and the actress and singerjane birkin has died at the age of 76. those are the top stories here on bbc news. those are the top stories here on bbc newe— those are the top stories here on bbc news. a, _, , , ., , now on bbc news...the travel show. this week on the show... this is no ordinary cellar door. no. ..i'm in switzerland, going bonkers for bunkers. oh, wow — look at this! it's right in the middle of this massive complex, isn't it? and you'd never know if you're just driving through. sightseeing non—stop... absolutely spectacular mountain views. ..on a train breaking new ground... this is where the magic happens. ..and up high in the alps. up here, it's peaceful.

the views, you don't get this out of a aeroplane window. hello and welcome to the travel show, coming to you this week from switzerland — or, more specifically, the international balloon festival in the swiss alps. we'll be taking a bird's—eye perspective on that later on. but in the meantime, let's head to zurich for something a little more underground. i'm on a journey from switzerland's capital, beginning with a drive two hours south—west, because i've heard that all around this country is a vast network of bunkers — some of which are open for travellers to explore.

among them are old military forts, which you can still see hidden in the mountainside... glorious view. ..if you have a sharp eye. so, i've been given a pin that tells me that there's a bunker basically here, somewhere. it's camouflaged. so, there's going to be a trick actually finding it. i mean, this stretch of mountainside just does look like every other stretch of mountainside for miles in either direction. so, hopefully, we are in the right place! of course, you shouldn't search for military bunkers that might still be in use. but what i'm looking for is something else. in recent decades, some of the bunkers have been sold off and made into everything from hotels to high security data centres. i'm told this one houses a local delicacy. how well camouflaged is it going to be, is the question. hope i can actually find it.

this very much looks like solid rock. is there an entry point? 0h, crafty! look at this. look at this! camouflaged door. wow, that is awesome. you would not... i mean, i was probably 20 feet away and didn't notice that. that's awesome. look at this. hello? oui. bonjour. bonjour, bonjour. bonjour. voila! 0h! look at this. so why is this full of cheese? michel bought this bunker in 2004 and recently started offering tours.

michel bought this bunker in 2004 and recently started offering tours. there are thought to be many thousands of these in the country. oh, that's lovely. yeah. oh, that's lovely. c'est bon. tres bon. it's gorgeous. for hundreds of years, switzerland has remained famously neutral during conflicts, and staying neutral has involved taking precautions.

so, from the 1880s and stepping up during world war ii, these bunkers helped to keep out potential invaders. wow! look at this. wow! door clatters. this is a great spot to get a sense of the strategy behind this place, because michel was telling me this is the only road to go into this region and that used to be covered by a big anti—tank gun that used to be stationed here. so this is, like, prime position right here. today, though, bunkers here are far from just a thing of the past. in fact, one company here has begun offering its swiss bunker experience for the world's wealthy, with prices starting

at $10 million each. and today's bunkers aren't just for the ultra rich. since the cold war, a policy has been in place stating that every swiss resident must have access to a bunker, either within their own building or in a public shelter, in most cases within a 30—minute walk. so, i've reached out to a local resident to show me something in her cellar... greetings. ..that�*s really not unusual here at all. this way to the bunker, i guess? yeah, it's just here. look at this door. i know, right? i think that even myself, i can't really...pull it. it's quite thick. i think it's concrete. and this one, you can basically close it from inside in case of emergency. i mean, this is no ordinary cellar door. no, it's not. and you can see that the cellar is basically split in two parts, so you have, like, the bunker with some shelter inside that i'll show you. lead the way. let's have a look. abir moved to switzerland three

years ago from france and shares this bunker with the residents of the other six apartments in her block. and then you have here all the, like, half of the apartment�*s food stock and, like, other supplies. so, these are like survival supplies for the bunker? it's not... or is this used for general storage? it's for general storage. so, it's not mandatory, like, to keep — it'sjust recommended to keep some supply. i don't do it. but you can see that here, for example, you have some neighbours that have some food supplies. what was your reaction when you first moved into the apartment and they were like, "oh, "by the way, downstairs there's a bunker." yeah, i was actually amused and surprised. when i first moved in, like a few years ago, like, i didn't think about, like, in case of emergency, what can happen. but since covid and since also, like, ukraine war, that is like at the door of europe, right? you never know what can happen. in the city of lucerne, what was built as the largest shelter in the world

