Chäserrugg

Eastern Switzerland's largest winter-sports/summer-Alpine-hiking area, Toggenburg is only an hour from Zurich, and remains hidden between the mighty Säntis massif and the seven snow-frosted Churfirsten peaks, and within yodeling distance of the borders with Austria and Liechtenstein. Planted on top of the mountain is the Chäserrugg, a new, geometric, blond-wood spectacle of a ski station and restaurant designed by Basel-based architects Herzog & de Meuron in 2015. It’s hard to know which is more beautiful, the station—built with a clever slanted roof and long porticoes that allow for maximum winter sun exposure—or the scenery, which includes views on clear days of six countries: Austria, Liechtenstein, Germany, Italy, France, and, of course, Switzerland.