We arrive in Milan today and transfer by coach to our hotel on the shores of Lake Lugano. Tonight, we meet our Odysseys Tour Director and fellow travelers at a welcome briefing about the journey ahead followed by dinner at a local restaurant.

We cross into Switzerland and get a bird’s-eye view of Lugano, the Lombardy plains, and the Alps on this morning’s excursion to Monte San Salvatore, where a funicular takes us to the top of the storied peak. Then we continue to Lugano, the largest city in the Ticino, Switzerland’s Mediterranean-tinged canton. We take a walking tour through Lugano’s streets lined with palm trees and pastel-colored villas, and visit 16^th-century Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angioli, with its famed Renaissance fresco. Following free time for lunch on our own in Lugano, we return to our hotel, where we dine together tonight.

A tour highlight awaits us on today’s excursion to Lake Como in the foothills of the Alps. We take a boat tour of the lake’s northern reaches, stopping in the village of Bellagio, with its cobbled streets, historic villas, and luxuriant parks. Late this morning, we disembark in tiny Sala Comacina, where we take part in an Italian cooking class followed by lunch. Next, we enjoy a guided visit to lakeside Villa Carlotta, known for its fine artwork and lavish gardens. We return to our hotel late this afternoon, with dinner tonight on our own.

We travel this morning to Tirano, on the border with Switzerland, where we take a brief walking tour and have time for lunch on our own before another tour highlight: a journey aboard the famed Bernina Express train to the Alpine resort of St. Moritz in the pristine Engadine Valley. Traveling from “palms to glaciers,” the train hurtles through tunnels and over bridges, over plunging gorges and through breathtaking mountain scenery on the 2½-hour journey to St. Moritz. Early this evening, we enjoy a private visit to the Museum of Engadine Culture, based on a traditional Engadine house and showcasing five centuries of interiors and furnishings. Tonight’s dinner is at a local restaurant.

Today’s touring begins in Chur, Switzerland’s oldest town, where we take a walking tour through the car-free Old Town. Then we depart for the Lake Lucerne resort of Brunnen where we’re free for lunch and to visit the Swiss Army knife factory if we wish. From here we take a ferry across Lake Lucerne to Beckenreid then transfer to Engelberg and our hotel. We dine together tonight at a local restaurant.

This morning we visit 12^th-century Engelberg Monastery for a tour with one of the 30 resident Benedictine monks. Holding treasures that include the complete works of Martin Luther, the monastery has presided over the town for more than 900 years. This afternoon, we ascend nearby Mt. Titlis aboard the world’s first revolving cable car, enjoying 360-degree views as we travel to the summit. Atop central Switzerland’s tallest peak at almost 10,000 feet, we savor breathtaking views in every direction. Following this exhilarating excursion, we return to Engelberg, with dinner tonight on our own.

Our first stop en route to the Bernese Oberland today is in charming Lucerne, where our walking tour of the medieval Old Town features the Lion Monument commemorating Swiss Guards killed in the French Revolution; and Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge), the city’s beloved covered bridge, Europe’s oldest. After free time for lunch on our own, we travel on to the scenic resort town of Interlaken for a brief stop. Then we continue by coach and train to Wengen, the car-free Alpine village considered one of the most beautiful in Switzerland and our home for the next three nights. We dine together tonight at our hotel.

It’s another day of stunning scenery as we travel to the “top of Europe” – the majestic Jungfrau – aboard the Jungfrau Railway. Riding Europe’s highest cogwheel train up 11,323 feet, we reach the Jungfraujoch Station where jaw-dropping views await: France in one direction, Germany’s Black Forest in another, an undulating series of Bernese Alpine peaks in still another. We have time on our own to savor the breathtaking scenery, including the Aletsch Glacier, the longest in the Alps and a UNESCO site. Then we return to Wengen, where the afternoon is free to enjoy as we wish before we dine together tonight at a local restaurant.

Our destination this morning: the village of Lauterbrunnen, nestled in a valley of the Bernese Alps, with 72 waterfalls and striking views of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau peaks. Here we embark on a gentle two-mile hike through the valley to see some of the falls and enjoy the fresh mountain air. Our hike includes the Staubbach Falls, whose cascading waters drop almost 1,000 feet from overhanging cliffs to the valley below. The highest free-falling waterfall in Switzerland, Staubbach is also considered the country’s prettiest. After this invigorating outing, we coach to Stechelberg, where we ride a gondola to the car-free hamlet of Murren at the foot of Schilthorn. We enjoy lunch here overlooking the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau mountains then have free time to explore Murren on our own. Midafternoon we return to Wengen and our hotel; dinner tonight is on our own.

Leaving Wengen this morning, we visit the medieval hilltop village of Gruyères – home of its namesake cheese – taking a stroll through the cobblestoned streets and admiring the views of the surrounding valley. After lunch together at a Gruyères restaurant, we depart for the Terraced Vineyards of Lavaux, a UNESCO site dating to the 11^th century. We enjoy a tasting of acclaimed Swiss wines at a local vineyard then continue on to Lausanne on the shores of Lake Geneva. We’re free for dinner on our own tonight in this French-accented city.

We board a ferry this morning bound for Château de Chillon, the medieval castle immortalized by Lord Byron in his epic poem “The Prisoner of Chillon” (There are seven pillars of Gothic mould / In Chillon’s dungeons deep and old). Perched on a rock at the eastern edge of Lake Geneva, the castle served as a toll station for the Counts of Savoy for more than 400 years – and today is Switzerland’s most visited historic building. We take a guided tour of Chillon, seeing underground vaults, parade halls, a chapel, ramparts, and more before we head to the nearby resort town of Montreux for lunch on our own. We return to our hotel midafternoon and have time at leisure before we set out for Lausanne’s city center and a brief walking tour ahead our farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

We depart today for the Geneva airport and our return flights to the U.S.