Day trip to Gruyeres

Posted by Anura Samara, 17 November 2014

Of course, both of us have been to Gruyeres a couple of times before but with a friend in town it seemed like a good option for a daytrip.

It’s the location that always surprises you, on a low peak in the middle of a valley with commanding views in every direction. Of course, walking down the main (pedestrian only) street you don’t really get a sense of it, with buildings blocking the view on either side. But once you arrive at the Chateau you suddenly see the view.

The chateau is less a defensive position and more a fortified manor. There’s a good video presentation on the history of the chateau, and the tour around the chateau is well-marked. Walking along the walls gives you access to those great views.

After looking around the chateau, we had to treat our guest to some real Swiss cuisine – my first raclette of the season. I was so excited that I forgot to ask our guest what he really thought of it!!

We didn’t have time to stop in at the famous HR Giger bar and museum, as we wanted to go down the hill to see what really makes Gruyeres famous – La Maison du Greyere. I swear the audio tour is exactly the same as the last time I was here. Unfortunately, we had missed the last tour of the day so had to content ourselves with just looking at where the cheese is made, and watching the robot turning all of the huge rounds of cheese that are stored for curing.