Sara Sherwood follows the legendary tennis player on his favourite trips around his homeland
There is nothing more Swiss than Roger Federer. The tennis ace’s cool and collected pursuit of excellence is amply reflected in his homeland’s extremes of culture and nature: from the peak of the Matterhorn to Zurich’s cafe-lined streets; from the pristine hot springs of Lavey, surrounded by towering peaks, to the quaint winding street through the centre of the alpine village of Grimentz. Everything here is perfectly formed.
Think of Switzerland’s Grand Tour as the Grand Slam of this mountainous country, whether travelling by road or train. Covering more than 995 miles (1,600km), this winding route takes you from majestic Alps to turquoise glacial lakes to tiny villages, bookended by beautiful medieval cities filled with museums, innovative restaurants and unparalleled hospitality.
As the video at the top of this article demonstrates, even the magnificent Federer, with his on-point acumen on the court and in the boardroom, cannot upstage the Swiss Grand Tour, which wends its way through eight distinct stages, taking in 13 Unesco World Heritage sites and five alpine passes.
Switzerland have also now launched an app to make navigating your way around the Grand Tour even easier.
But don’t just take our word for it: here are King Roger’s hand-picked highlights of the best ways to see his country. From his tennis tournament days, he recommends popping some 1980s and 1990s hits onto the playlist – but we will leave that part up to you.
Three days
Best for: urban chic and thundering waterfalls
In a nutshell: Packing maximum contrast into just three days, this route takes you from the cultural hub of Zurich, where you can dine like royalty, through the city’s lakeside wine region, which is the birthplace of the Räuschling grape, a light white with citrus notes and good acidity (Swiss wine is worth a trip on its own). In the city of Winterthur you can shop in the largest continuous pedestrianised area in Switzerland before you follow the route to Schaffhausen to find the thundering Rhine Falls, the largest waterfall in Europe. From here, continue on to St Gallen, famous for its textiles and the magnificent library of the 8th-century Abbey of St Gallen. This is also the jumping off point of Appenzell, the rural alpine canton filled with mountains, forests, and those cunning little dog collars with brass cows and flowers.
Five days
Best for: record-making stops
In a nutshell: Like Federer, Switzerland is a holder of many records: this stage of the Grand Tour takes you from Werdenberg, Switzerland’s smallest town – with just 60 residents, its mediaeval streets and castle are as inviting as a box of Swiss chocolates – to Chur, which claims to be the country’s oldest city on account of the discovery of archaeological artefacts dating back to 11,000BC. This capital of the Graubünden canton is also home to the 13th-century Cathedral of the Assumption, set in the heart of the car-free old town. This route also includes the Salginatobel Bridge, a reinforced concrete structure dating from 1930, which was honoured with the designation of International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark – the only such monument in Switzerland. You also have the opportunity to visit Maienfeld, the village that inspired the story of Heidi, before concluding your journey in St Moritz, the alpine resort at 1,800m that was the birthplace of winter tourism in Switzerland. Visit nearby Diavolezza in the summer and you’ll get crystal-clear and sublime views across the verdant mountains and austere glaciers at 3,000m.
Five days
Best for: thrillseekers
In a nutshell: Each of the 24 hairpin turns on the 2.5-mile (4km) stretch of road climbing up 300m from Airolo to the Gotthard Pass has its own name, lending this twistiest of legs of the Grand Tour an air of real accomplishment. By Federer’s estimation, the Matterhorn peak, looming over Zermatt, is Switzerland’s most beautiful mountain – and this leg of the tour takes us from these majestic heights to the Mediterranean flair of Lugano, in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. From Lugano’s lakeside palm trees to the crystal clear waters of the Verzasca Valley, some 28 miles (45km) to the north, via the three Unesco World Heritage castles of Bellinzona, you will soon find yourself climbing into the austere drama of the passes, before reaching the Aletsch glacier, the mightiest ice flow of the Alps, and home to extensive hikes. Conclude this trip in the charming town of Zermatt, with its beautiful hotels, restaurants and spas.
Four days
Best for: wine, sports and nature
In a nutshell: The lakeside university city of Lausanne is home to the Olympic Museum and is a jumping-off point for Lavaux’s Unesco World Heritage-listed vineyards. Lavaux’s 30km of picturesque south-facing terraces comprise Switzerland’s second-highest wine production area, after the canton of Valais, which is to the south-east along Lake Geneva. From here, at the heart of French-speaking Switzerland, you can head north to the Vallée de Joux for unspoilt nature, and the vistas only continue as you trundle along to the craggy Creux du Van and the gorges of the Val-de-Travers. A three-lake, four-hour cruise will take you along the edge of the Jura, through lakes Biel, Murten and Neuchâtel, on the edge of Switzerland’s biggest concentration of birdlife.
Four days
Best for: museums and watches
In a nutshell: On the banks of the Rhine, the city of Basel is Switzerland’s capital of art – pay a visit to the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Museum Tinguely and the Fondation Beyeler. Federer quips that his precision on the court may well owe something to the precision of the watchmaking in this, his home region. Go test his theory in La Chaux-de-Fonds, heart of the industry for more than a century: today it has Unesco World Heritage status and is home to the international watchmaking museum. From here, you’ll head to the Swiss capital, Bern, a city of beautiful arcades of shops along the main boulevard of the Old Town.
The Grand Tour is the first road trip designed with electric cars in mind. But if you fancy taking in the beauty without the stress of driving, you can also visit all of the highlights of the tour by rail, on the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. This will include 11 of the country’s largest lakes, five Unesco World Heritage Sites, the Glacier and Bernina Express and 1,280km of magnificent views as you visit all four of the language areas of Switzerland. So perhaps it’s time to start brushing up on your French, German, Italian and Romansh.
Discover Switzerland for yourself at myswitzerland.com
Switzerland is easily reachable via train from London or by Swiss International Air Lines. And once you land, the famously efficient public transport will take you the regions you want to visit by train, bus or boat using the Swiss Travel Pass available from the Switzerland Travel Centre.