Cities

While writing this, I realised that Neuchâtel is French for Newcastle, like the town in the UK. At just 33,000 residents, the Neuchâtel area is small enough to be quiet and large enough to be interesting. The Castle of Neuchâtel is a must-see as it is the centrepiece of the Read more…

Right on the westernmost end of Lake Neuchâtel, Yverdon-les-Bains reminds me of the geography of Geneva, but the similarities end there. It is a much more industrial town and it actually reminds me of the Midwestern US where the buildings are sparse and people rely on cars to get around. Read more…

Known for both its cheese and its castle, but mainly its cheese, Gruyères is a small area in the mountains of the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The milk for its cheese has to come from farms within a 20km radius and meet stringent requirements to be branded as a Gruyère Read more…

Switzerland has plenty of towns and cities with the names of things such as Apples and Bière and Egg is no exception. While “Egg” doesn’t mean anything in German but tourists from English-speaking places know how to make a place look silly. The tram-train called the Forchbahn goes from Zürich Read more…

Luzern, or Lucerne, whatever you fancy, feels like  a plus-sized St. Gallen. It’s got the charming narrow streets, classic painted façades on historic buildings, and a helpful population. It’s also the terminus of several famous scenic train routes, the Luzern-Interlaken Express, the Vorlapen Express (to St. Gallen), the Gotthard Panorama Read more…

Traveling by train is really convenient for whose who enjoy hopping on and off to explore different towns and cities that are on the way to somewhere else. These are the places I wouldn’t otherwise be able or willing to visit on a standalone trip. Happily, in Switzerland the same Read more…

By now, I’ve written over 200 pieces for this website (with over 40 in reserve for low season) and I realised that I always pitch an angle when trying to “sell” the cities that I enjoyed. For Aigle, it’s the city of many potable freshwater fountains that spew – free Read more…

Being here was a happy accident. After my train got delayed, I realised that I couldn’t catch my connection. As I walked out of the train onto the scorching platform in summer, I turned around and saw a friend – Ana. She was as surprised to see me as I Read more…

As described by a local man the town is a “small village” that makes no beer. It is connected to Lake Geneva at Morges by a single-track narrow gauge railway that runs once an hour per direction. The town consists of two parish churches, one supermarket, a town hall, a Read more…