Journey's Guided Switzerland Rail/Train Vacations and Tours - Switzerland Info

If you haven't already, check out the Guided Rail/Train Tours in the Spring or the guided Fall Foliage Train/Rail Tour. Or read more about the hotels where you will be staying, a photo gallery including some pictures from previous tour members, a section of travel tips, and a map.

As is true of all of Switzerland, it is hard to find the appropriate words to describe this magnificent country. Her beauty and culture will forever remain a life long memory for you to treasure and share. Switzerland is one of the safest countries in the world. There is less violent crime in the whole country in one year, than in New York City in a day.

You have just found your green travel Switzerland vacation

We are so happy we came on this tour, it's the best!

and casual Swiss tour. Our Switzerland tour groups tend to be smaller in size and travel by (hydro-generated) electric rail and fuel-efficient bus through the Swiss Alps. We visit famous old world cities in a variety of Swiss locales. Swiss Chocolates, Swiss watches, Switzerland's cuckoo clocks, Swiss engineering, Swiss made lace, and real Swiss cheese to Swiss castles and alpine peaks complete with glaciers, it's all waiting for you.

Switzerland Tours and European Vacations

Springtime's Guided Train/Rail Tours and Vacations in the Swiss Alps! The meadows come alive with wildflowers, waterfalls rush down the mountain sides to the streams and azure colored lakes below. We explore castles, and pass by many others while admiring Switzerland's captivating scenery from our train windows.

Home on Lake Lucerne

Our Guided Switzerland Fall Foliage Rail Tour in the fall is the perfect time of year to be there. The brilliant fall foliage, vivid colors of the flowers, and snow capped alpine peaks against the green meadows and grazing cows, is amazing. Enjoy Switzerland without the crowds of summer!

We're putting together a Christmas market tour in early December, 2012. You will have fun finding locally crafted and handmade Christmas gifts for your family and friends. Have some mulled wine, delicious cookies and cakes, and listen to the church bells and Christmas carolers. Call or email us if you would like to be notified when it is available.

Travels

If there is one country in the world that is ideal for vacationers, it's Switzerland! Switzerland's alpine scenery constantly changes from one magnificent vista to the next. Your rides include some of the following: scenic routes, panoramic cars, double decker trains, tilting trains, ICE fast trains, cog wheel, funicular, trams and cable cars, electric trains, steam engines, bus, boats, and even horse and buggy rides!

Sights and Scenery

Lauterbrunnen (Waterfall Valley)

From your train or motor coach window, you will see awesome contrasts of majestic snow capped peaks, to gentle alpine meadows full of wild flowers. See the glaciers that fill the azure blue lakes and streams.

Visit famous Old World cities where you can shop, visit museums, and see stunning architecture. Visit some of the most famous castles in the world, like the Castle of Gruyeres, Chateau Oberhofen, Neuschwanstein and Hoenschwangau.

Experience the thrill of stopping high in the Alps at a small rail station beside a quaint village with rustic alpine chalets. Their window boxes ablaze with vibrant colored flowers in full bloom. Waterfalls, lakes and 900 year old forests of greens, reds, oranges, yellows and rust, dot the rolling landscape.

Rail Pass

Your included Swiss Rail Pass entitles you to unlimited trips on the entire network of the Swiss Travel System covering almost 14,000 miles of railways, lake steamers, funiculars, and postal bus routes as well as the urban transit systems in many Swiss cities. As a bonus, the rail pass gives you free entrance to many Kunst, famous art galleries and other Swiss museums.

Alpine trail near Murren

Switzerland's Profile

The name Switzerland comes from "Schwyz," one of the original cantons in the Confederation. The letters "CH" are the country's national designation and stands for "Confoederatio Helvetica" (Latin for Swiss Confederation).

Switzerland is located in the very heart of Europe, with Germany to the North, France to the West, Italy to the South and Austria and Liechtenstein to the East. About 2/3 of Switzerland's landscape is made up of forests, lakes and mountains.

