Hello Switzerland! جدول لزيارة سويسرا

Hello travel lovers! Welcome back to another blog post in another beautiful country.

This time, Invited by the board of Tourism in Switzerland, I’ve agreed to join an influencer summit trip to explore different parts of Switzerland. The total of influencers on this trip is around 20 persons, which where then divided into smaller groups and sent into different routes.

My group consisted of 5 persons, and our route was as follows: Geneve for 2 nights, Lausanne for 1 night, Vevey 1 night and finally St Moritz for 2 nights.

GENEVA

I was at the time in Athens, so my flight was from Athens to Geneva through Zurich.

Upon arrival, It was raining non-stop until we left. Hence, unfortunately all our outdoor plans got cancelled.

We were supposed to go on a picnic, and a hot air balloon ride. I was super excited in particular for the hot air balloon ride. I guess that’s a reason now for me to go back to Geneva? Haha.

We nonetheless took a cruise during our rainy stay to Geneva’s most famous monument, Jet d’Eau. It is the world’s tallest water fountain and provides a constant landmark for exploring the city.

In Geneva, we also been to Carouge Town, which was a super cute Mediterranean style area and also referred to as the Greenwich Village of Geneva, recommended to checkout for sure!

A little bit in a village that is around 30-40 minutes by car, we’ve had an amazing dinner at Auberge d’Hermance, an authentic and bucolic setting.

Another place I tried the local fish and really liked is Cafe Restaurant des Bastions (in the middle of Bastion Park).

Other things you could do:

• The Mont-Salève Cable Car – views of Geneva
• Boat tour/Cruise on the lake
• Have a fondue at Bains des Pâquis

Lausanne

Arrived to Lausanne by train and checked into our hotel. The hotel room was great and spacious at Lausanne Palace Hotel.

Our lunch was at Brasserie de Montbenon. (Great place! Loved it)

Recommendations in Lausanne:

• Cafe Nomad
• Durig Chocolatier
• Checkout Esplanade de Montbenon
• Tour de Sauvabelin
• Parc de Mon Repos
• MUDAC – Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts
• Escalier du Marchè
• Rolex learning. center

Vevey

Recommendations in Vevey:

• Checkout Vevey old town (A short walk from the hotel I stayed at when I visited, Rue du Lac leads to Vevey’s picturesque pedestrian area which has an intimate feels and amazing narrow streets.
• A giant Fork in the Lake.
• We enjoyed a lovely boat excursion in Lake Geneva, I also sat in the hotel infront of the lake/port, it had an amazing outdoor seating area overlooking the port. (Hotel du Lac? If I’m not mistaken)

• Read about Caty’s Biscuits; an ex-banker who decided to change her life and drop off finance to open a homemade biscuits shop.
• Laderach: Chocolate Shop
• Brew Coffee Shop & Bar
• Kizuku – Design Cafe
• Kymem Cafe – Cosy coffee & Bar
• Ze Fork for lunch, I loved their outdoor seating especially on a sunny day ♡

ST MORTIZ

St Mortiz to me has always been a ski destination, so I was really excited to see how it looks like in summer. June, is when all the resorts start opening again to receive guests for the season!

St Mortiz has 5,000 registered residents, 40% of whom are foreign nationals. If you’re looking for a special occasion happening here, July 4th to August 4 is usually the festival of Jazz.

The beauty. of. majestic mountains and dense forest.. such a beauty! We’ve taken the train (a longer ride this time!) all the way to St Moritz. The closest city I would say is Zurich which will take 4 hours by train with 2-3 train transfers.. but super smooth and easy nonetheless. Just make sure you’re comfortable with your luggage.

Must check out in the area:

• Lake St. Moritz (Sailing boats!)
• Leh Silvaplana (kite and windsurfers lake!
• Lej Nair (Black Lake) – 15 minutes walk from Lej Marsch and only accessible by foot.
• Lej da Staz (Between St Moritz and Pontresina)
• Espresso Jolt on the Terrace at Badrutt’s Palace Hotel
• Lunch at El Paradiso Mountain CLub 
• La Baracca (dining)

Other cities that other influencers explored in Switzerland:

• Spiez
• Basel
• Interlaken
• Zurich