Suisse Plus - Itinerary

Itinerary Tour Swiss Weekend Getaway

B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner

DAY 1 (B / L / D) LUZERN & GRIMSEL PASS & GOMS VALLEY & ALETSCH ARENA

morning	we will pick you up at your location in Switzerland visit Luzern City - Chapel bridge - Old Town - Lakeside promenade Lake Lungern Brünig pass Giessbach waterfalls & Grand Hotel Giessbach Handeckfall suspension bridge Gelmer funicular railway (optional, not included) Grimsel pass lunch (picnic) at Grimsel pass)
afternoon	Goms valley Goms suspension bridge over Rhône river visit UNESCO World Heritage site Aletsch Arena: cable car Betten-Talstation - Bettmeralp, cable car Bettmeralp - Bettmerhorn visit Bettmerhorn Mountain Group 1: hiking Bettmerhorn - Moosfluh - Hohfluh - Riederfurka - Riederalp (time: 2h 20, distance: 7.5 km, 777 m downhill and 51 m uphill) / walking Riederalp - Bettmeralp (45min, 2.3 km) Group 2: exhibition on Bettmerhorn, Bettmersee Lake, walking around at Bettmeralp, visit of Moosfluh mountain top Group 3: paragliding with a professional guide (optional, not included / between CHF 130 and CHF 230 depending on the type of tour booked)
evening	dinner in Goms valley car shuttle train at Furka Accommodation in Zürich

Our first stop Luzern (eng. Lucerne) is a city you must visit while in Switzerland. Historic houses decorated with frescoes line the picturesque town squares of the well-preserved old town. Complete with gable paintings, the covered, medieval Chapel Bridge forms the centrepiece of Lucerne’s townscape and is one of the oldest, covered wooden bridges in Europe. Due to the packed programme on this day, we will spend a maximum of 1 hour in Lucerne, just enough time to see the main attractions.

On this day we will drive over two of the most spectacular mountain passes. Before crossing the Brünig pass, we visit Lake Lungern. Its deep blue waters in front of snow-capped mountains make for a spectacular scenery. The lake water is of drinking quality and can reach up to 23 degrees. Weather permitting, we will take a dip in the lake. Our first stop after crossing the Brünig pass are the Giessbach waterfalls. The Giessbach brook tumbles in 14 stages, over a length of 500 meters and out of the high valleys of the Faulhorn area down to Lake Brienz. Located right next to the waterfall is the historic Grand Hotel Giessbach built in 1873. The hotel is situated approximately 100 meters above Lake Brienz and offers scenic views over the deep blue lake Brienz. No doubt that by now you will agree that Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

Our next stop is Handeckfall suspension bridge. This easily accessible bridge is right next to the Gelmer funicular railway, the steepest funicular in Europe. It is a technological marvel and offers an unforgettable, almost vertical ride up to 1859 metres to the dam of the Gelmersee lake. However, we will probably not have time to take the funicular unless you want to cut short some other activities on this packed day. Your guide will suggest you what is best to do.

The Grimsel Pass (2165 metres) links the Hasli valley in the Bernese Oberland with Goms valley in Valais. The pass road runs through a wild, sparsely grown mountainous region marked by granite rocks, reservoir lakes, and power plants. Driving over this pass offers plenty of opportunities for taking pictures and you can also dip your feet into the ice-cold glacial meltwater of the streams that run down from the pass. On the Valaisian side we travel on a well-constructed road with many long bends down to Gletsch in Obergoms (1759m). Here one has a fine panoramic view of the Rhone Glacier and the Furka Pass road.

The Goms valley starts at Gletsch (1759m) and is the easternmost and highest part of the Valais, the longest valley in Switzerland. The Goms valley is famous for its authentic villages with sun-blackened wooden houses and barns in the Valaisian style and whitewashed churches. The Goms is an attractive cross-country paradise in winter and a popular and hiking region in summer. Expect no international tourists here. This secluded valley surrounded by 3000 m high peaks is a truly local Swiss gem.

Travelling through the Goms valley we finally arrive at the Goms suspension bridge. Crossing this bridge is not for the faint-hearted. At 280 metres, the Goms Bridge is one of the longest suspension footbridges in Valais. Inaugurated in 2015, the walkway brushes the tops of 100-year-old trees and passes a giddy 92 m above the river Rhône.

The UNESCO World Heritage site Aletsch Arena is a true nature paradise and arguably the most beautiful part of this tour. With its fragrant and revitalising alpine air, family-friendly Aletsch Arena is the perfect place for hiking and connecting with nature. The main attraction of Aletsch Arena is without any doubt the Aletsch Glacier. With a length of 20 kilometers, an average width of 1,800 meters, the Aletsch Glacier has an impressive 11 billion tons of ice. The ice mass moves from the northern flanks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau down into the valley of Valais. As a landscape of extraordinary beauty, the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch region was included in the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites in 2001.

On our way back to Zürich we take the car shuttle train at Furka. This will probably be your first time to travel by car on a train. The car shuttle train will take us through the Furka tunnel and save about 40 min of driving time compared with driving over the mountains instead.

DAY 2 (B / L / - ) ZÜRICH & CAUMA LAKE & RUINALTA & RAPPERSWIL

morning	breakfast at Hotel in Zürich visit Zürich City
afternoon	Lake Cauma observation platform “il Spir” / Ruinalta (“Swiss Grand Canyon”) lunch in Flims visit Rapperswil-Jona town
evening	swimming at Zürich Tiefenbrunnen public swimming baths (optional, not included) dinner in Zürich (on your own, not included)

We start the day with a 2-hour walking tour in Zürich. A perfect opportunity to explore this beautiful little big city, as the locals call it. You will understand why Zürich is regularly voted among the top 10 most attractive cities in the world to live in.

We then head off to Lake Cauma near Flims. The turquoise-colored Lake Cauma is about 1000 meters above sea level and has a water temperature of 20 to 24 degrees Celsius during the summer. It is a very idyllic landscape and if weather permits you can take a dip in the lake. While children frolic in the lake, play, or ride with the Pedalo to the little island, their parents can relax in the restaurant or in deck chairs on the lawn. After about 35 min walk from Lake Cauma through beautiful Alpine Forest, we get to the observation platform “il Spir”. This platform offers visitors a unique 180-degree panoramic view over the Ruinaulta (Upper Rhine Gorge). The Ruinalta is a massive river gorge that is often referred to as the “Swiss Grand Canyon”. After the retreat of the last glacier 10,000 years ago, the Rhine River started to break through the rock masses of the Flims Rock Slide. The river created the natural spectacle of the Ruinaulta.

On our return to Zürich, we can stop in Rapperswil-Jona for 1-2 hours. This beautiful town at lake Zürich combines sights, cultural life, hiking and sports possibilities with a Mediterranean holiday atmosphere. The castle towers above the town and lake and is the landmark. The castle hill affords a panorama view from the Glarus Alps all the way to the Zurich Oberland. Several churches, chapels and monasteries bear testimony to the past. The medieval old town with very little traffic - a protected historic monument, the lake promenade and varied excursion possibilities make Rapperswil particularly suitable for families with children.

We return to Zürich. On a hot summer’s day, the best activity in Zürich is to swim in the lake. Weather and time permitting your guide will take you to the historic Tiefenbrunnen public swimming baths. These public baths are particularly suited for children as there is a pool for non-swimmers in the lake.