If you're looking for the picture postcard stuff, Lucerne is ideal, packed with all the cliches such as mountains, lakes, cowbells, alpine villages and meadows full of edelweiss. The charming town straddles the Reuss River on the western edge of Lake Lucerne and makes an excellent base for excursions.

On the north bank of the Reuss, the picturesque old-town centre offers 15th-century buildings with painted facades, towers, a 17th-century Renaissance town hall and a couple of postcard-perfect covered bridges. North-east of the city centre is the poignant Lion Monument, which was carved out of natural rock. In the Transport Museum the Swissorama, is a 20-minute, 360° film that whizzes you around the sights of Switzerland as if you were travelling by air, sea, road and foot.

In the Lake Thun area in central Switzerland, just south of Bern, you'll find the 12th-century Schloss Thun on the hill. It contains a good historical museum and there are fine views from the turrets of the Romanesque tower. One of the best castles around the lake is the 13th-century Schloss Oberhofen, which was once held by the Habsburgs.

Overlooked by most visitors, this pretty area of pastures and woodlands in the Jura mountain chain, known as Franches Montagnes, has 1500kms of hiking trails and some 200kms of cross-country ski trails.

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