Travel alerts straight to your inbox:

Switzerland Travel Guide

World » Europe » Switzerland

A Guide to The Watersports on Lake Geneva

June 4, 2009 at 4:09 PM | 0 Comments

In continuing our European Vacation series, (we've already gone to Rome, France, Berlin and Turkey), our newest correspondent, Kate Winick, is fresh off a trip to Geneva where she spent some time lakeside. Here's her guide to Lake Geneva.

A bright, shiny morning dawns, the radio chirps that it’s 26 degrees and going to be a beautiful day, and after a moment of puzzlement and then the requisite conversion to Fahrenheit (double it and add 27—accurate above 10 degrees for determining outdoor temperatures unless you’re much more perceptive than most) and it’s straight into bathing suits we go, to scooter down to explore the various sporting options.

more ›

Life is Good: Wine-Tasting in The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces

June 3, 2009 at 4:53 PM | 0 Comments

In continuing our European Vacation series, (we've already gone to Rome, France, Berlin and Turkey), our newest correspondent, Kate Winick, is fresh off a trip to Geneva where she spent some time lakeside. Here's her guide to Lake Geneva.

Thirty kilometers of UNESCO World Heritage site stretch along the northern shore of Lake Geneva, from Montreux to Lausanne, and from the lake to the lower slopes of the mountains, comprised of snaking miles of stone walls, tightly nestled villages, and most importantly—vineyards. Called The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, the neat rows of vines upon vines have been growing from grapes into wine here since the 11th century.

more ›

Exploring the Other Lakeside Towns of Lake Geneva

June 2, 2009 at 4:42 PM | 0 Comments

In continuing our European Vacation series, (we've already gone to Rome, France, Berlin and Turkey), our newest correspondent, Kate Winick, is fresh off a trip to Geneva where she spent some time lakeside. Here's her guide to Lake Geneva.

Geneva has a unique, pleasingly bipolar feeling of a major international center with a small-town feel, but all the lakeside towns here have a lot of character, and are definitely worth exploring. There are plenty of trains, buses, and boats that will get you to other points of interest around the lake, but we took a car for maximum mobility—besides, nothing says vacation like a red convertible.

more ›

Leave It To Geneva; Summer Is Cooler By the Lake

June 1, 2009 at 2:41 PM | 0 Comments

In continuing our European Vacation series, (we've already gone to Rome, France, Berlin and Turkey), our newest correspondent, Kate Winick, is fresh off a trip to Geneva where she spent some time lakeside. Here's her guide to Lake Geneva.

Stumbling off a red-eye to Geneva is as disorienting as any other—you went to sleep in New York, and suddenly woke up where everything is green and friendly people are offering you tiny coffees in four languages. This crossroads at the center of Europe is used to people just passing through, but we decided to stay a little while, and see what’s been drawing people here since the B.C. years.

more ›

All Hail Swiss Transportation at the 'Verkehrshaus'

May 8, 2009 at 9:36 AM | 1 Comment

More, more, more! We want more ways to play with and touch modes of transportation. Yes, we are that into planes, trains and automobiles, which is why the Verkehrshaus der Schweiz, or Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne, Switzerland is our "kid in a candy store" place where we go bonkers for a bit.

You see, Switzerland is rife with more than just chocolate, ultra-safe banking and Alps; it's also got a soft spot for transportation with its abundance of cogwheel trains, Swissair planes, vintage paddlewheel lake steamer boats, ski gondolas and inter-city trains. The Verkehrshaus (pronounced like fair-cares-house) simply wallows in the splendor of the country's mobile history by displaying some of these awesome machines and adding an IMAX theatre and planetarium to boot.

more ›

Aging Gracefully: Monastery Turned Cheese Factory

May 4, 2009 at 11:38 AM | 0 Comments

Become an informed consumer while still on vacation! Check out Jaunted's newest series of the best factory tours the world over.

They always say you don't really want to know how your sausage is made, and we suspect the same might be true for cheese. But we'll try anything once, which is why we're making tracks for the Schaukaeserei Engelberg cheese factory in Switzerland, the first factory we've covered so far that comes complete with a bistro.

more ›

'Real Housewife' Dumped Over Email Thanks to Airline Cutbacks

March 31, 2009 at 1:03 PM | 3 Comments

We know there's nothing real about the "Real Housewives of New York," but this is too juicy not to be real: Show character Countess Luann de Lesseps reportedly was dumped by her husband over e-mail this week while he was in Geneva with his new girlfriend.

