Our journey begins to the north of Montreux at the medieval hilltop town Romont.
Heading east and deeper into the mountains, we'll discover the Chartreuse de la Valsainte,
an ancient hermetic monastery.
We'll fly southward to Lake Geneva, to Montreux itself: famous the world over for
its annual Jazz Festival.
It's then into the mountains, and the famous ski resort of Verbier.
Moving eastward, we'll weave through the spectacular mountain passes of Valais, before taking a
brief passage through northern Italy.
Once back in Switzerland, we'll visit the cities of Locarno and Ascona on the shores
of Lake Maggiore.
We'll end our journey over the Brissago Islands, with its unexpected botanical gardens sitting
out in the middle of the lake.
Here in the French-speaking region of Switzerland, we find the picturesque medieval town of Romont.
Its name is an abbreviation of Rotundo Monte, or "the round mountain", describing the gently
sloping hill upon which it sits.
It is most known for the beauty of its ancient stained glass windows that decorate many of
its old stone churches and sanctuaries.
Romont passed between royal houses throughout the Middle Ages, and eventually sided with
the Helvetic Republic, which was the first early manifestation of Switzerland as a unified
state.
The town's well-preserved fortifications, streets, and buildings are of such great historical
significance that the entire town is on the Swiss inventory of heritage sites.
Moving Eastward and deeper into the mountains, we come to the last remaining Carthusian monastery
in all of Switzerland...
Chartreuse de la Valsainte.
The Carthusian sect has a way of life based on a mix of hermetic isolation and communal
living.
Monks here spend most of each day in their cells - meditating, praying, and writing.
But this isolation is interspersed with communal prayers and long group walks through the mountainous
countryside.
Although the community feeling amongst the monks is strong and encouraged, contact with
the outside world is limited. Only one visit a year from family members is permitted.
Continuing eastward we arrive at Gruyere castle, standing guard at the head of the quaint medieval
town of the same name.
Construction began in the 11th century to protect the townsfolk in the valley below.
From then up until the 16th century the town flourished; and 19 counts and their families
resided here over the years. The last of these, Michel, fell into financial difficulties in
1554, after which the prominent Bovy and Ballan royal houses restored the castle into a summer
residence.
In 1938 the Fribourg municipality bought it, and now together with its gardens opened it
up to the public.
The wealth of Gruyere's old town has traditionally come from agriculture - most importantly,
Gruyere cheese's now famous the world over.
A popular tourist spot, the town has nevertheless managed to retain the bucolic, peaceful atmosphere
for its 1,500 residents.
But, despite the town's love for the old ways of life, it has produced some very progressive
characters.
H.R. Giger, for instance, the famous Swiss designer who is well-known for his work on
the Alien movies, was born and raised here. And recently a museum which holds the largest
collection of his works was established.
Now we move south and away from the mountains, to the city of Montreux, on the shores of
Lake Geneva. The border between Switzerland and France runs through the centre of this
lake, and as a result Montreux has become a vibrant intersection of cultures.
But without doubt the city is most renowned for its famous annual music festival. It started
in the 1960's but reached heights of new fame when Deep Purple wrote the song "Smoke on
the Water", which recounts the night Frank Zappa set the Casino on fire with a flare
gun during a concert.
These days Montreux often receives 200,000 visitors a year and throngs of respected international
artists.
And leading up from the city is this funicular railway.
One of the carriages descends while the other is pulled upwards, keeping the system always
in balance: a very effective and energy efficient way to gain plenty of altitude in a short
amount of time - quite important in these Swiss mountain towns.
The ride takes passengers through fields of beautiful Alpine flowers in the spring; and
provides a quick lift for recreational sledgers in the winter.
As we move along the northern shore of Lake Geneva over Autoroute 9, you can see why Switzerland
is famous for its spectacular mountain roads.
The highway below is a perfect example of the difficult feats of engineering employed
to maintain the natural aesthetic of the countryside.
And perhaps more enviable than these wonderful roads, is Switzerland's remarkably extensive
rail network through the alps - which runs on a highly efficient and practical schedule.
Almost all services are timed so that connecting trains arrive at precise intervals. This means
that passengers rarely have to wait around for a connection.
And the services are so dependable, you can more or less set your watch by them.
Located on the eastern shore of Lake Geneva lies the spectacular Chateau de Chillon.
The medieval fortress began as a number of separate buildings, and over the centuries
they merged, serving as a status symbol for the Savoy family who controlled them.
The castle has been taken many times since, but never through sieges or bombardment. This
explains why Chillon has remained beautifully intact.
It's captured the imagination of artists, poets and philosophers. 19th century poets
Lord Byron and Percy Shelley took a boat trip out on the lake to visit the famed Chateau.
