Holidays to Switzerland Travel Podcast Episode 179 Transcript

Switzerland Beyond the Tourist Hotspots: Must-Visit Villages and Historic Towns

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

Carolyn Schönafinger

Welcome to the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. If you’re planning a trip to Switzerland, this is the podcast for you. I’m your host, Carolyn Schönafinger, the founder of holidaystoswitzerland.com and in each episode, my expert guests and I share practical tips to help you plan your dream trip to Switzerland. You’ll get helpful advice about travelling around Switzerland and hear about the most popular destinations, as well as some hidden gems. And we’ll introduce you to plenty of wonderful experiences that you can enjoy as part of your Swiss vacation. Each episode is packed with expert tips, itinerary ideas and inspiration to help make your Swiss vacation planning easy. So let’s dive in. Grüezi, welcome to this week’s episode. Today I’m thrilled to welcome Christian Guerra for a fascinating conversation about some of Switzerland’s most beautiful villages and historic towns. These villages and towns largely fly under the radar of most international tourists, but they’re all well worth spending some time in, as you’ll hear today. Now, you’re probably like most travellers and planning to visit some of Switzerland’s most popular destinations, and that’s perfectly fine. But if you’d like to make your vacation uniquely yours, it’s definitely worth considering including a visit to one or more of these towns and villages too.

Carolyn Schönafinger

They offer cultural, historical and gastronomical experiences that most visitors never discover. So if you are seeking authentic Swiss experiences beyond the usual tourist hotspots, you’ll find plenty of inspiration in today’s episode. Good morning, Christian. Thank you very much for coming onto the podcast to tell us all about some of the beautiful villages and the historic towns in Switzerland. Before we start talking about all these wonderful places to visit, would you like to introduce yourself and tell us about your role with the associations that we’re going to be discussing today?

Christian Guerra

Hi Carolyn, thank you so much for inviting me to this episode of your podcast and it’s a real pleasure to meet you and have this conversation with you. Even it’s only virtually for now, but I’m sure there will be a chance in the future to catch up. So my name is Cristian Guerra and I work as a freelancer and deal with project management in the tourism and cultural fields. And I collaborate with various Italian or Swiss associations and especially in Switzerland. I am the coordinator of the association the Most Beautiful Villages in Switzerland and for this association I oversee marketing and communication experts and I also work as a photographer of the villages that we visit.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yes, and for anyone who hasn’t seen your photos of these beautiful villages and towns, I’ll definitely include a link to the social media pages so that they can go and take a look at those because they’re wonderful, wonderful photos. We should also mention too that Kevin, the president of the associations, has previously been on the podcast that was on episodes 16 and 88, where I chatted to him about some of the other beautiful villages and towns. So that’s something else for our listeners to go back and listen to as well. Now there are so many beautiful villages in Switzerland and you only have to look on social media to be inundated with postcard worthy vil villages. So why do you believe that it’s so important to have an association that acknowledges some villages as being particularly beautiful?

Christian Guerra

Well, that’s an interesting question because I think that what we see on social media is often a small part of a region or a country has to offer. So algorithms tend to push the same iconic or cliche locations and leading many people to focus on the same places. And I think that this model can turn time after time into over tourism, which is a bad thing and can bring negative consequences for local communities, for the environment or the identity even of these places. So in this context, the association of the Most Beautiful Villages in Switzerland promotes an alternative model which is based on a slow and respectful tourism. So the goal is not to encourage hit and run visit, just to take a picture, a photo of this village, but instead is to showcase the entire heritage that a village has to offer. The artistic aspects, the cultural ones, historical or even gastronomic aspect of, of the town or villages. So, and I think that in addition, even the smallest municipalities, which often lack significant promotion tools, or maybe don’t they have like the economic resources to increase their marketing or, I don’t know, social media experts as well, can finally emerge and showcase their potential thanks to our network and our association.

