Berner Oberland Feature

Top of the world: At 11,400 feet, the Jungfraujoch isn't the highest place on the planet, but it certainly feels like it, with the Alp's longest glacier and scores of snow-slathered peaks so close.

Twin peaks: The upwardly mobile head to the adjacent, mountaintop villages of Wengen and Mürren to find the Switzerland of cheese, chalet, and chic cliché.

Shangri-la found: The Lauterbrunnen Valley is Yosemite blown up to the nth dimension, complete with 72 cascading waterfalls (among Europe's highest).

Gilded Gstaad: Money attracts money, and there's certainly a lot of it here. Mere mortals can indulge in exquisite meals, skiing, and overnight stays in paradise.

Old Switzerland, in a nutshell: Ballenberg is a delightfully reconstructed Swiss village—à la America's Colonial Williamsburg—with traditional crafts on show.