Préalpes fribourgeoises

From Bulle, TPF buses climb to Charmey in about thirty minutes and to Moléson-sur-Gruyères via Gruyères, whose station is on the Bulle to Montbovon line. Schwarzsee is reached by bus from Fribourg via Plaffeien in a little under an hour. By car, the A12 exit at Bulle serves Charmey and Moléson, while the Fribourg-Sud exit points you towards Schwarzsee and La Roche through the valley.

Worth knowing: the mountain roads are narrow and busy in the late afternoon on fine days. Allow extra time for the way back, especially from Charmey and Schwarzsee, where the descent often turns into a queue.

The lifts do most of the work under the age of six: the Charmey gondola and the Moléson funicular remove a climb that would be impossible on foot with young children, and the pastures at the top are flat enough to let them run. The Bains de la Gruyère in Charmey have a shallow pool and family changing rooms. At Schwarzsee, the walk around the lake is short and mostly pushchair friendly, with benches at regular intervals.

This is the season when these Prealps make the most sense. Charmey, Moléson and Schwarzsee each offer a reasonably sized ski area, with sledging runs and snowshoe routes that make a mountain day possible without a lift pass. Schwarzsee freezes over in some winters and becomes a playground in its own right, but access depends entirely on local authorisation, so check on site. After the skiing, the Bains de la Gruyère in Charmey remain the best way to end the day in the warm.