The Swiss Alps, Switzerland

Nowhere on earth has refined mountain travel like Switzerland. Cable cars climb like clockwork, hut-to-hut trails cross cols above 2,500 metres, and villages like Wengen and Zermatt ban cars entirely — the loudest sound is cowbells and meltwater.

Our routes thread the Bernese Oberland's great amphitheatre — Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau — with nights in family-run Berghotels where dinner is rosti and the wine is Valaisan. Strong hikers can add the Haute Route east toward the Matterhorn; easygoing travelers ride the Jungfraubahn through the mountain to Europe's highest station.

Summer brings wildflower meadows and swimmable lakes; September brings golden larch and empty trails. Winter is its own universe of powder and fondue — ask us to build it around you.