lies hidden in the heart of the city. this kind of looks like any old tunnel you might find in europe, but we're in switzerland, so you might be forgiven for suspecting something else is going on, and this one is special. it's part of a huge bunker system that was designed to accommodate 20,000 people in the event of an emergency. theyjust slam shut big blast—proof doors at either end of the tunnel and suddenly, this stretch of road becomes a i.5km—long shelter. surrounding the tunnel is a vast seven—floor structure with all the facilities that might be needed in the event that the bunker is activated. today, its capacity is reduced to 2,000 people with regular tours available. what kind of things might people use this for today? still armed conflicts. it could be a conventional war, it could be a nuclear warfare, biological, chemical,

orjust a natural disaster when people lose their home due to avalanches, mudslides, floods, for instance. it's basicallyjust a useful resource that's there to be used for whatever you need it for? yes. technically, you're supposed to have food stocks ready at home for two weeks. that's the maximum duration of stay you have to be prepared for in the beginning. we're four levels underground here but you wouldn't know it with this big space, which would have been used for up to 700 staff that would have looked after 20,000 people down on the tunnels, if it had been used. they really thought about everything, though, because you've even got prison cells where, if there were some troublemakers, they could be brought up here, you know, locked up away from the main population. oh, wow, look at this. traffic hums. this is the road we came in on right here. it's mad!

it's right in the middle of this massive complex, isn't it? and you'd never know if you're just driving through. wowee. very cool. and noisy, too. ever since the war started in the ukraine, i've been getting calls and emails from people asking me, "can you please tell me what i have to do "if this gets closer?" wow, and that's swiss — swiss people... not people from outside saying, "how do i build a bunker?" swiss people. mostly elderly people, so this just shows how massive that threat must have been back in the �*60s and �*70s when these measures were taken and how those recent events bring up those fears again. that place is an amazing place to visit. just the scale of it, seven floors under the ground. but i think what's most interesting for me is really what it says, a place like this, about this country and its mind—set, and really what it takes to remain neutral in such a conflict—ridden world. i think there must be also

something quite reassuring for a swiss person to know that all of this energy and ingenuity has been expended in the event of an emergency to keep you safe, for a couple of weeks at least. and if you're thinking of heading to switzerland any time soon, here are some travel show tips to help you plan your trip. close to where we met michel is the town of interlaken. situated between two lakes, this town is home to year—round alpine adventures with plenty of activities for adrenaline seekers. it offers panoramic views of the swiss alps and easy access to popular ski and hiking resorts in the winter, as well as the opportunity to try canyoning, paragliding, skydiving and bungeejumping in the summer. if you're thinking of using public transport, buying a swiss travel pass can

be a cost—effective way of getting around. it'll give you unlimited travel across the swiss travel system, like the excellent train network, which is frequent, reliable and a great way of seeing the country. for many travelling to switzerland, the matterhorn is a must. the mountain's striking pyramid shape has drawn serious climbers for years. but to get close to its peak, you don't have to work up a sweat. the gornergrat bahn, also known as the matterhorn railway, is the highest open—air railway in europe, offering views of the matterhorn from the peak of nearby gornergrat. and if you're coming here in summer, there's still plenty to enjoy. the annual montreux jazz festival kicks off at the end ofjune and lasts for two weeks. it began in 1967, focused on jazz, but now features a wide range of musical acts, including blues, rock, pop and hip—hop, attracting 200,000 visitors.

it's known for its iconic setting on lake geneva and its long history of hosting top musical talent from around the world. this year's programme will be unveiled in the spring. still to come on the travel show... you know, when you take off, you never know where you land and when you land. woo! ..i try a balloon festival like no other in the swiss alps. this word gets used a lot but there's something quite magical about being up here. switzerland isn't short of an impressive train ride or two. offering views of the snow—capped alps, the latest is the goldenpass express. and it's got

a surprising secret. i'm travelling between interlaken and montreux, and it's fair to say the main drawcard of this journey is what's outside the window — these absolutely spectacular mountain views. but this train itself is actually really interesting and it's all to do with — this is technical, so bear with me — the rail gauges. that's the distance between the rails. in 1916, this awe—inspiring route was completed, connecting montreux on lake geneva to the vibrant city of lucerne. travellers could ride in style through the beautiful bernese alps and witness some of the most stunning scenery in the world. but for years, passengers had to get off and change trains mid—journey to accommodate for when the rail gauges change — notjust to a different width, but also a different height. a different width, but now, travellers can make the entire journey on just one train, thanks to some clever engineering.

