Swiss Alpine Glories and the GoldenPass Train

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To book or for more information please call: 0330 341 1117 and quote RTA

Swiss Alpine Glories and the GoldenPass Train

Immerse yourself in the natural glories and historic towns of the world’s most beautiful Alpine paradise, with a train journey you won’t forget. Join this wonderful – and excellent value – holiday to the beautiful, breathtaking land of lakes and mountains scenery, clean air and enchanting settlements that is Switzerland. You’ll be based in a welcoming, internationally celebrated resort in an idyllic setting between Lake Geneva and the glorious Bernese Oberland. With a host of marvellous included and optional excursions to savour and enjoy, including a ride on the panoramic GoldenPass Train to Montreux, this tour is a perfect introduction to a place that is on almost everybody’s wish-list of destinations.

Holiday Highlights

Spend a week in the celebrated resort of Chateau d’Oex
Rest and relax in the idyllic surroundings of the Pays d’Enhaut (Upper Country)
Discover medieval gem and cheese-making village Gruyères
Enjoy an optional Glacier 3000 excursion plus a visit to Gstaad
Ride the spectacular GoldenPass Train to and from Montreux, with free time to explore the city, located on the shores of Lake Geneva
Explore the fascinating museums of Chateau d’Oex by your own arrangement
Join an optional excursion to visit picture-perfect Swiss capital Bern
Set off on the GoldenPass Express Train to Interlaken, take a coach to Grindlelwald and return to Chateau d'Oex

What's Included

Seven nights’ carefully chosen bed and breakfast accommodation at the three-star Roc et Neige Hotel, Chateau d’Oex
Five evening meals
Visit to Gruyères
GoldenPass train journey to Montreux and Interlaken
Visit to Grindlelwald
Return flights to Geneva
Coach travel and transfers throughout
Fully escorted by a friendly, experienced tour manager

Itinerary

Day 1

Upon arrival, meet your tour manager and make the scenic transfer by coach to Chateau d’Oex and your hotel. Settle in and get to know your surroundings, and depending upon your time of arrival, take a stroll through the village before dinner is served.

Day 2

This wonderful week-long tour commences with an included full-day excursion to nearby Gruyères, the famous cheese-producing village that is also a medieval gem with an exquisite flower-decked, cobbled main square. Small enough to explore under your own steam, perhaps enjoy a demonstration of the cheese-making process (entrance to the factory and museum payable locally), which combines ultra-modern technology with centuries’-old traditions and soak up the atmosphere of this most typically Swiss of villages, before returning to Chateau d’Oex.

Day 3

Today is free for you to explore Chateau d’Oex and its surroundings a little further. In the heart of the Pays d’Enhaut (Upper Country) region, the village has been a favourite of Newmarket guests for over 30 years and offers everything to ensure a memorable stay. For the energetic, there’s a fine outdoor pool (open mid-May until early Sept), a super sports complex, riding stables, mini-golf, ten pin bowling, tennis courts and miles of walking trails. A trio of fascinating museums chronicle life in this corner of Switzerland, the history of cheese-making, and, thanks to the village’s world renown as a hot-air-balloon centre, the magnificent men (and women) and their flying baskets!

Day 4

If you’re eager to travel up into the mountains again, you can join your tour manager for an exhilarating excursion to Glacier 3000, a mountain area east of Montreux. You’ll start by travelling in a cable car to the top of the snow-capped peaks, taking in the spectacular views as you go. Once you’ve arrived at the mountain station, you’ll set off on the Peak Walk across the only suspension bridge in the world that connects two mountain peaks. This bridge looks out over the Alps and Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau are visible. If you choose, you can take the Glacier Walk across to the restaurant (lunch not included) then descend via the cable car to take the coach to visit Gstaad for coffee and cake (payable locally) before returning to your hotel.

Day 5

Set off on today’s excursion aboard the GoldenPass Express train to Interlaken. Travelling through stunning countryside, you’ll take in scenic Lake Thun and the famous resort town of Interlaken, overlooked by the snow-capped peaks of the Jungfrau range, and one of Switzerland’s most popular places to shop. From here, you’ll journey by coach to the truly spectacular resort of Grindelwald, famously set at the foot of the mighty Eiger, before making the scenic coach journey back to Chateau d’Oex at the end of a memorable day.

Day 6

Today you can discover and explore Switzerland’s historic capital city, Bern, on an optional self-guided tour. With its medieval houses, great churches and wonderful covered shopping arcades all huddled together above a sweeping meander in the River Aare, Bern is one of the world’s most picturesque capitals. One of its most unusual features is the fascinating mechanical clock, be sure to hear – and see – it strikes the hour. We return to Chateau d’Oex in the late afternoon, time-permitting making a call in the charming town of Fribourg, an ancient university seat boasting an especially attractive Old Town, with haphazardly arranged houses on cobbled streets sloping steeply away from the river Sarine.

Day 7

Today’s included excursion heads to the sun-kissed shores of Lake Geneva, travelling on the spectacular GoldenPass Train through the heart of the Swiss wine-producing Valais region to the fashionable resort of Montreux. You’ll enjoy a fantastic panoramic view as the train rolls gently down the mountains and through a picturesque patchwork of vineyards, framed by a dramatic mountain backdrop and the shores of Lake Geneva. Basking in a microclimate, sheltered from the north wind by the Alps, Montreux is home to the famous Jazz Festival, has a delightful lakefront promenade and a host of shops and stores. Close by, brooding Chateau Chillon, Switzerland’s most famous landmark, guards the dark secrets of the past, and makes for a fascinating visit. Enjoy some free time to explore before your return train later.

Day 8

Bid farewell to your Alpine idyll, returning to Geneva Airport for the return flight, after a memorable few days.

Hotel Roc Et Neige, Chateau-d'Oex

This welcoming hotel stands in the heart of the mountain village of Ch^ateau-d'Oex.

Hotel Facilities & Amenities

The hotel has a comfortable lounge area with a bar, as well as a restaurant that serves food made mainly from local produce. The hotel also has a sauna, and outside there is a large terrace with stunning views of the surrounding mountains.

Travelling to Europe

Rules may have changed since you last travelled to European Union countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The following are useful guidelines which will help you prepare for your next adventure. You do require government issued passport to travel.

Names - It is very important that all passenger names are exactly as per your passport although we do not require middle names.

Passport - Your passport must meet two requirements to travel to an EU country and to Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. It must be: Less than 10 years old on the day you return home (please check the "date of issue") and valid for at least 3 months after the day you return home (please check the "expiry date").

Visa - You do not need a visa for short trips to most EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. You’ll be able to stay for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period.

European Travel Information & Authorisation System (ETIAS) - Due to commence in 2025, all citizens of the United Kingdom will require a ETIAS electronic form completed prior to their arrival into the EU and Schengen member countries. The cost for this travel authorisation will be €7.00 per person with exceptions for under 18’s and over 70’s. The latest information and further details can be found at www.etias.com.

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