Christian Guerra

And I think that since there is a network, every village can help one another to increase. So that’s the goal of any network.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, what you say is right. Not every village or every region has the same resources to, you know, put their destination in the spotlight. And that doesn’t mean it’s any less beautiful or it’s not worth visiting. It certainly is. But certain villages get all that focus and as you say, so many tourists go there and that can have very negative consequences.

Christian Guerra

That’s right.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, so what criteria do the villagers have to meet to become members of the association?

Christian Guerra

Well, the association of the Most Beautiful Villages in Switzerland, which was founded in 2015 in Lugano at Ticino, has the aim of protecting and promoting Swiss villages that stand out for their historical, cultural and natural beauty. There are several strategies required for the municipalities in order to join this network, and I think the most important ones are a population of no more than 2,000 inhabitants in the historical village and 10,000 inhabitants in the political municipality, and the presence of certified architectural or natural heritage, with of course, a clear prevalence of historic buildings in the village.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, so in the association, are there any member villages that our listeners may already have heard of, or are they all relatively unknown to people from outside of Switzerland?

Christian Guerra

Well, actually both. I mean, the strength of the association lies precisely in its diversity, because in our association we bring together villages that are very different from one another. So we have lakeside villages, mountain villages or villages linked to major events or particular traditions. Some of these towns or villages are already well known and popular, such as Ascona in canton of Ticino, especially for German people, or not for European people. Or Gruyeres in canton of Fribourg, which is real famous because of the cheese, but also the village is a really popular destination. Other places, however, I think are real gems are still relatively unknown. And there are great, there is great potential waiting to be discovered for these villages. And I’m thinking, for example of Balangen in a canton of Neuchatel. Now it’s part of the municipality of Neuchatel city or Bour Seine, which is nestled in a beautiful wine grown landscape in a canton of Bo, or Chilean in lower Engadine and canton Grison. I mean, there are several villages that are still unknown, but they’re beautiful as the most popular destinations.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, so many different villages and as you say, so much variety. We’re going to talk about a few of the newer member villages shortly. But for people that are interested in visiting some of these villages, is a car necessary to reach them or are they all sort of well connected to public transport?

Christian Guerra

Well, in my opinion, in Switzerland, the car remains without doubt a convenient and fast means of transport, and especially because Switzerland has a lot of hills or mountains. So to reach a place from another can be useful, have a car, but we have to be honest, and Swiss public transport, it’s excellent. So even the smallest and most remote villages can almost always be reached by train or by bus. Of course, journey can take times, and thinking you’re in Ticino to reach Boscogurin, for example, from Ascona could be a long journey, but I think that sometimes it could be even a nice thing, because you can enjoy from your window the landscape outside. And in Switzerland is Always so good, so nice. So I think it’s worth it.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah. There’s a way to reach it whichever way you prefer to travel, basically.

Christian Guerra

Yeah, that’s right.

Carolyn Schönafinger

I know. In the last 12 months you’ve added three villages to the association. How many villages are there in total? And can you tell us about these new ones and why they were included?

Christian Guerra

Okay. Well, today in our association there are 56 member municipalities spread out in 19 different cantons. And we have to add that in 2019 also the principality of Liechtenstein joined our Swiss association. So we have two villages in Liechtenstein, Theresenberg and Blanken. And you said. Right. Among the latest villages to join our network last year, we have three villages which are Champery, Urnäsch and Bönigen. The first one is Champery, which is located in Chablis region on the foot of Dent du Midi and Dent Blanche mountains in Canton of Balis. The Champery is considered one of the oldest tourist resorts in Switzerland. It is located at an altitude of over 1000 metres and has a population of around 1400 inhabitants. And strolling along the main street it’s possible to encounter beautiful wooden chalets, a lot of flowers in the balconies and there are picturesque signs. And there is like this cable car you can see from this main road. It’s really, really nice. And since this year we are on the subject of the Olympic Games, it’s nice to know that Champery was also the first Olympic site in Valis, hosting the Carlin competitions of the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games.

