TIME-TRAVEL
See castles, cathedrals and clock towers on a walk through history
There are two Switzerlands. One is the super-efficient, business-like country renowned for its booming economy and banks. The other is a crossroads of lesser-known stories where Romans, Savoy lords and WW2 fighters left their indelible mark.
Nowhere is such compelling history more apparent than in Bern, Switzerland’s story-riddled capital. The entire core of the 12th-century Old City is worthy of UNESCO status and there is a sense everyone is aware of just how beautiful their medieval map is. To see its most captivating landmarks, don’t miss the Zytglogge
Clock Tower, the late-gothic Bern Minster Cathedral, or the renaissance fountains.
From here, it’s an easy hop west by high-speed train to Veytaux and Chateau Chillon, the most visited castle in the country. There’s a perfect marriage of history and environment here and the pomp on display encourages Game of Thrones-style discovery. There are great halls and courtyards, accounts of the Counts of Savoy who controlled the fort and a moat, arsenal and prison to explore. All of this is backed by the glimmer of surrounding Lake Geneva and mountains of rock, ice and snow in the far distance.
Elsewhere, it’s not too hard to slip farther back in time. Once the capital of Roman Helvetia, the town of Avenches has a fully-functioning Roman amphitheatre, which hosts an opera festival, while the landmark Abbey of Saint Gall in picture-postcard St Gallen to the east lets you wander through living history. It has a rococo library and one of the world’s most beautiful book collections. At Sasso San Gottardo in Ticino, Switzerland’s Italian-speaking canton, history is far better hidden. Here you’ll find a former secret military bunker built in WW2, nowadays open as an intriguing museum.
Too much to take in? Focus on Zurich instead and spend a few hours casually dipping in and out of the collection at the Swiss National Museum. With more than 840,000 artifacts, there are dozens of national treasures, as well as galleries dedicated to some of Switzerland’s favourite pursuits — sledging and making watches.