what can i see here? that's the gauge changing installation. this is the point where...? this is the point. 0k! this is where the magic happens. laughs. so, we go from a wider gauge. the weight of the carriages are taken on small wheels on the side of the carriages and that allows the bogies to change gauge. so how long did this project take, or is it something you could do fairly quickly? the first idea to make the link between the two regions is from 19th century, so very, very old, and the first prototype is from 2008. it's 12, 1a years later and we have a train. so, you must feel very proud to have achieved this — this device. yes, we're very proud of it. it's something unique and it functions and, yes, we can be proud.

that's not, that's not — we can't hide that we are a bit proud of it. laughs. quite right, too! now, i've travelled to the chateau—d'0ex. set among the beautiful swiss alps, once a year, this small town brings hot—air balloon enthusiasts from around the world for a festival like no other. each morning of the nine—day festival, the pilots gather for a briefing from the organisers. yesterday is the winds. the wind here is fickle at all levels. it's picking up as we — as we speak. there's too much — too much wind. i've just popped into the pilots' briefing for all of the hot—air balloon pilots. i did gather, mostly from the faces of the pilots listening to the briefing, that perhaps the weather conditions aren't exactly perfect for the festival, so fingers crossed

things improve. but all hope isn't lost. i've been told that over the nine days, organisers hope for at least five days of good flying weather, and some days with bad weather are still good for partial flights. balloon pilot nick dunnington has been coming to this festival from the uk since he was a child, and he's offered to take me up later. so, nick, what's the status? everyone seems a little bit tense. laughs. yeah, so they've given us the clearance to fly this morning, but the winds above the tops of the mountains are actually quite strong, so we have to stay within the valley and the winds are going to actually drop, the quicker winds are going to speed up throughout the day and drop down into the valley, so we need to be flying early and landing early. for a complete novice, tell me what — is itjust obvious that if there's too much wind, the balloon will be uncontrollable? there's a lot of that.

it's not that it's uncontrollable, it means that the landing will be faster, so you need a bigger space in which to land the balloon. so, not ideal. that suggests this is quite a challenging place for this event to take place? it is, yes. yeah, it's not the easiest. but i think that's what attracts most of us here is the challenge, so... the festival began over a0 years ago and has grown from just a few balloons to the 60—plus balloons they have coming today. back when it started, it was the idea of founder charles—andre ramseier. we started ballooning here in �*76 and ballooning in the alps was brand new. nobody was doing it. i'd seen balloons in us but in the alps, it's a new dimension. a basket in the sky is like a balcony in the sky. it's — it's a dream. it's beautiful.

you know where you take off, when you take off. you never know where you land and when you land. yeah, this is what i understood this morning listening to the pilot briefing — small changes, you know, that wouldn't affect many other leisure activities have such a big impact with the hot—air balloons. yes. but you have to know that every season is different to fly. that's why if you want to be a good pilot, you have to fly every week. otherwise, you are a bad pilot. with some balloons starting to take to the skies, ijoin nick in the basket. oh, wow! and within just a few seconds, we are whisked high up into the air. nick, can you tell me what you're doing? i mean, there's all sorts of things going on. yeah, so at the moment, all we're doing is keeping the balloon nice and level, so we're putting in little bits of heat every now and again

to keep the buoyancy up. uh-huh. so, tell me a little bit about the specific challenges of a landscape like this. so, obviously, up on the side of the mountains, there's a lot of snow, a lot of trees but not a lot of roads. so, you're having to land as close to a road as possible to make the retrieval of all the kit easy. the mountains also produce a different climate, so there can be a lot of different wind patterns and things that develop around the mountains. it seems to be almost a lifestyle, this passion for ballooning. what is it that you love about ballooning? very much so. i mean, it's the tranquillity, as well, up here. you know, aside from the helicopter, it's peaceful. there's nothing. and you know, the views — you don't get this out of a aeroplane window. no. and there's a really big sense of community around ballooning. you know, it is a niche sport, i suppose, and we're all of a similar ilk,

i suppose. this word gets used a lot, so bear with me, but there's something quite magical about being up here. usually, when you're at this height, you're either on a parasail with the wind, you know, in yourface or in a plane or a helicopter, the thrum of the engine and the rotor. and up here, it's silent and there's barely a stir of wind. and it's just like we're sort of on a platform in the middle of the air with this incredible view out over the mountains. i think there's also something that appeals to the romantic in me, reallyjust sort of harking back to the earliest days of air travel, you know, the balloon setting off around the world in 80 days. there's something really special about this.

