Tourist Attractions & Monuments Switzerland

This tourist office represents all the villages and resorts of the Saas Valley. Its website has the right taste to offer a French version with all the necessary tourist information. The valley has been inhabited since the iron age and the construction of its first hotel dates back to 1856, the Monte Moro, in Saas-Grund. Since then, the tourist attractions and natural beauties of the region are widely known.

The foundations and ramparts date from the 12th century. You first enter a vaulted room that houses a collection of fantasy art and temporary exhibitions. The room of the Counts of Gruyère has a Renaissance décor and furniture, with beautiful tapestries and stained glass windows. In the Knights' Hall, 19th century paintings tell the story of important events in the history of the region. The Belle Luce room reminds us that the Counts of Gruyère are said to have been in love with a beautiful young peasant girl named Luce.

Dynamic and efficient, this foundation has the role of a tourist office in France. Its main missions are to meet the needs of leisure and business travellers with a high level of quality, both in terms of reception and information; to promote Geneva as a major tourist destination, and to organize events and activities of interest to tourists. Geneva Tourism & Convention is also the initiator of innovative projects to promote Geneva and to allow a detailed discovery according to the tastes and desires of each person.

The majestic castle overlooks the Rhone Valley, opposite the castle of Valère. It is one of the four castles of Sion. Built in the 13th century by Boniface de Challant, it was damaged in the 15th century by the Valaisan patriots, then restored by William VI of Raron, who added a chapel. The castle of Tourbillon was then the summer residence of the bishops until the fire of 1788. Classified as a historic monument by the Canton of Valais at the beginning of the last century, Tourbillon was recognised as a site of national importance by the Confederation in 1970.

The Cailler chocolate factory, founded in 1898, welcomes you to its newly reorganized house for a journey into the fantastic world of chocolate. This well thought-out gourmet tour is fun, educational and even magical. The opportunity to discover, through an interactive and guided audiovisual tour, the Swiss black gold from the cultivation of cocoa to its tasting. Smells, sounds, images and tasting combine for a unique sensory experience.

The Jungfraujoch: top of Europe! Imagine reaching Europe's highest railway station at 3,454m. The view from the summit is breathtaking! An unmissable excursion awaits you. Plan to live the experience intensely using the Eiger Express cable car (open since December 2020) or opt for the traditional route by train. The Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe, a Unesco Alpine World Heritage Site, is the pride of the region. For over a hundred years, this train has been linking towns on the plains to this observation deck, which is truly enthroned in the heart of the Swiss Alps. Up there, it's another world, one of eternal snow, perpetual cold (bring warm clothes!) and almost constant sunshine. It's hard to believe just how much titanic work went into making this line carved out of the mountain possible.

Incredible activities not to be missed on the summit:

The Jungfraujoch site houses a research laboratory for geology, climatology, physics, meteorology and astronomy. On site, you can sample chocolate or try your hand at snowtubing down the Snow Fun Park run on tires (May to October).

The Jungfraujoch observatory. Once you've reached the 3,454 m summit, the observatory is a real attraction! In addition to views of the entire surrounding Alpine chain, the circular walkway features a gallery of ice with sculpted animals, a 360° panoramic screen replicating the view from the summit, a collection of miniatures, restaurants and various observation terraces, including the glacier plateau - the ideal place to take photos with the Swiss flag and the longest glacier in the Alps: the Aletsch glacier.

The Ice Palace, lining the old galleries dug out by mountain guides, invites you to discover ephemeral works of art such as an eagle, a penguin... A special and unusual dimension for an art gallery made of ice.

The footpath to the Mönchsjoch hut. This is the one you absolutely must take, equipped with good hiking boots, to get away from the noisy crowds rushing to take selfies at the summit. Even in summer, the route is snow-covered, but it is marked and tamped by the hut keeper, the ultimate goal of this 45-minute hike. Beware: hiking at this altitude requires a lot of energy! Walk slowly to save your energy.

The portal of the hall bears the inscription Psyches latreion (Pharmacy of the Soul), borrowed from the library of Ramses II. The library was built between 1758 and 1767 and is the finest secular Baroque building in the country. The architecture of the room, by Peter Thumb, is baroque and the decoration rococo. The ceiling paintings are by Joseph Wannenmacher and represent the four councils. Under each of these frescoes, the parquet floor, also superb, is decorated with a star. The columns are surmounted by cherubs in different outfits, which were used to indicate the different categories of works by speciality, before the alphabetical classification. Three of the columns are movable and reveal the list of works that were contained in the related display cases. Beyond the beauty of the "packaging", the library, which is not a simple museum, is above all a treasure trove for medievalists, with an impressive collection of original manuscripts. Some of them are on display in the main hall in an exhibition that is renewed every year; the rest are carefully preserved on the floors. In total, the library holds more than 160,000 works. A model of the abbey church, a plan of the former abbey and a gift brought back from France by the mayor when the canton of St. Gallen was founded are on display in a corner of the library: a mummy inherited from Napoleon's campaigns in Egypt. As the mayor did not want it in her home, the mummy is kept in the library with the sarcophagus.