Everyone arrives in Switzerland with the same shortlist: Zermatt, Interlaken, Lucerne, the Jungfraujoch. And fair enough — they earn the hype. But some of my favourite Swiss moments have happened in places that barely get a mention in the guidebooks: a frescoed street in a town most people have never heard of, a turquoise river bend where locals go to swim, a valley where Italian is spoken with an alpine accent. If you want Switzerland without the queues, here are five underrated towns and day trips worth building a detour around.
Stein Am Rhein – The Old Town That Time Forgot
Tucked onto the Rhine in the canton of Schaffhausen, Stein am Rhein is one of those places that looks almost too perfect to be real. Its old town is lined with timber-framed houses painted floor to roof with elaborate frescoes, some dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries — wander down the main street, and you’ll be craning your neck at every building. Climb up to Hohenklingen Castle for a view over the rooftops and the river bending below, or just take a slow lap of the Rhine promenade and let the cafés do the rest.
It’s an easy day trip from Zurich, and one worth extending: Rhine Falls, Europe’s largest waterfall, is only about 30 minutes away, and boats run along the river toward Schaffhausen and Lake Constance if you’d rather arrive by water.
Murten/Morat – The Walled Town On Two Lakes’ Worth Of Charm
Murten (or Morat, depending which side of the language line you’re standing on) is proof that Switzerland’s bilingual towns have a character all their own. Its medieval ramparts, twelve towers deep, still encircle the old town, and you can walk almost the entire loop for a rooftop-and-lake view that most visitors to Switzerland never see. Below the walls, arcaded streets and baroque townhouses lead down to Lake Murten, where a lido, paddleboards and gentle vineyard boat tours make the most of the water.
It’s a short hop from Bern or Fribourg by train, and worth timing your visit around a slice of nidelkuchen, the town’s beloved cream tart, from one of the old town cafés.
Estavayer-Le-Lac – Medieval Streets And A Museum Of Stuffed Frogs
On the southern shore of Lake Neuchâtel sits Estavayer-le-Lac, a proper medieval town with a moated castle, a Gothic church tower you can spot from the water, and cobbled lanes that feel wonderfully undiscovered. Its genuine curiosity, though, is the Museum of Estavayer-le-Lac and its Frogs — 108 taxidermied frogs, dressed and posed in Victorian domestic scenes. It sounds strange, and it is exactly that strange, in the best way.
Once you’ve seen the frogs, head to La Nouvelle Plage, one of the best-equipped watersports spots in the country, complete with Switzerland’s longest water-ski lift. It’s under two hours by car from Zurich or Lucerne, with train connections via Fribourg, Payerne or Murten.
The Verzasca Valley – Ticino’s Turquoise Secret
If you’ve seen one photo of impossibly clear, emerald-green water in Switzerland, there’s a good chance it was taken in the Verzasca Valley. This 25-kilometre stretch north of Lake Maggiore in Ticino winds past granite boulders and swimming holes that locals have kept quiet about for years. The valley’s icon is the Ponte dei Salti, an ancient double-arched Roman bridge at Lavertezzo, where the water pools calm and clear enough to swim in (mind the current, which can turn without warning).
Push further up the valley to Corippo, one of the smallest villages in Switzerland and a national heritage site frozen in stone-roofed charm, or all the way to rustic Sonogno at the valley’s end. Buses run up the valley from Locarno train station, making this an easy, spectacular day trip from Ticino’s lakeside towns.
Poschiavo – Where The Alps Speak Italian
Down in the Italian-speaking south of Graubünden, right on the Bernina Express line between St. Moritz and Tirano, Poschiavo feels like a small piece of Italy tucked into an alpine valley. Its main square, Piazza da Cumün, is ringed with elegant Italian-style patrician houses and Venetian-style villas along Via dei Palazzi, built by emigrants who made their fortune abroad and brought the style home. The late-Gothic church of San Vittore and the ancient Casa Tomé add centuries of layered history to a town that most Bernina Express passengers only glimpse from the window.
Get off the train and stay a while: swim at Lake Poschiavo’s Le Prese, hike up to the remote pilgrimage church of San Romerio, and eat well at Ristorante al Crott. It’s an unforgettable stop on one of the world’s great rail journeys, if you’re willing to break the journey up.
Make The Detour
Switzerland rewards the traveller who’s willing to get off the obvious trail, even for just a day. These five aren’t secrets exactly — locals know them well — but they sit just outside the usual tourist radar, which is precisely what makes them worth the detour. If you want, tell me which region you’re heading to and how much time you have, and I’ll help you build a route around your own underrated Switzerland.
Written by Niall O’Riordan Switzerland