Switzerland travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

This 5 star hotel is located in the city centre of Lucerne and was established in 1906.  The Palace is located in Lucerne, Switzerland on the shores of Lake Lucerne within 50 metres of the medieval city. The hotel is close to the city’s main tourist attractions, business centres, shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.

168 guest rooms and 5 suites, each with its own unique decor.In addition, the Palace Luzern offers room service to guests.

Guestrooms have satellite television, minibars, and direct-dial phones; bathrooms include bathrobes, designer toiletries, and scales.

Amenities: Pets Allowed, Fitness Center, Wheelchair Accessible, Spa/Massage, Meeting Facilities, Babysitting, Broadband Access.

The Hotel Palace has 3 restaurants: “Les Artistes” offering the rich Breakfast, “Dine-In” plan, “Le Maritime” on the terrace – for Mediterranean cuisine, and  ” Jasper” with a creative, international cuisine.

 

The hotel is quietly located in the heart of Arosa, providing a beautiful view of the Lake Obersee. Europe’s highest golf course is situated 500 m above the hotel. The Sporthotel in Arosa, Switzerland is about 1800 m above the sea, wonderful place to spend the summer vacation in the beautiful mountain ranges.

73 comfortable rooms and family suites with balconies and verandas. Room amenities include minibar, hairdryer, direct dial telephone, cable TV, radio, bathtub or shower and WC.

Hotel offers- garden, tennis courts (in and outdoor), childrends play-garden, indoor swimming pool, tennis, putting Green, beach-volleyball, bikes, massage, sauna, steam bath, beauty center and conference rooms and facilities. As well you can find in Arosa different ski-piste (around 70 km) and nice walking and hiking tours for summer and winter hiking.

Amenities: Alarm Clock, Babysitting, Bar/Lounge, Beauty Shop, Business Center, Fitness Center, Hairdryers Available, Pets Allowed, Pool,  Restaurant  and Room Service.

 Zurich is a city with no shortage of timekeepers. Zurich is also a city of landscape design, the Helvetica typeface and the Swiss Army Knife. Clocks are everywhere, over train and tram stations and from the facades of office buildings and church steeples. Time may rule this modern capital but also symbolizes the dynamic between the city’s history and modernity.

Zurich is the world’s most livable city, owing to its small size and population of fewer than 400, 000. It’s a place where bankers dance during summer evenings and where wealth attracts contemporary art.

Zurich is very exciting, attracting more young people and more foreigners. You have more galleries per person than any  other city in the world, after New York. Zurich offers spectacular museums, restaurants, boutiques and nature in every doorstep, which is very important. That’s why an Italian wants to compare his muscles, he does it with the German and the French.

On the west side of Zurich (also known as Kries 4), the industry is there and so its art. Everything is there. There are new apartments, lofts and cinemas in old factories. Schiffbau is a lovely theater with a good restaurant called LaSalle. It’s an aesthetic glass box.

Swiss people, in general plan the future too much, so they are not really alive. They know exactly what they will do at 60. and this is not sexy and attractive for me. There you can have the sexiness. They just want to do the best. You will see this in the benches or the design of bins- it’s too much. It’s too material.

The famed health spa/hotel has been designed in 1899 by Jacques Gros and has a perfect city location overlooking Lake Zurich and the Alps. The old hotel has been renewed as a modern luxury hotel by a famous team of professionals — architecture by London’s Foster and Partners, interior design by United Designers, also of London, and the spa concept by spa-industry visionary, Arizona-based Sylvia Sepielli.

The topmost, 4,300 square-foot Maestro Suite is designed by Herbert von Karajan. The sweeping two-level suite features red leather chairs, dark timbers, a circular tower dining room, pale-marble bathrooms with whirlpools and steam showers (and one with a sauna), massive windows and a lounge-style terrace.

The Swiss surrealist painter and sculptor Alberto Giacometti created the Carezza Suite on the top floor of the spa wing. The furnishings and its organic shapes give a peaceful lounge feel, intensified by the neutral colors and the modern fireplace. The two-bedroom suite has a living room, TV lounge and marble bathrooms.

The spa wing, the Masina Suite takes its inspiration from Giulietta Masina, actress and wife of Federico Fellini. Night-blue and soft white evoke a feel of elegance and smoky glamour. A large Fendi sofa and a flat-screen TV are perfect for film noir nights. Floor-to-ceiling windows add further drama. Orange sofas, dark wood panels and pink furniture adorn Suite 101 created to reflect the legacy of the Rolling Stones. The decor has a retro vibe and an edge with distinctive, casual luxury. The suite features a bedroom, living room, dining room, an ensuite kitchen and meeting room for 10.

Greulich is a very small cosy hotel located in Zurich. The place is very personal and has only 18 rooms.

