HIGH up in the Swiss Alps, the resort of Flims is the perfect spot for a break combining action and tranquillity.

Comprising three villages – Flims, Laax and Falera – it’s a place where millennia-old mountains and modern action sports merge.

Often overlooked as a summer destination, it’s now coming into its own as so much more than a skier’s paradise, which sees it boasting 90 per cent occupancy for the winter season.

With mountain biking and Alpine hiking trails offering stunning views of Unesco sites and the Rhine gorge, plus the opportunity to “freecycle” down super-steep hills, there’s plenty to keep even hyperactive athletic types busy.

Our 90-minute journey by bus and train through the idyllic mountains from Zurich was a breeze thanks to Switzerland’s transport system running like clockwork, and offered a good chance to take a peek at the breathtaking scenery.

Our home for the next few days was Rocksresort, with a choice of modern stone-worked apartments or plush rooms in more traditional log-clad hotels in a complex of little shops, bars, cafes and restaurants that has the feel of a small village.

Just a stone’s throw away was a new sports hall for snowboarders to practise out of season, but wafting downstairs to unwind in the peaceful Signinahotel’s spa was enough for the travel-weary, before relaxing on balconies with uninterrupted views of mountain peaks created by landslides 200 years ago. Next morning, we picked up bikes from Rocksresort and met our guide, Curdin Bundi, who knows the tracks that snake up and down the region like the back of his hand.

You don’t even need to be that fit to take on this mini Tour de Swiss – thanks to modern technology, there’s the soft option of a Flyer electric-powered bike.

These beauties take the pressure off so that you always feel you’re cycling on the flat.

An old hand at spinning classes, I cockily picked a traditional bike, ready for any incline Curdin chose to throw at me.

But what spinning has taken away from me is an understanding of gears, and I struggled at times to match the resistance to the gradient, wobbling like a kid on stabilisers.

We had arrived after a fortnight of wall-to-wall sunshine, and the gods chose our activity days for a spell of much-needed rain. But as the drizzle was fine and the air still warm, we weren’t deterred.

After a morning of wheels, we reached yet another peak.

Below, like something straight out of an Evian advert, was Lake Cauma.

Wet to the skin, we freewheeled down the hill. The inviting turquoise lagoon, full on a sunny day, was deserted. In your mind’s eye, you could picture olive-skinned holidaymakers basking on the rocks, but for now it was all ours.

This was an opportunity too good to miss, and within minutes we were diving into the warm mineral water and swimming out to a pontoon.

I did something I hadn’t done in years and plunged off a diving board into the seemingly bottomless depths.

Lying back and looking up at the cloudy sky, it was hard to see why anyone would want to go anywhere else.

Eagles cried, and anyone with an active imagination could feel Heidi and goatherd Peter close by.

Soon though, we saddled up once more, and stopped for lunch at the homely Conn restaurant nestled in the rocky hillside.

Here we were given blankets for our chills and treated to a traditional regional lunch including berries and crème anglaise ice cream.

After burning this off whizzing through forests all afternoon, we were off to dine at the luxurious five-star Flims Waldhaus, a hotel so prestigious it has its own underground museum, and a classical concert to kick off Flims Festival gave us a taste of the cultural surroundings.

A day of hiking awaited – cable cars and buses with hooks for bikes made discovering this exquisite corner of Graubunden easy, plus there were guided tours and easy-to-follow map routes.

We zipped up the mountain and ambled down, or, you can be fearless, and freewheel on a bike.

For those with any energy left over, there’s river rafting, Nordic walking or golf.

The options to test your comfort zone were endless – including following a renovated fixed-rope trail from 1907 – as were the opportunities for quiet contemplation, a world away from the daily grind.

Either way, I challenge anyone to leave Flims without feeling completely Zen, and I’d go back in a heartbeat.

Getting there

• Seven nights at the 4-star Sunstar Hotel costs from £689, including Swiss Air return flights to Zurich, all taxes, second class Swiss Card. Valid for travel until 15 Oct 2010. Book through Switzerland Travel Centre on 020 7420 4934 or visit stc.co.uk For more information visit graubunden.com

• Rocksresort summer offer, from 309 Swiss francs (£184) per person for a five-night stay including two guided hiking tours, available until October 24 2010 (rocksresort.com).

Call directly on +41 (0)81 927 77 77

• Other packages including Bike Cross Country – three overnight stays from 149 Swiss francs (£91) per person/stay, valid until 24th October 2010, can be booked online at flims.com/en/ planning-booking/package-offers.html

• Train tickets – Swiss transfer tickets, second class 127 Swiss francs, first class 192 Swiss francs (we travelled first class).

See swisstravel system.ch Switzerland Travel Centre – stc.co.uk

• Flights with Swiss Air – Return to Zurich from London City from £113, swiss.com