• CH & IT Roadtrip
    Welcome to Gruyères, Switzerland.
    Our hotel is to the left; the castle is at the far end — Gruyères, Switzerland.Gruyères Castle depicted in glass — Gruyères, Switzerland.Our room at Hotel de Ville — Gruyères, Switzerland.Looking out the window of our room — Gruyères, Switzerland.View from our room — Gruyères, Switzerland.Sculpture by HR Giger ... known for his design of the Xenomorph in the Alien movies — Gruyères.Panel inset into the pavement near the HR Giger Museum — Gruyères, Switzerland."Birthmachine" (L) and sculptures by HR Giger — Gruyères, Switzerland.A stupa at the Tibet Museum — Gruyères, Switzerland.Can't resist a selfie with Château de Gruyères as a backdrop — Gruyères, Switzerland.If we have time, we can walk down this path to visit the village tomorrow — Gruyères, Switzerland.Belluard Gate was the main entrance into Gruyères during the Middle Ages — Gruyères, Switzerland.Ramparts of the old city walls and a watchtower near Belluard Gate — Gruyères, Switzerland.Fountain on Rue de Bourg — Gruyères, Switzerland.Panoramic view ... including the château, church, and Dent du Broc & Dent du Chamois — Gruyères.We stop for a drink at a café ... can you see the deer? — Gruyères, Switzerland.A herd of Red Deer in the pasture below the town — Gruyères, Switzerland.Feeding time for this little lamb ... at the entrance to town — Gruyères, Switzerland."Music Soothes the Soul" ... in front of the Tourist Info Center — Gruyères, Switzerland.The Calvary, once a guardroom and later a salt depot, today an art gallery — Gruyères, Switzerland.A cute piece of art — Gruyères, Switzerland.Dinner time @ Hotel de Ville — Gruyères, Switzerland.We head down toward the church for an after dinner stroll — Gruyères, Switzerland.Idyllic scene — Gruyères, Switzerland."The Goatherd" ... by Sara H — Gruyères, Switzerland.

    OtR: Gruyères

    August 6 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    La Gruyère … is the district; Gruyères is the town; Gruyère is the cheese.
    So I learned today.

    Gruyères is a car-free medieval town that sits atop a 270-foot high hill north of the Alps. From the 12th century onward, it was the seat of the Counts of Gruyère.

    If you have a car, there is a public paid lot just outside the town where you can park and walk to your lodgings with bags in tow … if you are lucky. The alternative is to park at a lot further down the hill and hike up to the town … again, with your bag in tow.

    Our advance planning — timing our arrival to around the time when day-trippers start leaving — paid off. We snagged a spot in the top lot. Using the parking app, we set our departure time for 45 hours hence and headed to the Hotel de Ville … approximately mid-way up Rue de Bourg, the main street.

    Soon enough we were settled into our room. The room itself is nothing special, but it has all the amenities we need for a two-night stay and boasts views of the main drag.

    The iconic landmark of Gruyères is the castle by the same name … visible pretty much from everywhere around town. We’ll be visiting it first thing in the morning, before the tours descend on Gruyères. Our afternoon stroll, therefore, was an aimless meander to get our bearings and enjoy the quiet that descended on the town as soon as the last of the day-trippers left.    Read more