When you think about Switzerland, you think about snowy peaks, army knifes, banks, chocolate and minute hands. But this is just the beginning for a land of wide views.
Directly from the the heart of Europe, this is how you can spend your green energies ‘riding disused railways‘.

1. Brolla Bridge: from the iron horses to the pedestrian

In Maggia Valley, an old railway bridge has turned into a suggestive pedestrian and cycle path. This bridge has been included in a restoration project aiming to realize a cycle path twisting and turning from Tegna to Avegno, with the intention of supporting a new, slow and sustainable way of moving .
The classical industrial style gives the way to travelers who are lovers of sport, nature and photography.

Ponte Brolla, Tegna Vallemaggia, Ticino
Brolla Bridge, Tegna, Maggia Valley, Canton Ticino, ph. by Joland Negroni

2. For a ride on the railway tracks

Not so far from Bern, welcome aboard on a risciò that wakes the Laupen‘s old rails. In the past the locomotives used to be powered by coal; Today your life energy introduce you to the landscape so you can become drivers for a day!

The wheels’ squeak on the iron reminds you to the old time, but you can stop “the coach” anytime, to appreciate with the naked eye the beauty of the landscape all around you.

3 _ STELLWERK: from railway station to creative industry for new talents.

In the north-west of Basel an old railway station has been converted into an eclectic space for artistic exchange. Overlooking the nostalgic landscape marked by the railway tracks,
here it comes the STELLWERK – the first Swiss center founded on the creative industry.

The STELLWER fosters arts through workshops, events, concerts held in the 21 ateliers, available for renting, on three different floors. A bistro, called BUFFET, works as a wing.

STELLWERK, St. Johann Railway Station, Basel, Canton of Basel
STELLWERK, St. Johann Railway Station, Basel, Canton of Basel

A throbbing life doesn’t mean actually at an high speed.

People meet each other, they socialize and know themselves by foot. The life takes part by foot.
This amazing and cheap conveyance gives to new travelers the chance to taste, once again, the appeal of the tracks doing it with their own rhythms.
Switzerland keeps up with the times without breaking with the past.

disused railways
A new light on the past, ph. by Abby Thompson

Cover image: ph. by Giorgiop, via pentaxiani.it

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Author: Elisa Viani

I'm an architect/interior designer ispired by the wonders of the Earth and the cultures that cross it. From my point of view travel means personal growth. Pushed by the creativity of the wind, I look at the future like a colors' palette that can't disappear. Why am I interested about reuse? because I think that everything deserve a second chance.
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