Switzerland.

Where the valley folds into the glacier.

You come to Switzerland for the view and discover the quiet. Our shoot weeks in Crans-Montana and Verbier run on the clock of the mountain: light before 7am, siesta at the hottest hour, service beginning at six. The hotels we've filmed here understand this rhythm — none of them push you anywhere.

Winter is the obvious season but it's not when we go. Spring and early summer give longer light, quieter rooms, and the lift stations serve lunch to one table at a time. For a first stay, we'd pick Alpine Rose in Lavaux (lake, vineyards, under an hour from Geneva) or Six Senses Crans-Montana (ski-in from November, spa in July).