Holidays to Switzerland Travel Podcast Episode 118 Transcript

Visiting Gruyères – A Guide to Switzerland’s Most Charming Medieval Town

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.

Intro

Are you dreaming of visiting Switzerland? Planning a trip to Switzerland is very exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. How do you choose which of the many scenic cities, towns and villages to visit, which mountain top excursions should you take? And what’s the best way to get around Switzerland and of course, how much of the country can you realistically see within your time frame? If you’ve asked yourself any of these questions, this is the podcast for you. This is the Holidays to Switzerland travel podcast. And in each episode, your host Carolyn Schönafinger chats with Swiss travel experts to answer your most commonly asked questions, provide practical tips and take you on a virtual visit to the most popular destinations, and, of course, some hidden gems to help you plan your dream trip to Switzerland. And you’ll hear plenty of conversations about Swiss cheese and chocolate too. Are you ready to plan your trip to Switzerland? Well, let’s get started. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Hi there, and welcome to this week’s episode. Today, we’re heading to the Western and French speaking part of Switzerland, to the Canton of Freiburg to explore the medieval town of Gruyères and the surrounding region. You may be familiar with the name Grier, as this is the home to the famous cheese of the same name, and whilst a visit to the cheese dairy is a must do, the region has so much more to see and do as well. To tell us all about this beautiful part of Switzerland, I’ve invited Marta Flack and Romaine Pillonel from La Gruyère Tourism, to the podcast. Hello, ladies. Thank you very much for coming onto the podcast. I’m very excited to hear from you both about the beautiful town of Gruyères. Would you like to start please by introducing yourselves and telling us a little bit about what you do.

Marta Flack  

Yeah pleasure. Thanks first of all for inviting us. It’s great to be with you this morning. My name is Martha, and I’m the manager of La Gruyère Tourism, representing the region of Gruyères. I’m

Romaine Pillonel  

Romaine. I’m marketing manager in La Gruyères. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Fantastic, a beautiful destination to represent, and a place that I’ve been lucky enough to visit only once and for a very short time. So I’m looking forward to returning there, hopefully in the not too distant future. For the people that are listening who aren’t familiar with where Greer is, could you tell us whereabouts we can find in Switzerland? 

Marta Flack  

Well, I’m sure Gruyères is actually a peteras medieval town on a hill in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. But not only it’s the name of the whole region we’re representing as well, and then it’s the name for the famous cheese you might know.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Well, we’ll definitely talk more about that. I know that Gruyères holds a couple of quite distinguished titles. It’s a member of the most beautiful villages of Switzerland Association, and it also has been given the title of one of the best tourism villages in Switzerland by the UNWTO. So how important are titles like that to a town like gruyere?

Romaine Pillonel  

This prestigious title are really important for little town like Gruyères, because it helped to situate the village on the map and also to promote the tourism industry and everything.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

And I guess it’s confirmation that it is really a beautiful village. It’s not only only the locals that think that it’s other people as well that say, Yeah, this village is really worth celebrating. 

Romaine Pillonel  

It’s just only us that we find it’s beautiful. It’s also the organization, so it’s good.

Marta Flack  

And it’s like a recognition for the work which is done, helping to get the traditions alive, and then that it’s really worth coming over, and all the efforts which are done by the community, local people, and then the region, like all the work we do for the tourism industry, it’s like a part of saying you’re on the right way go on, and then it helps communicating about the beautiful place we have and attracting more visitors. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

What do you think are the reasons that make Gruyères a must visit destination for anyone who’s coming to Switzerland? 

Marta Flack  

Well, I think the region of Gruyères is a beautiful mix of the diversity which makes it always worth coming over. I mean, all the part about history, there’s so much to learn about the history and the traditions we live here in Gruyères. But then there’s all the museums, there’s stunning views, the landscape, the proximity to nature, and all these different things you can eat, you know, just enjoy time outside. Go and learn more. Have the arty part, the good gastronomy. You can have really good restaurants. Come to restaurants and enjoy good food, and this mixture makes it worth coming over.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Yeah, there’s certainly plenty on offer there, isn’t there? And I guess most international visitors, I’m assuming, probably only visit for one day. So what are some of the things that you would say that they must do in that one day when they’re visiting the region? 

