River Cruises in Switzerland

A tour of Switzerland will take you to a fascinating country that’s as world famous for its independence and neutrality as it is for its chocolate and cheese, and as renowned for its astonishingly beautiful scenery as for its cleanliness, clockwork efficiency and welcoming, friendly, hospitable people. With four official languages, some of Switzerland’s cities are ranked among the very highest in the world for their quality of life. The country is also the home of many international and highly respected institutions including the Red Cross, the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. But Switzerland is of course synonymous too with its towering Alps and mighty glaciers – from which major rivers including the Rhine and Rhône flow through deep valleys and lush meadows into more than 1500 lakes that contain 6% of Europe’s fresh water. And it’s perhaps this sensitive ecology that makes Switzerland so careful and protective of its precious environment, with high scores in public health and virtually carbon-free electricity generation.

Your Switzerland tour will transport you on breathtaking but always comfortable rides on dramatic mountain cog and funicular railways, on scenic bus rides through tranquil, car-free mountain passes, on gentle lake steamers and on spectacular cable car and chair lift journeys. Wherever you go, the scenery is truly magnificent. Iconic mountain slopes give way to gentler valleys. Glistening white glaciers look down onto green pastures dotted with tiny chalets, where the only sound is the soft tinkling of cow bells. Water torrents plunging down to valley floors turn into winding streams that flow through rich, flower-filled meadows. The very names of the places that you’ll visit on your unforgettable tour of Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland are legendary – from the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks to the calm waterfronts of Lake Lucerne and Lake Oeschinen, and from Zurich, Grindelwald and Brienz to the Reichenbach Falls where Sherlock Holmes met his sad demise.