Moléson
Fly here
Familiar pyramid above Gruyères, with an observatory and a via ferrata.
From the basket
Above Gruyères and Bulle, the Moléson stands as the sentinel of the Fribourg Prealps. It ends a row of ridges in the north, the last great step before the relief fades into the Swiss Plateau. From the balloon it stands out like a headland, at 2002 metres, facing an immense plain.
To the east, the Sarine winds between the hills. Down below you can make out the castle and the medieval town of Gruyères, perched on their knoll. In fine weather the eye carries far over the Swiss Plateau, and on the other side as far as the great Alps.
The Moléson lives in every season. Since 1998 a funicular has linked the village at the foot to the first stage, and you can climb higher still from there. In summer, hikers, paragliders and summer toboggans liven its slopes, and an old mountain dairy, built more than three centuries ago, is a reminder that the mountain was first of all a land of pastures.
Fly along the ridge from one end to the other, then let yourself sink down to the meadows of the Gruyère.
Sources: Wikipedia, “Moléson”.
All around
- Gruyères, 6 km to the north-east
- Lake Geneva, 15 km to the south-west
- Montreux, 15 km to the south-west