This article is part of the FT Globetrotter feature. Zurich Guide
There are two ways to cycle from Zurich through the Swiss countryside, passing through Alpine passes, natural moors and lakeside villages. One way is to use all your discipline and preparation to be fit enough to pedal through some of the most challenging terrain in the cycling world. The other way is to use your wits and buy an electric bike.
Battery power magically shrinks the mountains and softens the painful climbs, allowing you to focus on the kind of scenery that quickly makes words like “spectacular” and “breathtaking” seem inadequate. This smart way to explore is made even easier if you use Switzerland’s ever-reliable rail system to expand the area you can discover, and a travel agency to plan your itinerary, provide bikes, book hotels, move your luggage each day, and give you an app to guide you.
I signed up for Eurotrekone of those agencies, and joined the last three days of a seven-day itinerary called Route 1291 (named after the year Switzerland was founded), which seemed to offer the most varied scenery of all similar routes and which most cyclists can handle on an e-bike. Our group of seven were, like me, reasonably fit without being at all athletic or regular cyclists.
Before meeting our steeds, we set off from Zurich Central Station towards Lucerne, a picturesque train ride of just over an hour, and then continued on to Sorenberga town that functions as a ski resort that is not intimidating in winter. After a night in Hotel SörenbergA clean and simple family style hotel, our luggage was collected and carried onwards as we set off without incident on our 184km route.
First day: Sörenberg–Entlebuch (57 km)
I’d never ridden an electric bike before, but it took me three minutes of wandering around the hotel car park to discover its four power modes and five gears. Each bike came with a pannier for carrying lunch, jackets and a battery charger, plus a mobile phone holder. As I discovered at my peril, it’s a good idea to check you have a good data plan and bring a portable charger, as the app can be quite power-hungry. It’s also worth bringing a phone holder, as some of the ones we were given were frustratingly unstable.
The day began at 8.30am with a gentle climb through one of Switzerland’s largest expanses of wilderness, much of it on smooth roads and with little traffic, which was reassuring as we all got used to our bikes and their power settings. The area is known as Lucerne’s “wild west” – not because there’s nothing illegal about it, but because much of the terrain is natural and protected by Unesco “biosphere” regulations that emphasise sustainable agriculture, forestry and tourism. The result is a soothing mix of forests, rocky outcrops and sloping meadows that are adorned with wildflowers and teeming with red kites and dozens of other bird species.
The tinkling of cowbells set off my cliché Swiss alarm, but the hills and slopes were quiet enough that the chimes carried so far that they sometimes became their own lovely orchestra.
Within an hour I felt totally at home on the e-bike, and the entire group had no trouble staying in a comfortably spaced peloton rather than stretched out between the leaders and distant stragglers.
Before anyone could break a sweat, we stopped for hot chocolate and meringue with cream at the chichi. Gasthof Kemmeriboden-Bad in Schangnau (meringues were first made in this region). Within an hour, it was time for lunch at a luxury cheese shop, the Marbach Mountain Cheese Factorywhere we sampled cheeses and buffalo meats from a farm just a few miles away. We even paid a visit to see the water buffalo, resting in their own pond.
At 5pm we reached our goal, Three Kingsa boutique hotel in the village of Entlebuch, where we felt very tired after an active day outdoors rather than terribly sore from the saddle. We dined with the kind of pleasure one feels after outdoor exercise, but no one had the energy to go out for a long night. Addresses
Second day: Entlebuch–Sursee (68 km)
Our second day was dominated by stunning alpine views, with bright blue skies, clean, fresh air and panoramas so beautiful that I stopped frequently to try to absorb some of the details of the vast pastures and peaks around us.
Much of the morning’s route was spent speeding along ridges with incredible views on both sides of the road. One of the most glorious turned out to be from a beizlior informal pub, run by the Holzwäge family on a Holzwegen peak at an altitude of 1,050 metres. Here, we help ourselves to cakes and drinks on a garden terrace without seeing any hosts: their kitchen operates on a pay-for-honesty system.
These kinds of arrangements were a striking feature of the entire trip. We frequently came across unmanned roadside kiosks offering ice cream, coffee and other treats, assuming that travellers would do the right thing and leave a payment. To make the most of it, it’s wise to carry cash, as locals tend to use a Swiss card payment system called Twint, without accepting foreign payment apps.
We descended through cool, wooded valleys before tackling an uphill section steep enough to force a couple of our less fit riders to get off and walk, not easy given the weight of the e-bikes. Lunch was a relaxed three-course meal on a shaded terrace in Hotel Menzberg Before continuing towards the medieval walled city of Willisauwhich is known throughout Switzerland for the Ringli biscuits from the Amrein bakery and chocolate shop.
Owner Michael Renggli-Kurmann explained that the 170-year-old recipe uses lemon, honey and orange — but no egg — to produce a hard, ring-shaped biscuit that contains more than 50 percent sugar and is hard enough to break a tooth if you don’t know how to eat it. The correct routine is to break the biscuit with the tip of your elbow and then let the pieces soften in your mouth for a while before trying to bite into the sugar crystals.
Our last night’s accommodation was in a larger village on the lake called Sursee. We had dinner at Wild mana restaurant that has been feeding people since at least 1495. Traditional dishes include smoked salmon in a delicate white wine soup, venison and puff pastry with mushrooms. Addresses
Day 3: Sursee-Lucerne (59 km)
The final stretch to Lucerne was a shorter route with a couple of tough climbs, climbing 917 metres and sliding downhill for 961. Slowly passing through small villages and past isolated farms, I discovered the endearing local custom of putting up signs with the baby’s name outside houses to welcome the arrival of new members of the family. The Swiss can often seem formal, with a penchant for privacy, but this tradition involves sticking up pictures of large festive cartoon characters and the baby’s name and birthday, so that the family’s good news can be shared with neighbours.
The highlight of this last pedal was a visit to the Heidegg Castlea 12th-century lakeside castle that is the oldest surviving residence in the canton of Lucerne and is surrounded by extensive rose gardens and a small vineyard.
The journey to Lucerne follows the fast course of the Reuss River and suddenly you find yourself in the city centre. We rested for a while on a beach by the lake before leaving the bikes at the station and hopping straight on a train back to Zurich.
Peter Wilson was invited by Eurotrek and Tourism in the Lake Lucerne region
Eurotrek of Tour of Route 1291 (seven days, six nights) costs CHF1,335 ($1,485/£1,155) per person in July and August or CHF1,289 (£1,433/£1,116) for the first half of September, including bed and breakfast, luggage transfers, route guidance and access to a helpline. E-bike rentals cost CHF1,335 ($1,485/£1,155) per person in July and August or CHF1,289 (£1,433/£1,116) for the first half of September.269 ($300/£232). Shorter versions of the tour are also available.