Peaks of Europe: The Alps to The Dolomites

This world-famous ski resort in the canton of Bern is one of many “jet set” destinations in the Swiss Alps. There are about 140 miles/225 km of ski slopes here making it one of the largest resorts in Switzerland. The town is a shopping paradise, with all of the major labels such as Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Prada, and has been home to people like Julie Andrews, Roger Moore, Roman Polanski, Elizabeth Taylor and Prince Rainier and Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco. Gstaad was one of the locations for the movie “Return of the Pink Panther."

This city of 80,000 people is in north-central Switzerland in the canton of Lucerne and sits on the shores of Lake Lucerne. The town began with a Benedictine monastery in the 8th century and gained importance from its location on trade routes. The most famous sights in Lucerne are the wooden Kapellbrucke (Chapel Bridge) across the Reuss River, the Hofkirche (Church of St. Leodegar) and the Swiss Museum of Transport. The city celebrates Carnival every year beginning the Thursday before Ash Wednesday. Mt Pilatus, with the world’s steepest cog railway, is visible from Lucerne.

This is the capital of the state of Tyrol in the Alps of western Austria. Innsbruck is famous as a winter sports center and was the site of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. It is beautifully situated in the valley of the Inn River, and its most famous sights are the Golden Roof (a structure made from 2,800 gilded copper tiles that was added in 1500 to a building to celebrate the marriage of Emperor Maximilian I), the beautifully preserved city center with buildings covered in traditional Christmas decorations in the season, and the surrounding mountains.