The medieval town is an important tourist location in the upper valley of the Saane/Sarine river, and gives its name to Gruyère cheese.

The medieval town is located at the top of an 82-metre-high (269 ft) hill[3] overlooking the Saane valley and the Lake of Gruyère.

[4] Gruyères is 810 m (2,660 ft) above sea level, 4.5 km (2.8 mi) south-south-east of the district capital Bulle.

The historical town is placed on top of an isolated hill north of the alps, in the foothills of mount Moléson.

East of the Saane, the municipality area ends in a small corner, bordered by the ridges of Dent de Broc (1,829 m [ 6,001 ft ] above sea level) in the north and Dent du Chamois (1,830 m [ 6,000 ft ] above sea level) in the south, ending at the valley of Motélon.

Southwest of Gruyères, the municipality comprises most of the catchment area of the brook Albeuve, which originates on the flanks of mount Moléson.

The top of mount Moléson is the highest point of the municipality, reaching 2,002 m (6,568 ft) above sea level.

West of the Moléson, the densely wooded right valley side of the Trême and the terrace of La Part Dieu belong to Gruyères.

Further, the small village Saussivue (710 m [ 2,330 ft ] above sea level) to the south and the holiday settlement Moléson-Village (1,132 m [ 3,714 ft ]above sea level) in the valley of the Albeuve in the foothills of mount Moléson as well as several isolated farms.

Neighbour municipalities of Gruyères are Broc, Charmey, Bas-Intyamon, Haut-Intyamon, Semsales, Vaulruz, Vuadens, Bulle, La Tour-de-Trême and Le Pâquier.

The villages of Epagny and Pringy have in the last years become a living place for commuters, mostly working in the town of Bulle.

In the tertiary sector; 62 or 18.1% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 33 or 9.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 131 or 38.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 3 or 0.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 35 or 10.2% were in education and 45 or 13.2% were in health care.

The remains of a Roman era villa from the 2nd-3rd century AD and an Early Middle Ages cemetery were also found nearby.

[12] The town developed beneath the castle, which the Count of Gruyere had built on top of the hill, to control the upper Saanen valley.

In 1397 Count Rudolph IV of Gruyères confirmed an older town charter that was based on the model of Moudon.

On 22 June 1476 Gruyères participated in the Battle of Morat against Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.

With the help of the Old Swiss Confederacy, they routed the Burgundian army and captured three capes of the Order of the Golden Fleece which belonged to Charles the Bold including one with the emblems of Philip the Good, his father.

Count Rudolph III allowed the villages on the left bank of the Saane to build St. Theodul's church.

In addition to the parish church, the Counts had the Chapel of St. John the Baptist in the castle, with two glass windows dating from the late 15th century.

During the Thirty Years' War, nuns from St. Bernard and the Visitation Order fled from Besançon and Dole to settle in Gruyères.

One side of the hospital building housed the primary school until 1988 and was then renovated into a nursing home.

The castle was then bought back by the canton of Fribourg in 1938, made into a museum and opened to the public.

Nearby is Mont Moléson, a mountain suitable for climbing, or for the less athletic there is a cablecar to the summit which was rebuilt in 1998.

In 1998 Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor and set designer H. R. Giger acquired the Saint-Germain Castle, and it now houses the H. R. Giger Museum and Bar, a permanent repository of his work and is a popular tourist destination.

The adjustment of the esplanade with its chapel, the spiral staircase in the courtyard and the transformation of the main building go back to that time.

The romantic landscapes were painted in the mid-19th century by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Barthélemy Menn and other artists.

This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude.

The upper Secondary school is divided into gymnasium (university preparatory) and vocational programs.

After they finish the upper Secondary program, students may choose to attend a Tertiary school or continue their apprenticeship.