From the hotel, guests launch on a interesting journey to their rooms, over warm floors, past natural cedarwood walls, and through a central courtyard, where water pools with floating flowers add a Zen touch, emphasised by the grey tones and silky textures of silver birch trees.

Guestrooms also show Japanese ascendency, with minimalist furnishings, moderate colors and a private garden that provides an intimate space for introspection and meditation. And where there’s nourishment for the body and soul Hotel Greulich’s restaurant is dedicated to “soul food”, and only ecological ingredients are used in the production of its healthy, sophisticated dishes.

Its predecessor dated from 1886, when the new hydraulic turbines on the Rhone built up excessive water pressure after the city’s craftsmen had closed the valves in their workshops and gone home. An engineer created a temporary outlet which spurted a 30m fountain to release the pressure while a reservoir system was developed, but by the time the fountain became unnecessary a few wily Genevois had caught on to its power as a tourist attraction. Then purely decorative, it was moved from the river to an exposed lakeside location, and furnished with more and more powerful pumps. It’s a big fountain that shoots straight out of the lake… it was built for a world fair there. You can see it from all around the lake, and they shine lights on it at night. The lake is beautiful to watch a sunset on, and the Swiss Alps surround it. Also, there is a statue of a “naked man and a horse”. Eight 9,000-watt projectors light the fountain’s majestic column in the evening as it soars skywards.
In 1930, the city of Geneva installed the Jet d’eau (Water Fountain) where it is today, on the Rade, together with electric lighting. Originally a simple security valve at the Coulouvreniere hydraulic factory, the massive Jet d’Eau fountain has, over the years, grown to become a symbol of Geneva. Geneva’s Jet d’Eau has been breaking the calm of this peaceful city for over a hundred years.To project half a cubic meter of water per second up to 140 meters high requires two powerful groups of motor pumps representing a global weight of over 16 tons and a total power of close to 1000 kilowatts, fed by an electric tension of 2400 volts. The water is drawn in a circular water-sump and is directed towards an exit pipe where the speed reaches 200 km/h (130 miles per hour). Still, the generically named Jet d’eau (”water jet”) isn’t your common garden-variety sprinkler. Electric pumps totalling some 1,300 hp keep an estimated seven tons of water in the air, and the jet is nearly three times the height of the Statue of Liberty.

It is only when approaching the Jet d’Eau on the Rade that you really experience the mixture of indescribable power and invigorating spray, and can appreciate the surrounding sites, the harmony of the quays, the old town on the hills and St Peter’s Cathedral. But don’t take the mild spray for granted – as soon as the wind changes direction, sprays turn into showers and more than one visitor has come back from the Rade completely soaked…

Glaciers, waterfalls, wild mountain streams, mountain lakes, Alpine moors, Alpine flora and traditional agriculture have made it into a high valley of spectacular beauty. Lauterbrunnen is a small unspoilt village in Switzerland nestled between the towering walls of a sheer-sided valley that is famed for its waterfalls. This Alpine valley – Lauterbrunnen is situated in the impressive glaciated valley with the beautiful mountain ranges of Jungfrau, Shilthorn, and Breithorn on its doorstep. It is the departing point to the famous car-free resorts of Wengen and Murren, as well as the Jungfraujoch -Top of Europe (the highest train station in Europe) and the Schiltorn/Piz Gloria (made famous by James Bond).

The Lauterbrunnen Valley is one of the most scenic areas on the face of the earth. Lauterbrunnen is tucked into a deep, long valley of rocky cliffs and green pastures. The valley has 72 waterfalls, including the Staubbach Falls and the equally famous Trummelbach Falls, a series of 10 falls inside a mountain gorge that require a descent by undeground funicular. In Lauterbrunnen itself, the Talmuseum has exhibits on iron mining and other aspects of the valley’s history.

Trummelbach Falls is unique, in that seven of its 10 cascades are inside a mountain. A lift takes you up inside the mountain, and you start climbing up to the cascades. The tunnels and stairs that lead to the cascades are dimly lit and damp, with water dripping everywhere. Add the deafening roar of water and the constant vibration in the rock, and considering we were the only two there, it was downright spooky. 20,000 litres of water flows through Trummelbach per second! Switzerland is incredibly beautiful – lots of perfectly kept chalets with flower boxes under each window, the Swiss flags over the balcony, firewood stacked neatly in the back and cows bells ringing in all directions.
For hikers, skiers, and alpine sightseers with limited budgets, Lauterbrunnen has much to offer–including a valley location that makes it a convenient touring base for the Jungfrau Region, especially when traveling by car.

The river Weisse Lutschine flows through Lauterbrunnen and overflows its banks about once a year. The source of the river comes from melting snow high in the mountains, thus making it a very pure and clean source of water. It is common practice in the camp sites to chill drinks in the water.