Romaine Pillonel  

So they must really go to the city of Gruyères, because it’s really the emblematic village town of the region. But they also should go to La Maison Cailler, which is the fabrique for the chocolates, and go to the La Maison de Gruyère, which is the factory of the cheese, and also going to the Château de Gruyères. And we have a pass for this three Museums, which is the day pass, and it includes the public transport also, and, yeah, it’s a really good way to visit all these three.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Yeah, great. So we’ve got chocolate, we’ve got cheese, we’ve got a castle. What more could you want? The perfect day out. And whereabouts can people get that pass that you mentioned, is that available from the tourist office when they arrive? Or can they buy that in advance?

Romaine Pillonel  

You can bought it in advance via our website. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, oh, that’s good. 

Romaine Pillonel  

Day Pass and you can just book it online,

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Alright, and so can you tell us a bit more about some of those places perhaps, because I’m sure people are interested in learning more about what they can see and what they can take part in, workshops and so forth, at the cheese and the chocolate factories.

Romaine Pillonel  

So in the chocolate factories, yes, they make some workshop. You have the calendar on the website, and you can book for the sun to just learn how to make something with the chocolate. And in the Chateau de Gruyère, there is a lot of exhibition, so it’s quite good also. But in the factory cheese, there is just a visit, I think. But if you go in the morning, you can really see how they make cheese. And, yeah, the local production. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, all right. And what about when people who are interested in visiting the Chateau, the castle. Are they guided tours, or self guided tours that they can do through the castle to learn more about the history? 

Marta Flack  

We do always recommend to do a guided tour, because it’s so much more information you will get, and it’s the you know, part of the legends they may tell you. Or there’s a guided tour with the historical music, like they bring the instruments and sing typical songs for the different rooms and the castle, which is just amazing. You can do it on your own, because since this year, they have a nice application where you have augmented reality to actually see other parts of the castle you would not be able to see without the app, which makes it possible to go on your own and to just discover things you would not see without using it. But then, if you want to dive a bit deeper in all what the castle offers, not just about the history, but also about the link to modern art, like contemporary exhibitions, they always organize. It’s worth getting a guide to get more information. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

So for anyone who’s interested in visiting those three places, the castle and the Chocolate Factory and the cheese factory, how long would you recommend, or how much time would you recommend that they allow to do those three visits?

Marta Flack  

Actually would take a whole day to see the three, like what we did with a day pass. Like real what we created. The tourist offer makes it like logical to have a whole day in the region and to discover a bit the highlights you would need the whole day to actually get from one place and to spend enough time on the different sides. You would have time to have lunch and to go a bit shopping for some cheese or chocolate. But actually, when we kind of put this offer for guests, we always recommend to this would be one day, but there’s actually so much more to see. So it’s even better to stay longer, because otherwise you can see the three things in one day, but you can see so much more if you spend more time in the region.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, so can you tell us about some of those other things that people can see when they’re staying longer?

Romaine Pillonel  

We will, for sure recommend the scenic view on going to Moleson or something like that, which is really near to Gruyères, and also to go maybe to Charmey, we have the thermal baths and just enjoying the other place with the mountain on maybe going hiking or something like that.

Marta Flack  

Perhaps just people loving the nature that would be just perfect and going into the mountains using cable cars. But if you’re interested in, like, more the arty or culture part, there’s a lot of different museums we have in the region, so it might be even worth going one day in nature and then on another day discovering one of the museums we have. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, so there’s a couple of quite different museums, aren’t there? I think there’s one that you probably wouldn’t expect in a little mountain village in Switzerland. 

Marta Flack  

Exactly. We have the HR Giger Museum from the film Aliens, which is really worth and then a couple of steps further up the hill, the Tibet Museum, which you would probably not expect like in the town either. And then we have a really good museum in Bulle which is the museum where they are like about all the history and the traditions you can actually understand where it comes from, all these cheese making, which the history actually explains about how important the milk production was, and then how all the cows came with you, which like now is really typical. I mean, we love to say that Gruyères has some mini Switzerland, because you have all the different aspects which you might associate to Switzerland, which are in the region, and the museum really puts efforts to explain the links between how it came that we now have this diversity and the traditions which are still live today.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, so, yeah, that sounds really fascinating, because obviously, as you say, we now come to expect cows in Switzerland, but obviously, there’s a long tradition there with the cheese making and getting the milk for the chocolate production. What other local specialties are there in the region because I’m sure there’s more than just chocolate and cheese?

