Augustus, the city at its peak had a population of around 20,000 with workshops, commercial enterprises, taverns, temples and public baths closely strung together. Because no new towns were established during the Middle Ages or our modern area, Augusta Raurica is amazingly well-preserved.

Visitors can view the myriad of wonders discovered here like the largest silver treasure dating from Late Antiquity, a Roman domestic animal park with ancient animal species, and the architectural remnants of the city, the museum offers great insights into the daily lives of the people who lived here around the time of Christ’s birth.

1821—Napoleon’s End

On May 5 was the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon I on the island of St. Helena, where he was placed in exile. His stepdaughter Hortense des Beauharnais also lived in exile at Arenenberg Castle and Napoleon Museum in Switzerland.

As the only German-speaking museum on Napoleonic history, a special exhibition during the “Année Napoléon 2021” will take place from October 10-24, 2021, showing the long lasting influence of Napoleon on Switzerland even today.

Inventing Milk Chocolate

Food and beverages reflect a country’s culinary traditions and customs. Many of today’s Swiss cheese brands go back to the 12th century, but Daniel Peter’s much newer creation in 1875 really took the world by storm—a passion that continues today. Peter was able to solve the problem of how to combine chocolate and milk. Most Swiss cities offer chocolate tours and several chocolate brands features visitor experiences.

Newly Restored LGBT Pioneer’s Spectacular Painting Returns to Monte Verità

After a lengthy restoration, the super large circular painting “Il Chiaro Mondo dei Beati” or “The Clear World of the Blessed” by Estonian artist and LGBT pioneer Elisàr von Kupffer (1872-1932) is on display at the Monte Verità museum complex located in southern Switzerland near Ascona.

Ballenberg

Instead of destroying more than one hundred historic buildings, many of them farmhouses, were instead carefully taken dismantled and rebuilt at the Ballenberg Swiss Open-Air Museum.

The museum is nestled in the beautiful pastoral landscape of the Bernese Oberland and can be reached by bus from Brienz. The many hands-on activities were created to provide insight in old traditional crafts like forging, weaving, and herbal medical treatments

From Zürich to Lugano in Under Two Hours: From Winter to Time in the Mediterranean Sun on Lake Lugano

Culture, Elegant dining, Europe, Food, Historic Architecture, Historic Cookery, Historic Restaurants, History, Italian, Mountains, Museum, Seafood, Travel, Wine

**Copyright** Lugano Region © Enrico Boggia

The charming Ticino region is a well-kept secret for travelers in the know wanting to escape winter’s cold. But that’s likely to soon change with with the opening of the Ceneri Base Tunnel this December. Train times between Zürich and Lugano are now less than two hours making a trip to this magical Italian-speaking region of Switzerland within an easy reach of the North..

Lugano, the largest town in Ticino, is located in the very heart of breathtaking mountain and lake landscapes, and offers year-round a fascinating mix of culture, cuisine and Mediterranean joie de vivre.Curretnly, a selection of hotels are offering special deals with a 20 percent discount on the daily rate, theme packages with overnight stays, and fixed price offers including dinner.Bookable through ticino.ch/ceneri

Flamel at Hotel Luganodante. Photo courtesy of Hotel Luganodante.

Hotel LUGANODANTE dazzles with its new design

The 4-star Hotel LUGANODANTE, located right at the center of Lugano has a colorful urban stylewith public areas that create an ambience of an open living room looking out onto city living. The 85 rooms and suites, as well as the lounge and conference room, have been decorated to reflect the pleasant and soothing color hues of the lake and surrounding landscape. In the newly opened Flamel restaurant, the Maci brothers wow diners with an innovative gastro concept that blends Italian and French cuisine and offers – in keeping with the French alchemist Nicolas Flamel’s name – a unique flavor experience. www.luganodante.com

Hotel Luganodante. Photo courtesy of Hotel Luganodante.

Monte Brè –An excursion above the roofs of Lugano now also available in winter
The Monte Brè and Monte San Salvatore are two majestic local mountains that are now accessible during the holiday season aboard a historic funicular. Over a half-mile high, Monte Brè is considered Switzerland’s sunniest mountain. Both mountains offer stunning panoramic views of Lake Lugano and the surrounding snowy peaks.
www.montebre.ch

Funicular Mount Bre. Photo courtesy of Funicalar Mount Bre.

Dario Ranza, Kuechenchef, Ristorante Ciani, Lugano. copyright by http://www.steineggerpix.com / photo by remy steinegger

Il Forziere del Vino – Tastings in a sublime Wine Cellar
The luxury hotel Splendide Royal Lugano is home to the stunning Forziere del Vino (“wine safe”), which houses a real treasure – some 500 of the world’s very best wines. The guardian of the safe is Simone Ragusa, a Swiss Master Sommelier in 2015. The stunning Wine Cellar is ideal for enjoying first-class culinary experiences and wine tastings with Ragusa who shares his deep knowledge of the best vini of Ticino and other top-class international wines, also provides insider information about the wines and their producers. Oenophiles up for the challenge are invited to participate in an evening of blind tasting: four different wines are paired with food and answer questions about what they’re drinking.. At the end of the evening, one of the guests is crowned “Sommelier of the Evening”.
http://www.splendide.ch

Hotel Splendide Royal, Lugano.
Both photos courtesy of Hotel Splendide Royal, Lugano.

