Second day of our trip to Switzerland. On Saturday 11 October 2025, we leave Sion, the capital of the Valais, for Broc, in the canton of Fribourg. On the programme: the Maison Cailler chocolate factory, then a whole day in the Gruyère region.
Sunrise over the Bernese Alps
First photo of the day, from our room at the Ibis Sion Est hotel. The sun rises and lights up the peaks of the Bernese Alps, on the other side of the Rhône valley. Hard to find a better way to wake up.
Tourbillon Castle, above Sion
On our way out of town, we pass below the two hills that overlook Sion. On the first stand the ruins of Tourbillon Castle, built between 1297 and 1308 for the prince-bishops of Sion. It burned down in the great fire of 1788 and was never rebuilt. On the hill opposite stands the Basilica of Valère.
The castle can be visited for free from mid-March to mid-November. For us it’s a view from the road, but it’s worth a stop if you’re staying in Sion.
On the road to Gruyère
Then we head for Broc. As usual in Switzerland, the scenery rolls by and we spend more time looking out of the window than talking: villages, meadows, mountains, and the first Gruyère cows.
In Broc, on the banks of the Jogne, Maison Cailler is waiting for us. It’s housed in the factory opened in 1898 by Alexandre-Louis Cailler, grandson of the brand’s founder, François-Louis Cailler. The visit is told in the next article: the Maison Cailler chocolate factory in Broc.
Practical info
- Hotel: Ibis Sion Est, in Sion (Valais).
- Tourbillon Castle: free entry, open from mid-March to mid-November.
- Maison Cailler: in Broc, canton of Fribourg, in the Gruyère region.
The rest of the day: Maison Cailler, the Gruyères cheese dairy, the medieval town of Gruyères, then Lake Geneva and Epesses.