Grand Rail Tour: Lakes, Passes, and Glaciers

Zurich is not just a city of banks, but also boasts a vibrant and distinctive cultural history.Guilds and SechseläutenThe city's guilds date back to the 14th century and remain active today. Every April, they celebrate Sechseläuten, a spring festival featuring a parade in historical costumes. The highlight is the burning of the Böögg, a snowman filled with firecrackers: the faster its head explodes, the more beautiful the summer is said to be.Birthplace of DadaIn February 1916, Hugo Ball and Emmy Hennings opened Cabaret Voltaire at Spiegelgasse 1. It was here, amidst World War I, that the Dada art movement was born. Today, the Cabaret is once again a venue for exhibitions, readings, and a bar.Year-Round FestivalsIn August, the Street Parade attracts hundreds of thousands of electronic music fans to the lakefront. Also featured are the Zurich Film Festival and a dense museum landscape, from the Kunsthaus to the Landesmuseum.

Lucerne combines a vibrant carnival tradition with world-class classical music.Lucerne FasnachtOn Shrove Thursday, Fasnacht begins at 5 AM with the Big Bang over the lake basin. Until Shrove Tuesday, Guggen bands and costumed groups parade through the Old Town; highlights include the Fritschi Parade, the Wey Parade, and the Monstercorso. Anyone who comes in costume immediately becomes part of the action.KKL and Lucerne FestivalThe KKL Culture and Congress Centre, designed by Jean Nouvel, is located right next to the train station on the lakeside; its cantilevered roof has become a landmark. Its concert hall is renowned for its acoustics and is the main venue for the Lucerne Festival, whose Summer Festival runs from mid-August to mid-September. The KKL also houses the Lucerne Art Museum.

Lugano is the cultural heart of Italian-speaking Switzerland, with a focus on art and music.Art by the LakeOpened in 2015, the LAC cultural center by the lake hosts rotating exhibitions from the Art Museum of Italian-speaking Switzerland (MASI), alongside a concert and theater hall. An older artistic highlight is Bernardino Luini's Renaissance Passion fresco in the Church of Santa Maria degli Angioli.Estival JazzSince 1979, Estival Jazz transforms the Piazza della Riforma every summer into an open-air stage for jazz and world music. The concerts are free, and performers have included B.B. King, Keith Jarrett, and Herbie Hancock.Life on the PiazzaAs in Italy, life unfolds in the squares: In the evenings, cafés around Piazza della Riforma fill up, and on weekends, many head to the Grotti, simple eateries set in nature.

St. Moritz, the cradle of winter tourism, has developed unique traditions.White TurfSince 1907, horse races are held on the frozen Lake St. Moritz on three February weekends. A highlight is Skikjöring, a discipline invented by British winter guests in St. Moritz in 1906, where skiers are pulled by galloping horses.Segantini and the EngadinPainter Giovanni Segantini spent his final years in the Engadin; his Alpine triptych is displayed in the Segantini Museum. Around St. Moritz, massive Engadin houses with Sgraffito decorations shape the villages, and in daily life, Romansh is heard alongside German and Italian.

Behind the hotels and shops of Bahnhofstrasse, Zermatt is still an old Valais mountain village.Hinterdorf and StadelIn Hinterdorf, the historic village core, dark wooden houses and Stadel line the narrow alleys. The Stadel served as granaries and stand on stilts with large round stone slabs, which kept mice away and kept the grain dry. Many date from the 16th century; some, according to tree-ring dating, even from the 14th century.The First AscentThe history of the village is closely linked to the Matterhorn. On July 14, 1865, Edward Whymper and his rope team achieved the first ascent, but during the descent, four of the seven mountaineers fell to their deaths. The snapped rope is exhibited in the Matterhorn Museum.

Tourism has shaped the region since the 19th century, when British alpinists climbed the peaks and cogwheel railways were built. The Jungfraubahn, which leads through Eiger and Mönch to the Jungfraujoch, opened in 1912. Parts of the region belong to the UNESCO World Heritage Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch.Lauberhorn RaceEvery year in January, Wengen hosts the Lauberhorn Race, the longest downhill race in the World Cup and a folk festival for tens of thousands.Alpine Cheese and Alpine Cattle DriveIn summer, cows graze on the Alps; in autumn, they return decorated to the valley. Many alpine farms sell their cheese directly.

The Federal City cherishes ancient customs while also housing one of Switzerland's most significant art collections.ZibelemäritIn November, the Zibelemärit transforms the Old Town into a giant onion market. Stalls open as early as 5 AM, selling artfully braided onion plaits, along with mulled wine and confetti battles.Zentrum Paul KleeOn the city's eastern outskirts stands the Zentrum Paul Klee, opened in 2005. Renzo Piano's wave-shaped building houses some 4000 works by the painter, representing about 40 percent of his complete oeuvre and thus the world's largest Klee collection. In addition, concerts, theatre performances, and readings take place.Einstein and the Old TownIn 1905, Albert Einstein developed the special theory of relativity in his apartment on Kramgasse. The Old Town itself has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1983.