Why Watch and Cow Is One of Switzerland’s Most Interesting Travel Companies

I have always had a soft spot for entrepreneurs whose businesses grew out of a real life rather than a business plan.

Pierre Jaccard is one of them.

I was very grateful to meet Pierre, the founder and president of Watch and Cow. He has been a pioneer of the Swiss travel industry for decades, but his story started long before luxury travel became the sophisticated industry it is today.

Pierre travelled extensively through Asia in the 1970s, including as a backpacker. Those experiences eventually led him to create several travel businesses, beginning with ARTOU in 1976. He later co-founded Au Tigre Vanillé, one of Switzerland’s best-known specialists in tailor-made travel, and created the Librairies du Voyageur in Geneva and Lausanne.

I love this kind of travel entrepreneur. Someone who explored the world first, developed a genuine curiosity about places and people, and then built businesses around helping others experience them properly.

A Swiss travel company born during COVID

Watch and Cow grew out of a very particular moment.

During the COVID lockdowns, Au Tigre Vanillé’s Swiss clients could no longer travel to the destinations they would normally visit around the world. They could, however, continue travelling within Switzerland.

Pierre began creating Swiss itineraries for them, applying the same care, imagination and attention to detail that his team had previously brought to journeys across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

That experiment became Watch and Cow, founded in 2021 as a destination management company dedicated exclusively to Switzerland. A true Swiss DMC.

It is a great example of something positive emerging from a difficult period: Swiss travellers rediscovering their own country, and a new company being created to share that knowledge with visitors from around the world.

Beyond the standard Switzerland itinerary

Watch and Cow designs private, tailor-made journeys for travellers looking for comfort, strong service and a more personal experience of Switzerland.

Of course, the team knows how to arrange the classic Swiss itinerary. Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken, Zermatt and the country’s famous scenic railways remain popular for good reason.

But what interests me most is what happens beyond those familiar places.

Watch and Cow can introduce travellers to regions that receive fewer North American visitors, while still offering exceptional landscapes, hotels, food and experiences. Verbier is a good example. Americans may know it as a ski destination, but it can also be a wonderful summer base, with Alpine scenery, cooler temperatures and access to parts of Switzerland that feel very different from the traditional first-time itinerary.

This is not about avoiding famous places simply because they are famous. It is about creating the right balance between the Switzerland people dream about and the places they might never have discovered on their own.

That local knowledge matters. Switzerland looks compact on a map, but mountains, seasonal access and transport connections can make an itinerary more complicated than expected. Watch and Cow’s team regularly visits the hotels it recommends and works directly with local guides, tourism offices and partners across the country.

My favorite way to experience Switzerland

For me, there is almost nothing better than travelling through Switzerland by train and watching the landscape go by.

The country’s railways are not simply a way of getting from one hotel to another. They are part of the experience.

Some of my favorite memories involve taking a cogwheel railway, also called a rack railway, high into the mountains. As a skier, being able to board a mountain train with my equipment and climb through a winter landscape is genuinely thrilling.

Watch and Cow can build these journeys into a larger itinerary, arranging the hotels, rail tickets, luggage transfers, guides and activities along the way. Travellers can enjoy the train journey without spending their vacation trying to understand every connection or carrying suitcases between platforms. Scenic and mountain rail travel is one of the company’s core areas of expertise.

Summer offers a completely different side of Switzerland.

On one visit, I rode an e-bike through the mountains and was able to reach places that would otherwise have been far beyond my cycling ability. It gave me the feeling of being active and immersed in the landscape without turning the day into an endurance test.

These are the experiences I truly love: moving through a destination, feeling connected to it and doing something that I would remember long after checking out of the hotel.

A rare level of care

Watch and Cow can arrange trips from start to finish, including accommodation, private transportation, trains, activities and local guides.

Some travellers may want a guide for a particular city or mountain excursion. Others may prefer a guide who accompanies them throughout the journey. That option provides a level of continuity and personal care that is increasingly rare.

The company calls Geneva Airport home, with offices inside the airport building and, as I discovered when I visited, a rather spectacular view of the runway.

More importantly, I have been impressed by the way the team works.

I am currently seeing this firsthand as Watch and Cow helps develop a complex trip for a large family travelling next summer. The communication has been fast, clear and thoughtful. With multigenerational travel, every person has different interests, energy levels and expectations. The quality of the planning and responsiveness has been excellent.

Working with travel advisors

Watch and Cow has a particularly strong affinity with travel advisors.

The team understands that an advisor owns the client relationship and needs a trusted partner on the ground. Watch and Cow provides the Swiss knowledge, supplier relationships and operational support, while working collaboratively with the advisor to create the right journey.

The company primarily works with travel agencies, although it can also assist individual travellers. It is also a member of Virtuoso, the global luxury travel network.

For an advisor, this means having someone in Switzerland who can manage the details, respond when plans change and help clients experience more than a sequence of hotels and sightseeing stops.

Why this partnership matters to me

I often say that travel is a force for good.

At its best, travel creates curiosity, builds relationships and directs economic opportunity toward people and communities. It also gives us a reason to slow down and see a place through someone else’s eyes.

Switzerland has always felt special to me. Its landscapes are extraordinary, but so is the ability to move through them by train, boat, bicycle or on foot. Each region has its own language, food, architecture and identity.

Watch and Cow understands that Switzerland should not be reduced to a checklist.

It is a country to travel through carefully, with enough time to look out of the train window, follow a mountain road or stop somewhere simply because it feels right.

Travellers planning a luxury journey to Switzerland can ask their preferred travel advisor to work with Watch and Cow. Travel advisors interested in learning more about the company are also welcome to contact me directly.

And for travellers who do not yet have an advisor, I would be happy to help connect you with the right person.

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