Sion

We are getting to the bottom of our "must see" list for Switzerland.   We are lucky.  We really have done and seen a lot.  And there are still a few highlights left.

This past Saturday (11/12/11) we went for a day trip to Sion.  Sion is the capitol of the Canton of Valais and about an hour away by train.  We had heard there were some great hikes and castles.  We were not disappointed!

From the train station we headed to the Information Office to load up on maps and other pertinent info. Here we discovered that there is a nice walking tour of Sion that would lead us past local landmarks and up to the hilltop castles.

Part of the walking tour took us through Sion's old town, filled with lots of cute shops and restaurants.

Walking through Sion

The old part of town has a large, pedestrian friendly street running down the middle called Grand Pont (Large Bridge).  Here a river used to flow and there was a large bridge that spanned the river.  That river was diverted underground and this street remains.

There are two large hills above Sion.  On the hill to the left of the main path (Chemin de Chateau) are the ruins of Chateau de Tourbillon.  We headed there first.

Mark and the boys on the way to Chateau de Tourbillon

It was a very steep hike.  Of course, Christopher and Matthew ran almost the entire way while Mark and I stopped to take a rest now and again and marvel at their energy and strength, not to mention the views.

About half way up the boys stop and wait for us to catch up

While Chateau de Tourbillon is a ruin, it is still very impressive.  Chateau de Tourbillon was built by a 13th-century bishop to defend Sion against the House of Savoy.

Lots of fun places to explore inside the walls of Chateau de Tourbillon

We had a picnic lunch at Tourbillon, inside the castle walls.

Picnic in the castle courtyard. We had the place almost entirely to ourselves!

The view from Chateau de Tourbillon. In the background is Valere, the other hilltop castle in Sion.  That's our next stop.

At the base of Tourbillion is another path leading up another steep hill and Sion's other hilltop attraction, the Chateau de Valere.  The foundations were built as a fortress by the Romans.  The basilica, which was built in the 12th and 13th centuries, is still an active church.  (The Canton of Valais resisted the Reformation, remaining heavily Catholic to this day.  It is one of the most religious cantons in Switzerland.)  Inside the church is a 14th century organ that is thought to be the oldest playable organ in the world.  It remains in regular use.

Under the old organ. It would have been really something to have heard it played!

At Valere there was also a museum which told (and displayed) the town's history from the neolithic period to today.  Our trusty museum pass got us in for free.  It was a great museum filled with artifacts from every age.  And we were literally the only people in the museum for the duration of our visit.

After a long day, we headed back down the hill and through town to catch the train to Lausanne.

Hard to believe that near the bottom of our "must see" list is this fascinating town with major ruins, great hikes, and the oldest playable organ in the world.