Romaine Pillonel  

Yeah, if you come you don’t have to miss the meringue with the double cream from Gruyères which is, yes, a sweet thing. And also have the Benichon, which is a traditional party in the hotel. And we have really the menu, the full menu. And, yeah, which really specialities with a bread which is made with saffron. And, yeah. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, so with the benichon that you mentioned, is that sort of eaten all year round, or is that only really eaten for a special occasion?

Romaine Pillonel  

Yeah, it’s just a special occasion. It’s at the end of the summer when the farmer just finished to cut everything in the summer, and it’s just the party to end this.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, yeah, and it’s quite a big meal, isn’t it? I think it’s not just, let’s sit down and have one course, it’s quite big. 

Romaine Pillonel  

Yeah, it’s really big. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

What’s what sort of food is served in at the time of the Benichon?

Romaine Pillonel  

There is a lot of meat. And yeah, there is the Cuchaule with the mustard, and then we have the ham with everything. And then, yeah, I don’t know the name in English, but if you want to explain, although-

Marta Flack  

I think that the traditional menu is, first of all, you serve a soup. And then what she explained is you have the ham with the potatoes, and you have sometimes a second principal plate, which would be lamb, and then you have this Cuchaule bread, which is somehow the saffron but sweet bread. And it’s not really mustard. We call it mustard, but actually it’s a mustard with a pear in there. And you cook the pear a very long time, so which makes it a sweet mustard you put on the Cuchaule. So it’s really something super special. I mean, in the region, you can find it on other occasions, then the benichon but it’s really typical. Originally, it comes from this time of celebrations. You get the bristle. We call it bristle. It’s in the end to serve with a coffee where you have really thin waffles, which might depending on where they were made, on sweet version or on another salty version. So it depends on where you go. And which is really interesting is that the benichon celebration takes place on different dates in the different villages, so you can, like, go around from the villages on one weekend, there will be the celebration in one and then the next weekend and the next, but it’s always the autumn period. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Ah, okay, good. So that’s one of, obviously, the strong farming tradition, because it’s, as you said, it’s when the farmers finish cutting the hay. What about other local traditions? Because I know in Switzerland, cow parades are very popular. What can we expect in the La Gruyère region?

Romaine Pillonel  

We have different tradition. In the spring, we have the cows who are going up in the mountain, and we call it La Poya. So it’s really very beautiful tradition. On the end of the summer, there is the desalpe which is the cow going back. And they are really always made with flowers on the on the yeah head, yeah, exactly. And it’s really beautiful. And yeah, you have the benichon and yeah, and you have another one, maybe. 

Marta Flack  

We have a cheese festival as well, like where we celebrate the cheese making, and then the different kinds of oldness of cheese, to actually celebrate the new cheese, which was just done on the last season, and the older ones. And in our region, you can actually also come to a double cream celebration. We organized the last years. Like it’s on a weekend where you can go around the town of Gruyères to actually try the double cream in different meals or prepared in different ways. And this is really something super typical, which you can’t find elsewhere in Switzerland either.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay. And I’m guessing from what you’re saying there, we’ve got milk for the cheese. We’ve got milk for the chocolate. We’ve got the milk for the double cream. I mean, anyone who owns a cow in the region must be very, very proud of their animals.

Marta Flack  

Oh, I think they are. And this is what we just explained. You can see in the desalpe when they’re coming back, it’s really something super important where there’s a lot of effort put into to just put all the flowers on the heads, and then, you know, there’s the whole village celebrating these coming backs, and it’s something super important. But which is actually interesting is that the whole desalpes season is not just about the cows. There’s also probably the smaller ones, like the goats, goats coming back, and sheeps. And it’s not just about the cows, but actually they take a whole family and their families, and then there’s all this traditional music we should perhaps talk about, you know, we have these,

Romaine Pillonel  

yeah,

Marta Flack  

Cor des Alpes. How would you translate Cor des Alpes? You know, this is the huge instrument, 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Oh, the Alphorn

Marta Flack  

The Alphorn.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Yeah.