Christian Guerra

Today the village and the region is part of the large Portes du Soleil ski area, which connects 12 resorts in Switzerland and France is one of biggest ones in in Europe. Actually, in the city centre of Champery, the centre of sporting and socialised life is the Palladium, which is a modern multi purpose centre open all year round. So everyone can go there to do every kind of activity or sport. The nice thing is Champs Paris is reachable by car, of course, but also by train because there is the Aigle Champery railway. So it’s reachable also by public transport, which is nice.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah. Okay. And for the listeners who aren’t familiar perhaps with the different regions or the different cantons of Switzerland, Valais that we’re talking about is the same canton in which Zermatt is located, isn’t it?

Christian Guerra

Yeah, that’s right. It’s in the opposite side because Canton Valley or Balis, it’s bilingual, they speak both French and German and Zermatt is in the east side, speaking German. And Champery is on the opposite side of the canton, but they French. So that’s the diversity of Switzerland. We told early.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, wonderful. Okay, so the next village, I think I’m going to pronounce it correctly, but please tell me if I’m not. Unash is in the Appenzell region and I was lucky enough to visit there on my trip last year. But I’d like you to tell us about the village and why it was included in the association.

Christian Guerra

Yes, sure. So, yes, from Canton Vallis we moved to the canton of Appenzellhauserhoden to the village of Urnäsch. Urnäsch is located at an altitude of around 800 metres and population is around 2,400 inhabitants. And I think it’s one of the most authentic villages in eastern Switzerland because it immediately strikes visitors with its typical wooden houses, colourful ones. And of course the village is famous for several things. The first one is for the direct democracy. Thanks to its historical participation, the Landske Mind is famous throughout Switzerland or even abroad for its traditions. In particular for Silvesterchlausen, which is an evocative New Year’s Eve ritual, which is celebrated twice first time that is celebrated on last day of December and then during middle January. And during this celebration there are maxed men in elaborate costumes and cowbells which walk through the village, the street villages and singing melodies. And that’s a really nice experience. And since we are talking about traditions, also worth mentioning and visiting the museum of Appenzell traditions, which is located in the main square of the village inside a beautiful house which also offers a small info point. So it’s a really nice, nice thing.

Christian Guerra

And of course Ornesia, it’s a. It’s located in a beautiful place in Switzerland for, you know, explore the area on foot. So for hikes, for example, you can reach the Säntis Mountain, which is one of the most iconic mountains in Switzerland. It’s just few minutes from the the village.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, it’s definitely well located. It’s. It’s only from memory, I’m going to say 25 minutes by train to the town of Appenzell, which a lot of people are probably familiar with. But Urnäsch, yeah, it’s a little less known and it’s absolutely beautiful. I was so impressed when I hopped off the train and walked into the main town square. The colourful facades on the buildings, there’s a fountain in the town square and all around the village is just those beautiful lush rolling green pastures. It was very, very different to Champery that you just spoke about. And that museum that you mentioned, I did visit. And it’s absolutely fantastic the amount of different costumes and artefacts and things that are on display that showcase all the Appenzell traditions. It’s very, very impressive and well worth a visit.

Christian Guerra

Yes, that’s right. It’s a beautiful experience when you visit Urnäsch.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, it certainly is. Okay, so what about the third village that was added last year?

