Five Swiss Villages Worth Adding to a Switzerland Trip

Travellers planning a Switzerland itinerary have five Alpine and lakeside villages to consider, each with its own landscape, traditions and food. The villages sit in five different parts of the country, from the Jungfrau Region to the shores of Lake Lugano, and are best reached by car, train and cable-car.

Key facts

• Mürren, Jungfrau Region — car-free cliffside village at 1,650 metres
• Guarda, Graubünden — Lower Engadine village of about 160 residents at 1,650 metres
• Bettmeralp, Valais — car-free plateau village at 1,950 metres above the Rhône Valley
• Morcote, Ticino — lakeside village on the Ceresio Peninsula
• Gruyères, Fribourg — French-speaking village with a hilltop medieval château

Which villages are featured?

Mürren clings to cliffs above the Lauterbrunnen Valley, with views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Its dark-timber chalets carry geraniums in summer and snow in winter. Guarda lies on a hillside in the rugged Lower Engadine, looking up to the Silvretta Alps peak of Piz Buin, with cobbled lanes, shuttered chalets decorated with sgraffito murals and stone fountains.

Bettmeralp sits on a plateau above the Rhône Valley and is reached by cable-car. Morcote, in Ticino where Switzerland meets Italy, has medieval patrician houses with arcades, cobbled alleys, vine terraces and cypress trees. Gruyères, in French-speaking Fribourg, is described as film-set ready, with a hilltop medieval château and cobbled streets.

How do travellers reach them?

Mürren is served by the world's steepest cable-car from Stechelberg or a train along the ridge from Grütschalp. Bettmeralp is accessible via cable-car. Both Mürren and Bettmeralp are car-free, so visitors arrive without a vehicle. Guarda is a base for the nearby Swiss National Park, where trails lead into areas inhabited by ibex, chamois and golden eagles.

What is there to do?

Around Mürren, options include the North Face Trail from the top of the Allmendhubel mountain, a via ferrata across limestone cliffs to Gimmelwald, and a cable-car ride to the 2,970-metre Schilthorn, which appeared in the 1969 Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The Piz Gloria revolving restaurant offers 360-degree views of 200 Alpine peaks.

In Guarda, the restaurant Ustaria Crusch Alba serves Grisons specialities such as barley soup with cured ham and Bündner Nusstorte, a caramelised Alpine tart. Bettmeralp is a base for skiing and sledging in the Aletsch Arena in winter, and in summer for trekking beside the 14-mile-long Aletsch Glacier, including the day hike from Bettmerhorn to Bettmeralp via lake Märjelensee.

In Morcote, travellers can visit the subtropical gardens of Parco Scherrer, with camelias, azaleas, palms and oleander, walk up to the Renaissance-baroque Chiesa di Santa Maria del Sasso for lake views, or stop at the family-run Tenuta Castello di Morcote estate for lunch, a cellar visit and a wine tasting, including award-winning merlots.

What this means for travellers

Anyone adding these villages to a route should note that two of them are car-free and reached by cable-car or train, and that several sit at altitudes between 1,650 and 1,950 metres. The source gives no information on entry requirements, transport costs or opening times, so travellers will need to check those separately.

The source does not state when the guide was researched or whether any of the attractions have seasonal closures.