The story of two trips, one glimpsing the future of travel, one revisiting its past. The tale of a tour that changed both Switzerland and the world of travel forever.

ONE TOUR, TWO TRIPS, 150 YEARS - AND A WORLD OF CHANGE APART

In June 1863 an English lady, Miss Jemima, set off by train on the trip of a lifetime: Thomas Cook's first Conducted Tour of Switzerland. A century and a half later, travel writer Diccon Bewes, author of the bestselling Swiss Watching, decided to go where she went and see what she saw.

Guided by her diary, he followed the same route to discover how much had changed and how much had not. She went in search of adventure, he went in search of her - and he found far more than he expected.
Slow Train to Switzerland is the captivating account of two trips through the Alps: hers glimpsing the future of travel, his revisiting its past. Together they make a journey to remember.

'Fans of Bill Bryson will find him a kindred spirit' The Lady

'Bewes has an engagingly light and comic touch' Sunday Telegraph

In June 1863 an English lady set off by train on the trip of a lifetime: Thomas Cook's first Conducted Tour of Switzerland. A century and a half later, travel writer Diccon Bewes, author of the bestselling Swiss Watching, decided to go where she went and see what she saw.

Guided by her diary, he followed the same route to discover how much had changed and how much hadn't. She went in search of adventure, he went in search of her, and found far more than he expected. Slow Train to Switzerland is the captivating account of two trips through the Alps: hers glimpsing the future of travel, his revisiting its past. Together they make a journey to remember.

This is a tale of trains and tourists, of the British and the Swiss, of a Victorian traveller and a modern-day Englishman abroad. It is the story of a tour that changed both Switzerland and the world of travel forever.