Christian Guerra

Yes, we conclude with Bönigen in the canton of Bern, which is the first village in our network in the Bernese Oberland. So we really happy about this new entry. And Böningen overlook Lake Brienz and it has around 3,000 inhabitants. So it’s bigger than compared to the other two villages that we talked before. And it’s located short distance from more famous places such as Iselbald or Interlaken. But the thing that Bönigen is so special is because the historical centre is so beautiful. It’s characterised by magnificent wooden houses dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries and they are surprisingly well preserved. And there is like these themed trail with information panels which allows visitors to discover lesser known corners of this village and the historical city centre. And of course everyone probably know Bönigen for the lakeside, because the lakeside of this village is truly exceptional. There are like these small beaches and it’s particularly pleasant and suitable for families, for example. And the corridor of Lake Brienz, it’s so beautiful. I think it’s one of the most beautiful lakes in Switzerland. And of course, since Bönigen is in this area close to Interlaken, it’s an excellent base for exploring the entire region and the entire Jungfrau region, which is located just a few minutes from Bönigen.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, absolutely. And the colour of the water on Lake Brienz is beautiful. Absolutely magnificent. Now, of course to arrive in Bönigen you can come by bus from Interlaken if you don’t have a car and you can also arrive by boat. So for our listeners who are perhaps planning on doing a lake cruise on Lake Brienz, they could cruise down to Brienz and on the way back they could hop off at Bönigen for a wander around, perhaps have a meal, walk that theme trail, admire those wooden houses and then either catch a later boat back to Interlaken or take a bus. So there’s a great opportunity there, even if they’re not staying in Bönigen, to have a really good look around.

Christian Guerra

Yeah, that’s true.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Now the members of the Most Beautiful Villages in Switzerland association must have less than 10,000 inhabitants, correct?

Christian Guerra

Yeah, that’s right. It’s one of the rules of to join our network.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, so what about the towns that have perhaps larger populations that are also worth recognising? I think it was for this reason that you started the Swiss Historic Towns association as well. What are the requirements for towns to be included in that association?

Christian Guerra

Yeah, that’s right. In 2023, the Swiss Historic Towns Programme was created and it was designed to promote a larger member municipalities with a particularly significant history. In this programme, the maximum population limit rises from 10,000 for the villages to 25,000 for these small towns. And in addition to the beauty of the place, its history and distinctive architectural features are of great importance. So the town, for example, needs to have at least one tower, a gateway, fortifications, castle and so on. And in the same year. So still in 2023, the association became a partner of the Austrian network. There is a similar programme in Austria as well for, you know, bigger villages, but they are not so, so big as Salzburg. So it’s like in the middle, between a small village and a big city. Our programme stands there.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, great. So how many towns are currently in the historic towns network?

Christian Guerra

Well, currently six towns are part of the Swiss historic town networks. We have Aarburg, Bremgarten and Zofingen in the canton of Aargau. There is a Porrentruy in the canton of Jura, Diessenhofen in the canton of Thurgau, and Solothurn in the canton of the same name. And of course we’ll see in the future because the project is still evolving and there are maybe new developments in the coming months. So we’ll see.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, that’s exciting. So can you tell us a bit about Solothurn? It’s one of the more recent additions and it’s a town that I’ve heard so much about, but I have never actually visited there. So please tell me all about it and why it was added and why I need to get there pretty soon.

Christian Guerra

Yeah, actually it’s one of my favourite towns in Switzerland and Solothurn joined the Swiss Historic Towns network in 2025 and in my opinion just have to visit only for one minute to fall in love with the city and understand why it was added to this programme. And Solothurn is the capital, as I said before, of the canton of with the same name. And it’s often called the baroque capital of Switzerland because in the city centre you will see a lot of baroque and Renaissance buildings, beautiful ones, and it’s lively, full of culture. There are a lot of museums and events all year round. And this city lies along this Aare river, which is the same river of Büren an der Aare, which is one of our village in network. And from the river you can see elegant baroque palace churches, mediaeval towers, bells or old fountains. There are a lot of spectacular buildings. The symbol of the city is Saint Ursus Cathedral, which is a baroque church from the 18th century, which is like a light stone facade and a richly decorated interior. And there is an interesting fact about Solothurn, which is connected to the number 11, because it seems like this number appears many times in the city.