Exhibition at the MASI Palazzo Reali – Ticino in the Tide of Change

The Museo d’arte della Svizzera italiana (MASI) will continue to show the monographic exhibition “Ticino in the Tide of Change” in the Palazzo Reali January 10, 2021. Showcasing the work of local photographer Vincenzo Vicarni (1911-2007), the exhibition features more than 100 black-and-white and color photos he took of Ticino from 1936 and 1987. It’s a wonderful way to see how Ticino changed and its inhabitants adapted from the agricultural post-war years to the more urban Ticino of the 1980s. www.masilugano.ch

Museuo d’Arte. Photo courtesy of Masi Lugano.

Da Vinci Experience – Dive into the world of Leonardo da Vinci

From 03.12.20 – 21.02.2021, the Centro Esposizioni Conza in Lugano is featuring a new interactive multimedia exhibition called the “Da Vinci Experience”. Bringing da Vinci’s story, art and inventions to life in multimedia format that includes projections and virtual realities, takes visitors on a sensory journey as they learn about his greatest inventions. In the Inventions Room, visitors interact with many of da Vinci’s original works reproduced in full scale. The Immersive Room is an extensive cinematic experience projecting a series of images and videos of da Vinci’s best artistic works and scientific inventions. The third room – the Oculus Room – houses eight 3D virtual reality stations with VR glasses where visitors navigate, by a virtual paddle boat or flying the roofs, of Renaissance Florence. davinciexperience.ch

Carta MAM – five museums in the Mendrisiotto come together in one ticket
At the southern tip of Lake Lugano lies the Mendrisiotto, a region which is not only rich in rolling hills and flourishing vineyards producing the best wine, but also a wide range of different cultural experience including the Carta MAM of the Musei d’Arte del Mendrisiotto (MAM) network. This consists of five different museums: the M.A.X. Museo in Chiasso, the Museo d’arte Mendrisio, the Museo Vincenzo Vela in Ligornetto, the Pinacoteca Cantonale Giovanni Züst in Rancate and the Teatro dell’architettura in Mendrisio. Visitors purchasing a ticket at any of the five museums also will be given the Carta MAM which provides a discount for the other museums and their gift shops. ! www.museidartemendrisiotto.ch

Nuova Segnaletica in Piaazza del Ponte a Mendrisio (FOTO FIORENZO MAFFI)

Lugano ex Convento Santa Maria degli Angioli
Copyright Ticino Turismo – Foto Loreta Daulte

Grand Cafè al Porto – Lugano’s living room since 1803

The narrow alleyway Via Pessina in the old town of Lugano is home to the Grand Cafè al Porto, a café dating back as 1803. A gathering place for the literati, artists and politicians, it is still to this day referred to as the salotto (English: living room) of Lugano.
The jewel in the crown of the Grand Café al Porto is the Cenacolo Fiorentino on the first floor, formerly a monastery dining hall with stunning 16the century wooden ceiling and wall frescoes thought to have be created by Florentine painter Carlo Bonafedi. In more modern times, In March 1945 Cenacolo Florentino was the setting for Operation Sunrise, a secret meeting between German officers and representatives of the Allied powers that resulted in the surrender of German troops in North Italy and shortening the Second World War by several days. The Hall is now available for private engagements. www.grand-cafe-lugano.ch

Grand Cafe al Porto di Lugano. Copyright by Grand Cafe al Porto / Photo by Remy Steinegger HDR-Image

Gabbani – tradition and innovation
The Gabbani delicatessen in the very heart of the old town of Lugano offers the best in fresh fruit and vegetables, regional cheese specialties, selected charcuterie products, the finest bread and sweet pastries as well as the great wines. The Gabbani name is synonymous with freshness, quality and tradition since 1937 when butcher Domenico Gabbani set up his delicatessen Via Pessina. His son, Lino succeeded him and since 2010, his sons Domenico and Francesco Gabbani have carried on the family tradition. In 2020, they established a boutique hotel, restaurant , wine bar, coffee bar and delicatessen stand on the Piazza Cioccaro.

The hotel has 14 stylishly designed rooms, each with the name of the different type of food upon which the room’s color palette is created. The latest innovation from the Gabbani family is the Ikobani Roof Bar & Restaurant on the fourth floor of the hotel. It serves traditional Japanese cuisine, ranging from classic temaki to fresh sashimi and special dishes such as Kaisen salad, fried fish in Nanban, the house ramen soup and many other traditional Japanese dishes. www.gabbani.com

Ristorante La Serra – a greenhouse with a twist

Located beyond the town’s borders, Ristorante La Serra or, in English, The Greenhouse is housed in an actual greenhouse now transformed into a cozy modern restaurant owned by Mara Bertelli, a yoga teacher. Their the motto “local food, global taste” translates into a menu packed with culinary creations from across the world but based heavily on regional, seasonal ingredients. In addition to the restaurant, there is also a lab which holds cooking classes, yoga lessons and other creative workshops. www.laserra.ch

Copyright Alina Smit – Ristorante La Serra

Restaurant Ciani – the address for gourmets in Lugano’s green oasisThe destination for any gourmet in Lugano is the Restaurant Ciani, where Head Chef Dario Ranza dishes are based on local ingredients and recipes including pasta, risotto and fish. The 15 Gault & Millau points awarded to the restaurant show is indicative of its quality and creativity. Situated at the edge of the Parco Ciani – the town’s green oasis – guests can enjoy stunning views of nature and the historic Villa Ciani while enjoying the restaurant’s modern and elegant design including its lounge, wine bar and large terrace. www.cianilugano.ch

For more information:
Ticino Turismo
Via C. Ghiringhelli 7
CH – 6501 Bellinzona
T +41 (0)91 825 70 56
www.ticino.ch