Château-d’Oex

February 11, 2009 by Pegagus Pendrean

Château-d'Oex Château-d’Oex is situated at around 1000 metres in altitude, half-way between the classy resort of Gstaad in the Bernese Oberland and the small town of Gruyères in the canton of Fribourg.

In both summer and winter, Château-d’Oex offers a diverse range of holiday experiences and sporting activities. Old decorated chalets and wonderful mountainscapes are typical for the villages of this region.

Thanks to its favourable micro-climate, Château-d’Oex has developed into a hot-air ballooning metropolis. Passenger flights are available throughout the year and an international competition in hot-air ballooning is held every January.

Highlights:

Espace Ballon – balloon museum charting the history of aviation and ballooning. The hot-air balloon – as used by Jules Vernes, through to its use in the adventures of Piccard and Jones – is the focus of everything here.
Etivaz cheese – is made in the Alpine huts of the Pays-d’Enhaut in cauldrons over open wood fires, and in the «Le Chalet» Fromagerie show creamery in Château-d’Oex.
Mike Horn Family – obstacle course by the adventurer Mike Horn in the form of a treasure hunt with interesting posts about the demands placed on expeditions – an adventure for the entire family.
Musée du Vieux Pays-d’Enhaut – the homeland museum in Château-d’Oex has dedicated its collections amongst others, to the art of silhouette cutting which has enjoyed popularity since the 18th century.
Le Grand Chalet in Rossinière – the chalet dating from 1754 with 113 windows, in which the well-known painter Henri Balthus lived, has long been regarded as the largest in Switzerland.
Montreux – Bernese Oberland Railway (MOB) – the Pays-d’Enhaut lies along its panoramic rail route, which links Montreux on Lake Geneva to Gstaad and Zweisimmen in the Bernese Oberland.

Top Events:

International hot-air balloon week – a colourful spectacle in the sky. Balloonists from throughout the world convene to participate in a week-long competition (January).

How to get there:

Public Transport: Geneva- Montreux by SBB, then take the train from MOB to Château-d’Oex.
By car: Auto route Geneva – Lausanne – Vevey – Freiburg Take the Bulle exit and follow the road to Château-d’Oex.
Other/Air: Connections from the international airports of Geneva and Zürich. From Geneva-Cointrin: By train to Montreux, then by MOB to Château-d’Oex. From Zürich-Kloten: by train to Bern – Spiez – Zweisimmen and then by MOB to Château-d’Oex.

Swissinfo’s Simon Bradley hitches a ride at the Château-d’Oex international balloon festival to find out why the region’s low-lying, snow-capped valleys and unusual weather conditions make for such…