Marta Flack  

And so we love, um, bringing the Alphorns on these special occasions to play traditional songs. And there’s often more than one. They are, like small groups. Can be three or five Alphorns playing something for all these families to actually, yeah, make it a special day. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

That sounds like such a lovely tradition. So I guess we’ve talked a lot about quite a few things that happen, perhaps in autumn, and some are some of those festivals. What about for people who are perhaps visiting in winter? Would you say that it’s a year round destination? 

Marta Flack  

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Yeah, for sure. We have a few ski area in La Gruyeres. We have three ski area, I guess. And yeah, so you can just come to ski, but also just to enjoy the snow by skiing and ski, yeah, everything you can make it, make to enjoy it, and also just walking on the snow. And even if there’s no snow, I mean, the last years, you know that we on the pre-Alps, which makes it, you know, the first, like the beginning of the Alpine mountains, and there’s perhaps snow coming later or leaving us early. And what we try to communicate is that Gruyeres is definitely a year round destination where even if there’s no snow, just enjoy the mountains, go go hiking, otherwise, go to the museums or to the thermal bath or, I mean, the offer is so large that there’s always something you can do if it’s wintertime or spring. I mean, we talked about summer and autumn, all these celebrations which take place in this period. They can be they can be completed by the Christmas markets. Or we organized like an after Christmas market in January, which made it possible to come and see each other again on a market. Because seeing each other something which is really lived in the region as well. Like, for example, in the town of Bulle during the whole summer the market, which takes place in the whole inner part of the city. And that shows that there’s always something to do.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Wonderful. So how about reaching Gruyères? How is it best to get there by public transport? Or can, do people need to drive?

Marta Flack  

Yeah, actually, you can reach the region by car, but there’s actually pretty good train connections as well. And it’s even more interesting to come by train, but when you see the stunning views out of the train windows, typically coming from Montreux, just takes you about an hour. Makes it like an unforgettable experience, just the way to come to us. You know, you leave the lake and then you go to the mountains, and the train is like in a really picturesque, where you see all these different kind of nature and the changing landscapes, which makes it really unforgettable to come by train.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

And what about if people are coming say, perhaps from Bern or from somewhere a bit further away, is it still easy enough to reach Gruyères by public transport?

Marta Flack  

Really good point, because coming from Bern there’s the direct connection now coming to Gruyere with the Chocolate Express. And this is not as much as about landscape, but more about the experience of being prepared to come in the chocolate region. And it’s a whole new branded train version, which is worth taking, because you can go directly from Bern, which makes it even faster than from Montreux and then you arrive in the region by this direct, uh, way,

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Wonderful. Well, I hadn’t heard about that. I’ve heard of the chocolate train, which comes from Montreux, but, yeah, the Chocolate Express, that’s a new one. So is that going to be operating all year round? 

Marta Flack  

Oh, yeah, yeah, it is. We have it since the end of last year. So end of 2023 that the Chocolate Express operates every day on the direct way from Bern to Broc chocolate factory. So where the Chocolate Factory actually. Is, and it’s like twice a day with a branded chocolate train, but then all the like the whole day, days trains coming directly to from Bern to Gruyères and even further going back. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, great. If someone was coming for the day, they could obviously take that train from Bern, go straight to the Chocolate Factory. And if they’ve pre bought their day pass, can they then use the public transport to get back to Gruyères and go and visit the cheese factory and the castle?

Marta Flack  

Exactly. On our web page, we actually explained the perfect way to go around, because then you can take the bus or walk. If you want go up the hill to the castle to see the Castle Museum, you can take the train between the different stops, which makes it really easy and a nice experience to just leave the car at home and enjoy this public transportation, which are included in the day pass La Gruyère.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, great. Well, I didn’t know about the day pass either, but I did get around between the different places by public transport. And yes, it was very, very easy. So anyone who’s listening and thinking, hmm, it sounds a bit tricky, well, it’s actually not. It’s it’s very, very easy. Wow, you’ve given us plenty of ideas there for what to do when people are visiting La Gruyère and the whole region. Are there any hidden gems you can share with us as well? 

Romaine Pillonel  

If I have to recommend one place, I would recommend the Gorges de la Jogne, which is a little walk in the in, gosh, how do you say gorges, yeah, like waterfall on a very small valley.

