World Environment Day: A trip to Switzerland, where style meets sustainability for the mindful traveller

What do people normally seek from a vacation? Exploring the world, relieving stress, and time away with friends or family (or yourself!), to name a few. Especially in the post-COVID world, a huge number of people are travelling to seek some time away from ‘the real world’, and want to relax in the lap of nature, near lakes, in the mountains, with some beautiful scenery around.

Well, there's one country that could offer you all that, along with one additional perk, especially if you’re a mindful traveller – a sustainable vacation.

Switzerland is well-known for its snow-capped mountains, glistening blue lakes and greenery. If nothing else, Yash Raj films have shown us just how scenic the central European country is! But what many miss, is that Switzerland is one of the top countries not just for green living, but for green travelling too. Here are three reasons why:

Public transport

One thing we observed as soon as we got out of the airport is how well-connected almost every place in the country is. There are either trains, buses, cable cars, or even boats almost up till your hotel. Whatever little area is left to cover, the Swiss prefer to cover by foot – and that’s what you’ll end up doing too!

We took the train from the airport in Zurich to Lucerne, which was our first stop, and walked about a kilometre to our hotel - bag & baggage but it doesn’t feel like a drag at all. In fact, during the 3 days we spent in the city, most of what we saw was on foot.

Not only is it comfortable and convenient, the Swiss way of travelling is also extremely environment-friendly. The Swiss railway trains operate largely on renewable energy sources – and they’re aiming that by 2025, they switch to it completely. We also travelled aboard the MS Diamant, which is Switzerland’s first climate-neutral commercial passenger boat while we were going to Rigi Kulm (for a trek). A personal tip – Do take a boat ride at least once during your visit.

MS Diamant, Switzerland's first commercial carbon-neutral passenger boat
One thing you can consider investing in is the Swiss travel pass – it could be for either 3, 4, 6, 8 or 15 days – and it gets you on to not just every train, bus and boat, but even into museums across the country.

A gastronomic delight 

Throughout our trip, one of the highlights was the food. Not only is it absolutely delectable, with the yummiest of salads, dressings and desserts, a large part of it is locally sourced. From the Culinum Alpinium, a restaurant which grows its own products and works with unadulterated products from Central Switzerland to the Haus Hiltl, which is the world’s oldest vegetarian restaurant, the food is delightful.

Food at the Haus Hiltl, the world's oldest vegetarian restaurant

Impressive air and water quality

One thing that amazed me the most was the fact that you don’t need to carry water anywhere during your trip – in fact, when we checked into our hotel in Zurich, there were no water bottles in the room. Just a glass jar, which we could fill water into from any tap, and drink. In Lucerne, every single fountain has potable water - and the city is full of them.

Empty glass jars in a hotel in Zurich: Just fill & drink

So if you’re looking for a place abroad where you can not just unwind but unwind knowing that your vacation has a smaller carbon footprint, you know which country you can consider.

If you’re looking closer home, you can look up Bhutan as well. The nation is not just one of the happiest in the world but is also carbon negative - and focuses on sustainable tourism.

Happy holiday-ing!