Switzerland

Quick Facts

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Local name

Confoederatio Helvetica (Latin)

Capital

Bern

Largest City

Zürich

Government

Federal Republic

Nationality

Swiss

Population

7 612 800 ^[1]

Languages

French, Swiss German, Italian, Rheto-Romansch

Religions

Christianity (Catholic, Protestant)

Currency

Swiss Franc (CHF) SFr

Calling Code

+41

Time Zone

CET (UTC+1)

Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

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Introduction

Frozen River in Avers

© All Rights Reserved Uozu

Switzerland is a country as famous for its pocket knives as it is for its chocolate. But to travellers, Swiss fame is largely focused on its Alpine landscape. Beautiful and majestic, many visitors prefer to take in the scenery through activity, rather than mere sightseeing: skiing, hiking, hang-gliding and rafting are only a number of the outstanding opportunities the Alps award.

Swiss culture and history afford interesting cities and monumental castles, for those visitors able to tear themselves away from the mountains. Cities like Zürich, Bern and Lucerne all feature medieval streets and housing, giving travellers that pleasant sense of stepping back in time which so many great European cities offer. Modernity has also struck, as the nation has elevated its economic status to become one of the world's richest nations; but fortunately, developers have had the good sense to retain Switzerland's priceless historic heritage.

Brief History

Geography

Switzerland is a landlocked country, sharing borders with Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy and France. Switzerland is known for its tall mountains, in particular the Swiss Alps. However, it also has a more accommodating landscape of rolling hills, lakes and plains at the feet of these mountains. Dufourspitze is its highest point, at 4,634 metres.

Regions

Switzerland is divided into 26 so called cantons, which can be grouped into the following geographical regions.

• Northern Switzerland - Basel-Stadt (city), Basel-Landschaft (Land), Jura, Solothurn, Aargau, Zürich, Schaffhausen, Thurgau
• Eastern Switzerland - Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, St. Gallen, Glarus, Graubünden
• Southern Switzerland - Tessin/Ticino, Wallis/Valais
• Central Switzerland - Bern, Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Schwyz, Lucerne, Zug
• Western Switzerland - Freiburg/Fribourg, Neuenburg/Neuchâtel, Waadt/Vaud, Genf/Genève

Cities

• Basel
• Bern, the country's capital.
• Davos
• Geneva, set on beautiful Lake Geneva.
• Interlaken
• Lausanne
• Locarno
• Lucerne
• Lugano
• Zürich is the country's largest city and its economic centre.

Sights and Activities

Skiing

In winter and even at some parts in summer, Switzerland is one of the finest countries in Europe to go skiing. Although it is more expensive than its alpine counterparts Austria, Italy and France, it offers great pistes, views, delicious food and the most beautifully located resorts. These include Zermatt (with the famous Matterhorn in the background), Davos and Sankt Moritz.

Hiking and trekking

Hiking and trekking are very popular leisure activities in Switzerland. Lots of hiking tips with descriptions, maps, webcams, some with GPS are available online free of charge:

• Myswitzerland.com: Hiking and walking tips from Swiss tourist office
• Wandersite.ch: Private hiking website in German, some information in English
• GPS-tracks.com: Cycling and hiking tracks with GPS

Areas to go hiking are abundant but both Valais (or Wallis in German) and Ticino (Tessin) offer the most spectacular mountain sceneries of them all. The are around Interlaken and Graubünden are almost equally as good though and for beginners there is the less high and less spectacular but still rewarding Jura region.

Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn

Fiesch - Glacier ALesch

© All Rights Reserved skteddy

The Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn region is a magnificent area with high mountain ranges, glaciers and is actually the most glaciated part of the European Alps. Visiting this area can be done relatively easy by car and if you want to go up, by train up to 3400 meters above sea level, the highest train ride in Europe, the Jungfrau Railway is very impressive (and expensive!). The area is on the UNESCO World Heritage list because of its unique and wide range of flora and fauna and geological importance regarding the creating of the High Alps. It is located in the Bernese Oberland Alps and for exploring this stunning mountain area your best bet is to base yourself in the adrenaline capital of the country: Interlaken.

Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva is one of the bigger lakes in Western Europe and is located in the west of the country. Cities along the lakes shores to be visited are Geneva and Lausanne, among many other smaller ones. Geneva is the international capital of the country with hundreds of companies, banks and governmental organisations located here. Although a trendy place for the rich and famous it also has a small but fine historical centre.

Bern

The old historical city of Bern, apart from being the capital, is on the UNESCO World Heritage list because of its fine examples of building styles of different periods.

Other Sights and Activities

• Ticino: explore the Italian region of Switzerland and admire cities and towns like Lugano and Locarno and enjoy Lake Lugano and fine Italian cuisine.
• Jungfrau Railway from Interlaken or Grindelwald

Events and Festivals

• The Zürich Street Parade is one of the largest street parades in the world and a popular attraction for techno music fans. In 2008 it will be held on Saturday, 9 August.
• The Carnival of Basel (Basler Fasnacht) is Switzerland's largest carnival, taking place between February and March. Thousands of dressed up Fasnächtlers take to the streets and rule the Old Town for the 72 hours of the festival.
• In July, Montreaux, on the banks of Lake Geneva, hosts the world-famous Montreux Jazz Festival.
• National Day takes place on August the 1st.
• The Zibelmarit (English: Onion Market) is held on the fourth Monday in November in Bern.
• Fete de Geneve The festival 'Fete de Geneve' takes place along the lake in August every year with musics, bands, processions and fireworks etc. It is a week long festival which is attended by people from all over the world. It is difficult to find a place in hotel during this week.

