Fondue Boogaloo

Having explored northeastern Switzerland and the Jungfrau Region from our base in Zurich in 2012, we figured it was high time (pun intended) to visit the western end of the Confederation Helvetica on its borders with France and Italy. Since the Alps can be tricky weather-wise, we booked our sojourn to Geneva for August.

With headquarters in Zurich, we toured Rheinfall and Schaffhausen, the small country of Lichtenstein, the towns encircling Lake Zurich, and Lucerne and Interlaken en route to Jungfraujoch, the top of Europe. This summer, we’ll tour towns on Lake Geneva, such as Montreux and Lausanne, as well as Chamonix and Zermatt.

Much like Zurich afforded a handy base to explore the mountain villages of Lauterbrunnen, Gridelwald and Kleine Scheidegg (above), Geneva will provide our headquarters for exploring the Alps of western Switzerland and France, including Mt. Blanc (or Mt. Blanco on the Italian side) and The Matterhorn (below).

Our base: The Edelweiss Hotel, a three-star hotel is known for its exquisite cheese fondue. Conveniently located near transportation hubs and the shores of Lake Geneva, a boat tour will likely be in order. The highlight: an excursion to The Matterhorn, a massif that has captivated me since my first trip to Disneyland.