Christian Guerra

There are 11 churches, 11 fountains, 11 towers, or even 11 altars inside the cathedral. One positive thing is the fact that the historical centre is close to cars and so can be easily visited on photo or by bike. For example, beside its architecture, Solothurn is very active in culture. As I already said, there are important events such as the Solothurn Film Festival, which is one of the most important film festival in Switzerland, together with the Locarno one. Or there is the traditional carnival, there are many concerts, exhibitions. I mean, it’s real nice.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah. Okay. And so in terms of geography in Switzerland, whereabouts is it placed for the listeners who aren’t familiar with where the canton of Solothurn is?

Christian Guerra

Well, actually it’s halfway between Bern and Zurich. It’s not way too far from the two biggest cities in. I mean, Bern is not the biggest city, but it’s the capital. I mean, from the two big, big city cities in Switzerland. So can be easily reachable by this, these places. Or Basel as well, is 30 minutes from Basel.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Right, so it’s, it’s very central, very, very well located to reach those other destinations.

Christian Guerra

That’s right, yes.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, so let’s move on to Diessenhofen, which is another member town and it was a place that I was lucky enough to visit on my recent trip to Switzerland. Can you tell all our listeners about the lovely town of Diessenhofen?

Christian Guerra

Yes, Diessenhofen is a beautiful and still little known town. It’s located in the canton of Turgau on the banks of the Rhine River. We are not way too far from Lake Constance. So in the eastern northeastern part of Switzerland there is an ancient wooden bridge which connects the Senhor to Germany. And actually some of the most beautiful photographs of the town are taken from the German side. So you have just to walk through this wooden bridge, reach Germany, climb up this hill and then from there you have a beautiful view over the Swiss village. And this an often has preserved its mediaeval structure intact. There are numerous buildings of great historical value. Such as several towers including Tower of Seals and the Anti Tower or the parish church. The town hall. Also worth a visit is the Museum of Art and Knowledge which is located directly on the banks of the river. There are exhibition spaces and events spread over three levels of the museum dedicated to art history and knowledge. So it’s worth a visit of course.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, absolutely. And it’s another one of those towns where when you walk into the, you know, the main town square or the, the old part of town, the buildings are just so beautiful. You just. I took so many photos of different coloured buildings. There was ones with green facades, pink, orange, yellow. It was just amazing. And yeah, a funny story about that wooden bridge that you mentioned. We, on this trip, we actually went to Diessenhofen twice and the first time we went just to have a wander around. We arrived by train, had a walk around and had lunch and had a lovely time the next day. We then decided that we were going to take a Rhine river cruise from Schaffhausen through Diessenhofen to Stein am Rhein. But unbeknownst to us the river was too high and so the boat couldn’t fit under that wooden bridge. So the cruise actually terminated at Diessenhofen and then turned around and went back. So we disembarked there, walked back to the train station and continued on to Stein am Rhein by train. But it’s a magnificent bridge, a one lane bridge for cars these days. So yeah, if you’re driving across it obviously you’ve got to be very aware that nothing’s coming the other way, but yeah, it’s just magnificent.

Carolyn Schönafinger

And as you rightly said, the views from the German bank looking back towards the town are fantastic.

Christian Guerra

Yeah, that’s a funny story about your visit to the Diessenhofen.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yes, it’s. Oh it’s one I’ll always remember anyway.

Christian Guerra

Yeah, that’s right, yeah.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Now another town that I think is worth mentioning. I mean we could talk about all six but we probably run out of time. So I think we’ll just talk about Bremgarten because it’s a town that’s also easily reached from some of the other major cities like Zurich, Lucerne and Bern, which many of our listeners will probably be visiting. So what are the highlights of Bremgarten?