The Jungfraujoch is the lowest point on the mountain ridge between Munch and Jungfrau, at 3471 m. It is just above this location that the mountain station of Jungfraujoch is located, which at an elevation of 3,454 metres is the highest railway station in Europe. Whether you just want to enjoy the unique alpine scenery or make the Jungfraujoch the base for your climbing tours, you will find the dining opportunity that suits you best.

The Jungfraujoch is not only one of Switzerland’s most attractive excursion destinations and vantage points. It has also proved to be an excellent location for a wide variety of research projects. The high altitude, clear air and easy access by mountain railway are ideal conditions for a wide range of scientific work. Astronomers, geologists, physicists, meteorologists and hydrologists – they all make an essential contribution towards our understanding of the environment.

First at 2060m is starting point for many good trails. In summer the cable car starts running from May 18th all the way to First, but most trails are likely covered in deep snow another couple of weeks. The 50 min walk to Bachalpsee (a lake) is supposedly great and the views seen from available post cards seem fabulous (mountains reflecting in the lake). Walking down between the stations Schreckfeld and Bort is a steep tarmac trail taking close to 1 hr. You get there via Europe’s highest railway station inside the ice! (No civil engineering challenge is too great for the Swiss. The more difficult, the better they like it!)
Walking some sections of the journey, up or down, is perfectly feasible in summer, and can also save plenty, with fares from intermediate points along the route considerably lower. The undiscounted Good Morning ticket from Grindelwald is Fr.103, from Lauterbrunnen Fr.102

Verbier is a resort town in the east central part of the Switzerland. It is dominated by chalet-style houses and mid-size hotels, giving it a traditional Swiss feel that is at odds with the multi-story hotel blocks and modern atmosphere typical of many major French resorts. This is the French-speaking region of Switzerland, but thanks to its standing as one of the most popular Alpine destinations for British tourists, Verbier also hangs out an “English is spoken” plaque for its visitors.The quaint Swiss town resting in the saddle of majestic mountains nearly 5,000 feet above the valley floor. The principal activity at Verbier during the winter is skiing. The ski area is one of the largest in Switzerland, extending as far as Thyon and up to the Mt Fort glacier. Much of the best skiing is off-piste, making the resort best suited for experienced, or at least enthusiastic skiers. The best sector for beginners is Savolyres. There is less infrastructure for snowboarding, but advanced boarders should consider a trip to Verbier for the magnificent off-piste possibilities. The Swiss ski resort of Verbier is part of the Four Valleys Ski Area with access to 412km of downhill skiing, with 47 individual pistes, served by 92 ski lifts.

For experts prepared to hire a guide in order to explore off-slope, Verbier is one of the big names. With its Four Valleys lift network and a claimed 250 miles of slopes; Verbier would seem at first sight to rank alongside the French mega-resorts such as Courchevel or La Plagne for slope skiers, too. But it doesn’t; the Four Valleys is an inconveniently sprawling affair, while Verbier’s local slopes are surprisingly confined. Verbier sector is anywhere accessible with a standard Verbier pass, 33 standard ski runs, 2 snow parks, 1 “Jardin de Neige” (an area which is relatively flat and is made for small children initiating skiing), 4 cross-country pistes and 2 walking areas.

With pistes above 2500 metres, skiing and snowboarding is assured throughout the season. There is an airport within two hours drive, so ski weekends, snowboard breaks and short ski holidays to Verbier are perfectly feasible.

The snow transforms the Adelboden-Frutigen holiday and leisure resort region into a spectacular winter arena. In this big resort you just need to follow your pleasure and ski or enjoy magical winter walks in Adelboden’s sunshine.

This year will be full of adrenaline for those of you who love winter sports and will visit this great Switzerland ski resort. Adelboden celebrates the official arrival of winter with its traditional Winterylute festival and Christmas Market at the Dorfplatz on Saturday 16 December 2006.
For sports fans, the real highlight must be the FIS Ski World Cup for Men: on Saturday 6 January 2007 there’s the Giant Slalom event and on Sunday 7 January 2007 the Slalom. On both days there will be an attractive supporting programme.

A traditional and at times hazardous spectacle takes place on Sunday 18 January 2007 with the Hornschlittenrennen Sledge Race. Well over 100 teams of two will race at breakneck speed down Chuenisbargli towards the finishing line.

The weekend of 17/18 March 2007 sees the Swiss Skibock Championships – an open event featuring this unique mix of ski and sledge. Typically Adelboden in character, it’s something for young and old, local or visitor to take part in. Spectacular duals on an exciting course coupled with a festival atmosphere on TschentenAlp.

These guys and girls are so clearly headed to reach the summit of this plateu in the Alps mountains and make their trip to below, that if you love skiing you would most probably say “I want to be there too…”.

One of the most frequent questions people ask is “Where’s the best skiing in the Alps?”. It’s not a question with an easy answer but the only way to find out is to experience it by yourself.