The union of Count Alexandre and Luann (his fourth, and she used to be a model) was never that stable: Despite their two kids, he lives in Europe most of the time, according to Page Six. But really? E-mail? Hopefully he got socked with some really nasty roaming charges.

Well, maybe the count just couldn't get a flight home to tell her: The International Air Transport Association boasted it was cutting emissions by 8 percent, but it's not because of better technology or improved efficiency: Most of the improvement has to do with routes and flights being canceled in the economic downturn. If he can't get a ticket home to dump you, he may just be not that into you.

Related Stories:
· Real Housewives' Countess Separating from Husband [US Magazine]
· Airlines to fly less, and pollute less, in downturn [Reuters]
· Real Househusband Simon van Kempen Clears Up "Ownership Status" On His Blog [HC]

[Photo: famegame.com]

Don't Let a Cheese Hit Me!

February 16, 2009 at 8:51 AM | 3 Comments

Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race 14 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

THE RACE IS ON!
We've been jonesing for an AMAZING RACE fix, and the new season is finally here, complete with cheerleaders, relationship drama, little people and a gay father and son duo. What more could we want?! This season, the Race covers nine countries and 40,000 miles. Eleven teams embark on this adventure around the world. Who will crash and burn, and who will make it all the way to the end and win the million dollar prize?

LET'S FIND OUT!

more ›

Switzerland Skiing Has A Sell-Out Season

December 29, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 0 Comments

Skiing in Switzerland has usually struck us as a bit stereotypical--not to mention expensive--but if the statistics are right, well, we might be wrong.

Apparently this winter, the economic meltdown has not managed to melt the Swiss snow at all. Quite the opposite, in fact: There have been unusually heavy snow falls across the Swiss Alps, and they've produced the best skiing conditions in a long time. And despite the credit crunch, bookings are just as high as last year, and many thousands of skiers are headed to Switzerland for their winter vacation.

But not wanting to sound too cheerful, the Swiss Tourism Board has a gloomy explanation: A spokesperson said she thought tourists were still flocking in because they have "a greater need now to escape from everyday life." Or it could just be that plenty of people love skiing, right?

Related Stories:
· Snowfall Buries Skiers' Credit Crunch Fears [Reuters]
· Easy-to-Reach Skiing: Elm, Switzerland [Jaunted]
· Switzerland Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Kecko]

Go Where Bond Has Gone Before

November 10, 2008 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments

We're suckers for a James Bond tourist attraction, even when it's a wet-your-pants-scary one like the Verzasca Dam bungee jump near Locarno, close to the Swiss border with Italy.

Coming second to one in Macau as the biggest permanent bungee jump in the world shouldn’t matter to these guys because they've got the Bond draw card--he did this 720 foot leap in "Goldeneye." That sequence looked more impressive than this video, which makes the jumper look like a tiny ant about to be smashed into a massive cliff.

If you’re kind of wimpy like us, then you can always cry poor to get out of throwing yourself off this dam wall, because one jump costs 255 Swiss Francs ($215); if you’re keen enough to do this twice in one day you'll pay half that for the second go, though we really think it's one of those jumps you should be smart enough to only risk once. But hey, don't listen to us, we even believe in travel insurance.

Related Stories:
· Verzasca Dam Bungee Jump [Official Site]
· Be James Bond: Bodyflight Vertigo Opening Soon [Jaunted]
· Switzerland Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Nuclear Travel: Meltdowns, Atom Smashers and Bunkers in Switzerland

October 13, 2008 at 4:15 PM | 0 Comments

One of the hottest stories on the web right now is the new nuclear fallout bunker-turned-hotel in Sevelen, Switzerland.

But while we're happy to check out wacky hotels, it got us thinking about other nuclear travel options in the country. Turns out, there are plenty!

more ›

Ultimate Bear Park Coming to Switzerland

August 19, 2008 at 1:08 PM | 0 Comments

Cute animal alert! The city of Bern plans to open the BearPark by fall of 2009, and it will be stocked with critters of the vivacious--not stuffed--variety.

The attraction will be an expansion of the existing Bear Pit, where Pedro and Tana, two brown bears, currently live. The new park will offer more terrain for the animals including three caves and a swimming pool. It will also give the bears a bit more privacy than they currently enjoy.

Though the new park will be quite posh, it'll still be free to check in on Pedro and Tana, as bears are a part of Bern's cultural heritage: Legend has it that the city takes its name from the first animal killed when the area was settled in the 12th century.

Related Stories:
· Coming Soon: A New Swiss Park for Bears [BT]
· Bruno the Bear Is Now Properly Stuffed [Jaunted]
· Bears coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Pedro and Tana: jurvetson]