Marta Flack  

Yeah, small valley. But really tiny, small valley.

Romaine Pillonel  

Yeah. And it’s yeah, it’s just a wonderful place which is very peaceful and just, yeah, beautiful.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

And how far is that from Gruyères, the town.

Marta Flack  

Really just near the chocolate factories. It’s maybe 10, 10, minutes by car from the Chocolate Factory. So it’s quite easy to go to go there. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

And that’s la Jogne, is it? 

Marta Flack  

la Jogne

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay.

Marta Flack  

Just pay attention that it’s not open year round. It’s it’s lovely from spring to autumn. You have all the different colors in autumn, and you have all the blossom in springtime, the whole summer. Normally, you can go depending on weather condition, but pay attention that, like from the early winter coming they have to close it, and they will do reparation, and then for safety reasons, that might close if you come in winter. But then there’s other things to do in wintertime. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Yeah, great. And I guess those dates when it’s closed, will that be on on your website? 

Marta Flack  

Yes, yeah, sure. Okay, good. All the information about day pass, museums, beautiful views, you can find it on the web page. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Great. Well, can you tell us what the web address is?

Romaine Pillonel  

It’s la gruyere, point ch

Carolyn Schönafinger  

I know that’s a lovely accent. La with a hyphen gruyere.ch, perfect. And do you have social media accounts that people can follow? 

Romaine Pillonel  

Yeah, we have Instagram, Facebook, and also, yeah, LinkedIn, but maybe not, yeah, but Instagram and Facebook, it’s la gruyere.

Marta Flack  

And I think it’s really worth coming to join the community on the social media platforms, because like on every Wednesday, we share the best things to do over the weekend, and then there’s a lot of inspiration going on, like places you would not probably know about, and then you can see new views or new exhibitions going on. So it’s always worth following us to to be up to date about what is going on here. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Okay, that sounds like a great idea. I’ll include the website address and the links to your social media accounts in the show notes for this episode. 

Marta Flack  

Lovely. Thank you. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Is there anything else you want to share with us before we finish up? 

Marta Flack  

Like, just bring up the last word about our welcome culture. I think it’s really something we are proud of, that it’s a pleasure of working for people who are interested in coming over and discovering something we all have in our hearts, and then it’s about these traditions and about these beautiful places we are really happy to share with people coming over. And it’s always a pleasure having someone who is interested in learning more about it, and we are there, and then we have all the connections to the partners to actually get you the information you need. And if you are more, you know, the outdoor sporty type, we would have a good thing for you to do. But if you are more in other culture, I mean, it’s really the diversity which makes the region a lovely place to visit and to come back and again and again.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

And don’t forget the gastronomy, because I’m sure that’s what tempts a lot of people. Thank you so much, ladies for giving us all that information, and I hope we’ve inspired all our listeners to include Gruyeres in their visit to Switzerland. 

Marta Flack  

Yeah, thank you for the interview. Was lovely spending a bit of time with you, and we hope the information was interesting for you and that you come over to see it in reality.

Carolyn Schönafinger  

Absolutely. Thanks very much. 

Marta Flack  

Thank you. 

Romaine Pillonel  

Thank you. 

Carolyn Schönafinger  

If chocolate cheese and a 13th century castle weren’t enough to convince you to visit La Gruyères, perhaps it’s the museums, festivals, the nature and other culinary treats that have encouraged you to include this picturesque region in your Switzerland itinerary. Today, we’ve just touched on the many reasons to visit La Gruyères. But if you’d like to know more, you can find lots of information and inspiration on the La Gruyere Tourism website and on their social media pages. If you have a particular interest in cheese, make sure you go back and listen to episode 36 where we dive deep into the different varieties of Swiss cheese, including, of course, Gruyere. And you can hear more about the Canton of Fribourg in Episode 22. The links for those episodes and links to La Gruyère Tourism’s website and social media pages can be found in the show notes at holidaystoswitzerland.com/episode118. You can also get a copy of my free guide, 21 useful things to know before you visit Switzerland, from the show notes as well. Thank you for joining me today. If you enjoy the podcast and find it helpful, I’d be super grateful if you could leave a five star rating or a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This helps us to reach more folks, just like you who are planning their own dream trip to Switzerland. Thank you so much. Until next week. Tschüss.

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.