Inspired by the story of a monk who was imprisoned here for his beliefs, Byron wrote the famous
poem Prisoner of Chillon.
And in more recent times, Freddie Mercury --of the group, Queen, stopping for a visit
here after playing at the Montreux Festival, said of the place: "This must be heaven".
Now we'll travel East from Lake Geneva, to the most mountainous region in Switzerland.
Here, it seems quaint settlements are nestled in each valley.
Before modern transport these small agricultural villages would have been largely inaccessible
to each other.
As a result each habitation, only separated by a few kilometres, developed dialects so
vastly different that sometimes residents from neighbouring villages couldn't even understand
each other.
The mountains in this area are considered to be some of the best off-piste skiing locations
in the world.
The powdery snow plasters these peaks and valleys in the wintertime, drawing tourists
from around the world.
And perhaps the most popular ski resort in all of Switzerland is here in the town of
Verbier.
At the turn of the century this place consisted of a few huts; and its economy revolved entirely
around dairy farming and cattle rearing, like most other small villages in the region.
But then, in 1925 a group of mountaineers explored the area, discovering the fabulous
skiing potential here. Soon afterwards a small commercial operation was established.
The business was slow to take off: late in the 1950's the resort still only had three
employees. That was quick to change in the 1970's, when a worldwide ski boom propelled
this once quaint town into stardom. Now it is a major winter sports hub with its population
rising to nearly 40,000 during the season.
The minimal rainfall, plentiful running water, and ample sunshine make these mountain valleys
ideal for vineyards.
Wine-making has been a major part of Swiss agricultural life for hundreds of years, and
its success is largely attributed to the sophisticated irrigation techniques developed long ago and
continually refined to this day.
'Bisses', or water channels that run in abundance down the mountainsides are designed to provide
the grape vines with just the right amount of moisture.
The waters from these valleys and mountain streams are all part of the vast Rhone River
Basin. All in all, Switzerland has 5% of the continent's fresh water supply, and so is
often referred to as "Europe's water tower".
A few valleys over we come to Sion, one of the country's oldest settlements.
There's evidence that Neolithic farmers were working the land here over 6,000 years ago.
It later became a busy trading post during the Roman Empire.
The town is flanked by twin fortifications standing on rocky outcrops which were carved
out by glaciers in the last ice age.
In the foreground is the Valere Basilica, the more well-maintained and well-known of
the two. This hilltop church was commissioned by the Bishop of Sion soon after the city
was established as Switzerland's first Catholic Diocese in the 4th century.
And due to the city's close relationship with Christian Roman power, the Bishops were able
to wrangle almost complete sovereignty for Sion.
Today, Valere Basilica is home to what is thought to be the oldest organ in the world
still in continuous use; built in 1435.
And on the opposite hill is Tourbillon Castle. Now little more than a ruin, this fortress
- with its thick walls, and numerous towers and battlements - was once a formidable deterrent
to invading forces.
Sion was attacked by the French in the 14th century, forcefully incorporated into the
Helvetic Republic in the 16th century, and ransacked by various powerful families in
the region over the years. It figures that Tourbillon saw its fair share of action.
Despite the city's tumultuous history of warfare the castle managed to remain intact until
1788, when it was devastated by fire.
The stones were scavenged for a number of years to reinforce other buildings in the
town, until finally what was left of Tourbillon was officially protected by the local government.
Further west we find one of the most breath-taking backdrops to any sport.
Spread out at 1,800 metres above sea level, and perched over the picturesque Rhone Valley,
is the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Course.
The sport was played here casually since 1905, as prior to WWI golf was almost solely the
prerogative of the British Gentry. As a result the venue wasn't established in a big way
until 1939 when it hosted its first European Masters Tournament.
About 20 years ago the course got its second boost, when Severiano Ballesteros, the famed
Spanish golf star, was commissioned to re-design the grounds. Now it's considered to be one
of the top courses in the world.
The Valais region covers some of the most beautiful and rugged terrain in Switzerland,
and has presented builders and engineers throughout the centuries with irresistible challenges.
... Like these bridges that cross one of the countless sharp and deep ravines. The gorge
has been carved out by running water over thousands of years and is now roughly 800
metres deep.
The old stone bridge and the modern car crossing side by side is a wonderful example of how
the Swiss merge the past and present with seamless grace.
The Alps make up 65% of Switzerland, so the country's engineers had to become experts
in mountain travel if they wanted to get anywhere!
And tunnels are their forte. The first Swiss mountain tunnel was built in 1708; and now
they're woven beneath a large portion of the alps.
Traditionally Swiss villages were weeks of travel apart from each other, and inaccessible
most of the year; but now almost every isolated hamlet is no more than a day's travel by train.