Sport

Thanks to its mountainous landscape, skiing is very popular in Switzerland. In February, schools have special skiing holidays. Famous Swiss ski sport champions include Bernhard Russi, Pirmin Zurbriggen, Didier Cuche.

Tennis is a pretty popular sport in Switzerland, especially since Roger Federer's rise to the top of men's tennis. Somewhat surprisingly, Switzerland also has a famous sailing team called Alinghi.

Weather

Getting There

By Plane

Swiss International Air Lines is the national airline of Switzerland, based at Zürich Airport (ZRH). International flights include Amsterdam, Athens, Bangkok, Barcelona, Belgrade, Berlin, Boston, Brussels, Bucharest, Cairo, Copenhagen, Dar es Salaam, Delhi, Douala, Dubai, Dublin, Florence, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Hanover, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Malabo, Malaga, Miami, Milan, Montréal, Moscow, Mumbai, Munich, Muscat, Nairobi, New York-JFK, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Riyadh, Rome, Santiago de Chile, St. Petersburg, São Paulo, Singapore, Sofia, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Thessaloniki, Tokyo, Tripoli, Valencia, Vienna and Yaoundé.

Edelweiss Air AG and Belair use the airport for charters flights to and from sunny destinations throughout Europe and the Caribbean.

Other international airports in the country are Geneva Cointrin International Airport (GVA) and EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (BSL).

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

By Plane

There are domestic flights between Switzerland's major cities, operated by SWISS and Darwin Airline. The public transport options in Switzerland are so good though, that air-travel is not a frequent choice.

By Train

Trains in Switzerland are clean, frequent and reliable and operate on a network covering 5,000 km. Some of the world's most spectacular train trips, including the famous Glacier Express, are an added incentive to hop aboard.

The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS) is Switzerland's national railway company. If you plan to travel around the country at any length, it would be worth looking into one of their rail passes: ^[2]

• A Half-Fare Card will give you half price travel on the SBB network, as well as most private and mountain railways. The card costs CHF 150 for one year.
• Gleis 7 (English: Track 7) is a youth card (ages 16-25) that allows free travel on the network after 7pm. A Gleis 7 card for one year costs CHF 99. A combo Gleis 7 + Half-Fare Card costs CHF 249 for a year.
• If you plan to do some extended travelling, then the General Abonnement might just be the ticket. It will allow you unlimited travel on SBB's network, as well as numerous private railways. The pass also covers postbuses, lake and riverboats and trams and buses in most Swiss cities. Many mountain railways don't include unlimited travel, will give special discounts to General Abonnement holders. The ticket is CHF 350 for a second class individual card for one month. There are discounts for families, seniors and youths.

If you happen to be in Switzerland during the upcoming UEFA Euro 2008 championships, you can take advantage of several special tickets that might work for you. More details on these special tickets can be found in the UEFA Euro 2008 article.

Reservations are not usually required on trains, but sometimes might be recommended. Dogs (on leashes) are allowed on trains for an extra fare. ^[3]. Bicycles accommodated for on most trains with special hooks and are also subject to an additional fare. ^[4]

By Car

Switzerland has an excellent paved network of highways and also the minor roads are generally in a very good condition. There are car rental companies at airports, railway station and cities and you need a national driver's licence to rent one. Note that there are hefty fines for speeding so take it easy and enjoy the beautiful landscapes.
Some mountain passes are impassable after heavy snow but most roads are open year round. You need chains and snow tyres in winter though.

By Bus

The Postbus will take you to almost any corner of the country, but most are local and regional buses and long distance services are almost absent.

By Boat

There are a number of lakes where at least a leisurely cruise is a great way of viewing Switzerland from the water surface. Lake Geneva, lakes around Neuchatel and Interlaken are probably the most popular spots. As a traveller, you won't take many regular passenger services in the country as other modes of transportation are better.

Red Tape

Money

See also: Money Matters

Switzerland uses the Swiss Franc (CHF). One franc is divided into 100 centimes (French) (German: Rappen). Banknotes come in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 1000 francs. Coins come as 5, 10 and 20 centimes and 1/2, 1, 2 and 5 francs.
Switzerland also accepts Euro as currency but the balance amount will be returned in CHF only. Tourists are advised to keep this in mind while paying by cash.

Work

Study

Language

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

See also: Travel Health

There are no great health risks travelling to Switzerland. The water is safe and dining out is hygienic, thanks to strict controls. No immunizations are required, unless you have been in an infected area within the previous 14 days.

Safety

Switzerland has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Reasonable precautions should always be taken; keep your wallet in a safe spot and keep a close eye on your luggage when in busy places.

Keep Connected

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