Christian Guerra

Well, Bremgarten is one of my favourite places in Switzerland. It’s located in Canton of Aargau, but it’s a really short distance from Zurich. So a lot of people from Zurich visit the city just for like a day trip because it’s really close and walking along the Reuss river, it’s possible to admire the town skyline with this wooden bridge, towers, bell towers and I think it’s a special experience to visit this city. Bremgarten is divided in two parts. The Upper town, which is livelier and more commercial. There are a lot of shops for example. And there is the Lower town which is quieter but extremely charming. Here it’s possible to find a group of chapels which surrounding the parish church and seems like an open air museum in my opinion the this part of the city and of course Bremgarten is known of the city of markets, historically very important, still capable of attracting visitors from all over Switzerland and abroad actually, such as the Easter and Christmas markets that are truly beautiful. But not only markets, the city is famous for its events that are truly exceptional. So yeah, that’s. That’s always worth more than one visit the city.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, well, you’d have to visit at Easter for the market and then you’d have to come back at Christmas and then there’s all those other things to see at other times of the year. So it sounds like it, it’s one to add to the list for sure.

Christian Guerra

Yes, that’s right.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Well, yeah, we’ve only just touched on a few villages and a few of the historic towns today. So if our listeners want to get more information about the associations and all the other members, where can they find further details?

Christian Guerra

Well, anyone wishing to learn more about the subject or discover all the member locations of the association can visit swissvillages.org for villages and swisshistorictowns.org for towns in the Swiss Historic Town programme. And we were we are also present on the main social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn by simply searching for Swiss villages or Swiss towns. And in addition to digital tools, we also carry out offline promotion and following the first printed guide in 2021, the second edition of French painter Lanoux’s watercolour book, the Switzerland That I Love, that’s its name, was published in 2024. Moreover in 2026, so this year, our villages will feature in the official Michelin map dedicated to the best Swiss villages and Swiss historic towns. And all these products can be purchased or just, you know, find some information about these products on our website.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Wonderful. Now that book that you mentioned is also printed in English as well as other languages, so I encourage our listeners to have a look at that because those watercolour paintings in there are just magnificent. I’m lucky enough to have a copy of that book and it’s wonderful. And that’s exciting about the Michelin map, so we better get a copy of that. And obviously, as you said, all the villages are marked, will be marked on the map, so people can easily find their their way around to visit them.

Christian Guerra

Yeah, that’s right. Could be a useful tool to discover Switzerland or part of Switzerland during a journey. So.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, and to bring home and plot out the itinerary for your next trip to include a few of the towns and villages that you haven’t already visited.

Christian Guerra

That’s right. And it will be in English as well, the map. So that’s nice because it’s always the difficulty in Switzerland to decide which language to use because there are four official languages and of course English is the common language to speak, even with visitors abroad. So it’s always difficult to decide how to do that.

Carolyn Schönafinger

I’m sure. Well, yeah, thank you so much for for printing both those in English. That’s great. Thank you very much, Christian. It’s been great chatting with you and learning more about these towns and villages and hopefully we’ll have you back on the podcast again in the future and to learn more about some of the other member towns and villages. And please do keep us informed of any other exciting developments with either of the networks.

Christian Guerra

Thank you again, Carolyn, for giving me the opportunity to talk about this association and some of its members. And I really hope to come back soon for another chat together.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Thanks again.

Christian Guerra

Thank you.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Switzerland’s most beautiful villages and historic towns truly offer something for everyone, whether you’re dreaming of an Alpine getaway, a lakeside escape, or just immersing yourself in centuries old Swiss traditions. And thanks to the Most Beautiful Villages in Switzerland association and the Swiss Historic Towns programme, it’s never been easier to discover these hidden gems and support communities that are preserving their unique heritage. As Christian mentioned, all of these destinations are accessible by public transport, so you can explore them with ease and enjoy the stunning scenery along the way. To help you start planning your visit to these charming villages and towns, I’ll include links to the both the association websites and social media handles in the show notes for this episode. Also in the show notes is a link to get my free Switzerland Travel Planning starter kit and guide. Thank you so much for joining me today. Don’t forget to share the podcast with your family, friends and colleagues who are also planning a trip to Switzerland. Next week I’ll be back with more Swiss travel tips and inspiration. So until then, Tschüss.

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