Eastward, the mountains become ever-more imposing.
With over 47 peaks in Valais above 4,000 metres in height, we are now moving into the heart
of the Swiss Alps.
The area may look unpopulated, but hill top villages and tucked away hamlets dot the countryside.
Transit across the alps has played an important role ever since medieval times. But large-scale
alpine tourism only began around the mid 1800s, when British mountaineers travelled here to
ascend the peaks.
And perhaps the most popular Alpine crossing point is here, the Simplon Pass. At 2,005
metres, the road offers dizzying views over the valley below.
This spot has been used for centuries, with the first documented crossing by Kaspar Jodock
von Stockalper in the 1600s, who carted salt up from the Mediterranean on the backs of
mules.
But it wasn't until Napoleon's march across Switzerland in the 19th Century that the pass
was significantly developed into a highly accessible thoroughfare.
Napoleon's army used this crossing point to cart canons and artillery down towards Italy,
but these days it's open to everyone; and thanks to recent strengthening and avalanche-protection
procedures the pass is open all year around.
Now we descend into the Simplon Valley. Italy draws closer, and the climate becomes ever
more Mediterranean.
And as we edge ever closer to the Swiss and Italian border, German fades away into Italian,
which is the dominant language throughout this area.
The villages in the Valais region are sustained largely by livestock rearing, and the fruit
that's grown here which make up the ingredients for their famous regional cognacs
Moving over the Zwischbergen Pass, we begin our brief crossing of Italy.
Here, human habitation appears in the most unlikely of places. There are many larger
settlements, too, nestled in the valleys...
...like Rasa, a car-free Hamlet that's home to an eclectic mix of the descendents of persecuted
protestants; and hippies who settled here in the 1960s.
Or, the town of Craveggia, whose name derives from the Italian meaning "Goat Pasture".
Its 756 residents live primarily in centuries-old farm houses with tall stone chimneys. Old,
hand chiselled stone and wrought iron railings comprise most of the abodes here, and a large
portion of the residents live in the same houses that have been in the family for countless
generations.
A devoutly Christian population that values an honest life, their coat of arms motto reads:
"fear not if thou do-est good".
And a few valleys down we come to the village of Re.
In the 15th century, the quiet settlement was declared the site of a miracle by the
Catholic church when a fresco of the virgin Mary started to bleed profusely after a rock
was thrown at it.
This massive complex, the 'Santuario della Madonna del Sangue', was built up around the
miraculous fresco, and has become a popular place of pilgrimage ever since.
And following the lush Italian valley of Vigezzo takes us back into Switzerland where we find
our last stop on this journey...
...the glorious Lake Maggiore
Over 60km in length, it serves part of the border between Italy and Switzerland.
The Lake is less than 200 metres above sea level, making it one of the lowest points
in Switzerland and a popular summer retreat for Swiss wanting to escape the cold mountain
life.
The towns and gardens sit at the foot of the majestic Swiss alps, creating an atmosphere
that has lured artists and intellectuals for hundreds of years.
On the southern tip of lake Maggiore is the city of Locarno, an Italian speaking centre
with a population of 150,000.
It has been important since Roman times, and in the mid 1900's over 50 roman graves were
discovered beneath its streets.
This was the first evidence of Roman burials and cremations from the same era taking place
side by side.
Like many cities in Switzerland, Locarno was a stronghold of Catholic power, until it was
incorporated into the Swiss Confederation after the Napoleonic wars.
Close by we come to Ascona. At 196 metres above sea level it is the lowest-lying town
in all of Switzerland.
As well as being a popular destination with its own jazz festival, it has developed a
reputation for revolutionary thought.
At the turn of the 20th century, a group of idealists set up a thriving commune that rejected
established conventions in favour of closer links with nature.
Though the commune is now long-gone, the tradition for radical thinking continues in Ascona,
through seminars held by the Universities of Zurich and Lurcerne.
And finally, we venture into the heart of the lake, to the botanical gardens of the
Brissago Islands.
In stark contrast to the snow-capped peaks, the climate here is subtropical and the exotic
plants on the smaller of the two islands are left mostly to grow wild.
But its larger and more cultivated neighbour, San Pancazio, is the main attraction for tourists.
It was once a refuge for persecuted Christians.
But in the 1880s, the local baroness created exotic, subtropical gardens where artists,
musicians, and writers were invited to meet and work in an inspiring setting.
Stone sculptures, and even Roman-style baths were added to enhance its splendour.
In the 1950s, district locals bought the island, and opened it to the public.
Finding Mediterranean, Asian, Australian, and African plants growing in the middle of
a Swiss lake is a reminder of just how surprising and diverse this country can be.
It's a perfect place to end this journey.