3 scenic nature trips to take when in Switzerland

A special Welsh-Swiss connection at The Cambrian in Adelboden

Credit: The Cambrian

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Before skiing became common practice in the Swiss region, it was mainly a much-loved sport practiced in the UK. At the beginning of the 20th Century, the British invented downhill skiing to later introduce it to the Alps. In Switzerland, it was mountaineers who first discovered skis as a useful tool for their expeditions before it became the nation’s new sport of choice.

During his childhood forty years ago, Welshman Grant Maunder often traveled with his family to Adelboden, a Swiss (ski) town nestled deep in the valley and overlooking snowy mountain tops. It became a yearly pilgrimage of sorts with his brother because they loved the place so much. Back then they were on a strict budget, staying in what they themselves referred to as ‘the nuclear bunkers of a guesthouse’. Though they couldn’t help but notice the glitziest hotel in town: the Cambrian. Maunder dreamed of staying there one day.

In 2009 that dream came true, and then some. Maunder and his brother managed to buy the property. It’s now an even more strikingly gorgeous hotel that even though the mountains call for either hiking or skiing (they have just as many guests in winter versus summer) also has such a homely feel that you could easily spend all your days inside. The lounge area is spacious with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the surroundings, there’s an indoor and outdoor spa area and the food at the restaurant is impeccable.

For the restaurant’s menu the chef forages a lot of his in-season ingredients himself up in the mountainside. Not to mention, the eye to detail gives The Cambrian that never-want-to-leave quality: design magazines and books all around, forest-green blankets spun from the wool of Welsh sheep, locally sourced water in their own bottles. The Cambrian is an experience in and of itself.

The Cambrian, Dorfstrasse 7, 3715 Adelboden, Switzerland

Mountain escape at Chetzeron, Crans-Montana

Credit: Chetzeron

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Don’t we all sometimes just want to escape to a remote mountain village, immerse ourselves in nature and call it a day. If that’s what you’re after (after a few buzzy days in the city of Zürich, for instance) then Chetzeron is the place you’d want to hop on the train for. In design- and boutique Hôtel Chetzeron you’ll find yourself at an altitude of 2112 m in the Swiss alps, just above Crans-Montana.

These alpine twin towns, Crans and Montana, on a sun-drenched plateau high above the Rhone Valley offer an impressive view of the chain of mountain peaks from the Matterhorn to Mont Blanc. Though it gets even better when you go all the way up to Chetzeron, an abandoned gondola station transformed into a beautiful hotel with lots of wellness facilities and a restaurant.

The lobby boasts floor to (meters high) ceilings, entirely made out of glass, and also the windows in the rooms and suites frame spectacular views of the mountains. Though Chetzeron is in fact a ski-in, ski-out resort, which offers powdered slopes in winter, it really has a lot to offer all year around.

For starters, heavenly silence and daily activities in sublime nature: from mountain biking to hiking and climbing. All in all, the feel of the place is both very much Alpine-style and traditional but in a fresh and contemporary way mirroring the natural surroundings. Just a little warning: you may never want to leave this place again.

Chetzeron, 3963 Crans-Montana, Switzerland

Swiss-Italian feels at Giardino Ascona, Tizino

Credit: Giardino Ascona

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If you think Switzerland, you may not realize how close Italy is. Especially when in Zürich, you’re actually very close to the beautiful region of Ticino where most locals speak a charming mix of German (in a Swiss dialect of course) and Italian. Ascona sits on Lake Maggiore, borders northern Italy, and is also dubbed the St. Tropez of Switzerland.

It surely delivers la dolce vita in spades: a balmy climate, five-star lodging (like at Giardino), waterfront lounging, island hopping by Riva boat, and lively piazza’s to do some shopping or watch the sun set, ideally with an Aperol Spritz in hand. Giardino Ascona is a Tuscan-style retreat with the most glorious garden that you walk straight into after you have entered the lobby. This luscious garden with a pool, a pond, abundant terraces, and verdant gardens is at the heart of this hotel, that was built in 1986. In 2009 the property was fully renovated by Rolf Balmer, whose private home designs are reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work.

Indoors and outdoors Giardino Ascona feels both old-worldly and decadently Italian – with burst of color here and there – as well as airy and earthy. There’s, of course, a spa and two different restaurants including one that holds two Michelin stars.

Giardino Ascona, Via del Segnale 10, 6612 Ascona, Switzerland