well, that's all we've got time for on this week's programme, but coming up next week — we're looking back at some of our best bits from the last few months, including eva's encounter with a slippery customer in mexico... oh, my god! it's so smooth! it's so lovely! oh, this is so incredible! ..ade's hunt for art thieves in italy... wow! this is — it's beautiful. it looks incredible. ..and my big splash in an estonian bog. absolutely freezing cold but, i mean, what a setting! so, dojoin us then, if you can. and don't forget, you can catch up on some of our recent adventures on bbc iplayer. until next time, from me and all the rest of the travel show team here in switzerland, it's goodbye.

hello. july is so far has been pretty unsettled and we have had on seasonal winds. many of us questioning just where has the british summer gone to? we are midway through the month ofjuly now and it has been a wet month with all of us seeing above average rainfall for the month and unfortunately little change on the horizon. if we show this chart, it is rainfall accumulation for the next few days. the darker the blue the heavier the rain which means most of us will see at least another 50 millimetres of rainfall on top of the rain we have already had. we have had this low pressure sitting across as for the

weekend and it is starting to pull away to scandinavia during sunday. we will see more persistent rain across the far north and west of scotland and as the loan moves away the wind coming from the north westerly. showers but few and far between in comparison to recent days. top temperatures peaking around 21 celsius but the temperature just below par for this time of year. as we move into monday, should be a quieter story with a few scattered showers around, starting west end are drifting eastwards but few are showers in comparison to of late. winds coming from the north—westerly so the temperature still a little subdued, 14-22. out of temperature still a little subdued, 14—22. out of monday into tuesday there is another area of low pressure pushing on of the atlantic and this will bring more wet weather, not as windy as on friday, and just how far the north of the rain is going to go still in question. rain pushing from the

irish sea into the north of england and wales, gradually drifting eastwards. a lot of around on tuesday, best of the sunshine in the south—east corner where we may see the temperature peaking at 23. cool and showery in scotland. that weather front drift eastwards through the night so clearing first thing in the morning setting off into the north sea and allowing a ridge of high pressure to build in behind so if you scattered showers particularly towards the east. england and wales seeing the best of the sunshine on tuesday, lighter winds and with more sunshine 8 degrees degree or two warmer, 23 away from the sharper showers. 0ut away from the sharper showers. out of wednesday into thursday we have this area of high pressure trying to build in but it will slip towards the near continent, still under the influence of the low and still the wind direction coming from the north—westerly source of the risk of showers along the east facing coast, the west sees the best of the

sunshine before more showers move into northern ireland, highs by thursday afternoon peaking between 14 and 22. one of the reasons why it is so unsettled is because of the jet stream. we have quite a weakjet stream at the moment you can just about make out and it is to the south of the uk. 0nce about make out and it is to the south of the uk. once we are on the north side of the jet we are on the cooler side and this is where we see the low pressure developing and that is the story as we look further ahead. if you have outdoor plans it is worth bearing in mind that the story is not going to change that much. we will continue to see some showers and longer spells of rain at times but there will be some lengthy sunny spells as well but the temperature is always going to be on the low side for this time of year. take care.

live from london. this is bbc news. this is bbc news. the actress and singer the actress and singer jane birkin, best known jane birkin, best known for her duet �*je t'aime... for her duet �*je t'aime... moi non plus�*, has moi non plus�*, has died at the age of 76. died at the age of 76. over 100 million americans 0ver100 million americans are facing extreme temperatures are facing extreme temperatures as the us joins southern europe as the us joins southern europe in the grip of a heatwave. in the grip of a heatwave. almost 40 people have died as a result of floods in south korea following days of torrential rain. as rescue efforts continue, we'll have the latest from seoul. the uk joins a trade bloc of countries in asia and the pacific. some question its value — but the trade secretary says it's

good news for britain.