The Alps form the complex geological structure of Switzerland. They consist of granite, gneiss, limestone and crystalline seams. They have an average altitude of some 5550 ft (1700 m), with close to 100 peaks towering above 13,000 ft (4000 m).

They form part of the Alpine arc which stretches almost 1000 kilometers from Nice (French Maritime Alps) to Vienna (Austrian Alps). Switzerland embraces the center part of the Alps, with its four main passes - Grimsel, Furka, St. Gotthard and Oberalp; here also spring the sources of the rivers Rhone and Rhine.

Atlas & Quick Facts:

• Population: 7 Million
• Capital: Berne
• Currency: Swiss Franc (CHF)
• National Flag: a white cross centered on a square field of red.
• Religions: Protestant (44%), Roman Catholic (48%), others (8%)
• Area: 15,942 sq. MI./41,293 sq. km
• Distances: north south 137 mi./220 km; east west 216 mi./348 km
• Cantons: 23, three of which are subdivided into half cantons
• Highest point: Dufour Peak in the Monte Rosa massif (Valais) 15,203 ft (4634 m)
• Highest Village: Juf (Graubunden) 7,000 ft (2,126 m)
• Lowest point: Lake Maggiore (Ticino) 633 ft. (193 m) ~ Switzerland has 1,484 lakes.
• Largest Glacier: The Aletsch (Valais), largest glacier in continental Europe. Switzerland has 140 glaciers.

“Until 1914 I loved to travel; I often went to Italy and once spent a few months in India. Since then I have almost entirely abandoned traveling, and I have not been outside of Switzerland for over ten years.” -- Hermann Hesse

• 5 Largest Cities: Zurich (largest), Basel. Geneva, Berne and Lucerne
• Holloch in the Muotathal: the second largest cave system in the world
• Jungfraujoch: 11350 ft (3454 m), the highest railway station in Europe
• Lac Souterrain St. Leonard: Europe's largest underground lake
• Staubbach Falls: located in Lauterbrunnen, 920 ft (280 m) high
• Rhine Falls near Schauffhausen: most spectacular waterfall in central Europe
• Swiss National Park, Zernez: oldest National Park in Europe, established in 1914

National languages of Switzerland:

• German (central and northeastern Switzerland) spoken by 2/3 of the population
• French (western Switzerland) spoken by about 20%
• Italian (southern Switzerland) spoken by 8%
• Rhaeto-Romanic, also known as Rumantsch (southeastern Switzerland), is spoken by less than 1% of the population.
• Switzerland is one of the most multilingual countries in Europe. Most Swiss, particularly those who work with visitors in one way or another, speak several languages, including English.

Climate:

The Eiger, near Kleine Scheidegg

Due to extreme topographical diversity within a small area, the weather may vary considerably from region to region. Different altitudes are also characterized by completely different climates and temperatures.

Switzerland is affected by Atlantic currents bringing moist air and Mediterranean currents bringing warm air. The southern part of Switzerland has subtropical vegetation and a mild climate year round. In the northern plateau, surrounded by mountains, the climate is mild and refreshing. The Valais area is noted for dryness.

Temperatures generally do not reach extremes of hot or cold. In the cities, summer temperatures seldom rise above 86°F (30° C), and the humidity is rather moderate. In winter, temperatures often fall below 32°F (0° C) and there is snow and ice.

The Landscape:

At 15,936 square miles, history gave Switzerland only a little land. Just a little larger than Maryland.

However, Nature has compensated Switzerland with the finest natural sights in Europe, and the Alpine region is the most beautiful of all. If you're looking for jaw dropping scenery, the Jungfrau region south of Interlaken has it!

Contact Journey's and start arranging your trip!
email or call 1-866-702-3478

Read more about the 2012 Spring Train/Rail Tours, or the 2012 guided Fall Foliage Train Tour.. Or check out the hotels where you will be staying. There is also the photo gallery including some pictures from previous tour members, a section of travel tips, and a map.