Switzerland Travel Guide
Information and Advice

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Length of stay:
Minimum worthwhile stay, not including flights: Zurich or Lucerne for a romantic weekend, or Zermatt for a sports break.
Recommended: 10 days to get totally knackered at your choice of activity.

Switzerland Festivals Guide:
Snow freaks have plenty of wacky winter festivals to attend, such as: pop festivals at 1,800m in deep snow [Fuchstival, mid March or Kleine Scheidegg early April]; dog sled racing [Zinal, mid March or Chandolin early April]; Waterslide Contest [Bettmeralp, late March or Valais, April]; downhill mountain bike races [on snow] from 3,600m [Allalin, early April]...
Feb/March, Fasnacht [carnival] - especially colourful in Basel, but makes an appearance elsewhere too.
July, Montreux Jazz Festival.
August 1, Swiss National Day - with various activities including fireworks, dancing and accordion performance overload.

For some precise dates see: European Festivals or Arts Festivals.

Switzerland Activities Guide:
Hiking: With magnificent views of mountains, flower-carpeted alpine valleys, waterfalls and superbly organised and supported trails, this is a must-trek destination.
Possibilities are too many to list with 50,000 kms of footpaths out there!
Biking: There are over 150 well designed mountain bike routes in Switzerland, ranging from the easy to the insane, and all with breathtaking views.
For regular bikes there are over 3,000 kms of track.
Inline Skating: Around 600 kms of specially asphalted, reasonably flat, scenic routes, such as the Rhine, the Rhone and the Mittelland, make this possibly the world's best skating destination.
Windsurfing: Wind can be erratic due to altitude or rock interference, but some popular spots are these lakes: Leman, Bieler, Urner, Alpenmacher, Maggiore [north], Lugano.
Canoeing: The Muota River [Schwyz] and the Doubs [Jura] are most wanted.
White-water rafting: The Rhine and Saane rivers are well known but the Alps provides many more possibilities.
Mountaineering: Zermatt, Pontresina and Meiringen are areas favoured by serious climbers.
Gliding: yet another use for those huge hunks of rock...hang and paragliding are well provided for in most larger resorts.
Snow sports: Vast quantities of the white stuff are just about everywhere of course, but what makes this country a bit special is a] doing the white thing in the shadow of a truly awesome mountain, like Zermatt/Matterhorn, and b] that in some places the snow is around nearly all year.
Zermatt and Verbier are best targets for skiing and nightlife.
Wellness: With pure alpine air and a teutonic attitude to health, Switzerland offers a mass of spas, saunas and therapy centres in stunning locations.
Unusual activities:
Switzerland goes in for some off-the-wall sports too, such as canyoning, zorbing [rolling down a mountainside in huge transparent ball] or house running [abseiling down tall buildings at high speed]. Interlaken and Lucerne are centres for these mad moments.

Visa advice:
EU citizens and nationals of USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan do not need a visa for up to 3 months, though you should carry your passport.

Money:
Contrary to expectations, the local currency is the Swiss Franc [also used by their little brother Liechtenstein], but most places in tourist areas will accept the Euro.
Tipping is not necessary anywhere as 15% service charge is applied to just about everything including taxis.
Costs are on the high side, though cheapish travel in Switzerland is possible if you eat fast food, use a railpass and stay in hostels.

Electricity Guide:
Electric sockets are 230v and are built for three round pin plugs but will accept the usual 2 round pin plugs, fortunately.

Accommodation Guide:
Tourist offices are efficient in listing local rooms/hotels available, often with boards placed outside rail stations. They also hand out 'guest cards' that secure various discounts.
Hotels are not necessarily expensive but hostels are, of course, the cheapest option, though still good quality.
Campsites are good too, mostly open only in summertime. Free camping is not permitted.

Cuisine Guide:
If you're a non-dairy eater then you'll have a big problem if you travel in Switzerland, though vegetarians will be unusually fulfilled.
Cheese appears frequently and is the star of Swiss specialities like fondue [dipping bread or potato into melted cheese], raclette [similar] and rosti [cheese-topped grated potatoes].
Lake fish are a popular dish and vegetarian restaurants common.
Those on a budget can find good value set lunch menus or self-service restaurants in department stores.

Safety Guide:
Switzerland is just about the safest place on the planet. Apart from overeating and snow accidents the biggest dangers are likely to be altitude sickness [AMS] or hypothermia if you overestimate your climbing/hiking ability.

Language:
Not a problem in this country which has more multi-lingual ability than any other on earth. A twisted German is the dominant tongue and French second, but everyone can handle English.

Why Travel to Switzerland?
Yet another quirky little European country, Switzerland is unique, spectacular and well worth a trip or two.
Clichés perhaps, but some of the best Swiss experiences involve incredible mountains and lakes, stunning sports - summer or winter, stylish, lively towns, quaint hillside villages, and all tied together with a supremely efficient transport system.
In addition it's super-safe, just about everyone speaks two or three languages including English and the country is loaded with terrific beers, rich food and amazing pastries and chocolate. Is that a good thing? You choose.

Downside:
- this not a cheap destination.
- don't try anything remotely illegal, [such as crossing the road when the little man is red], this is a very law-abiding state.
- Swiss people - about 65% Germanic - though extremely polite, are, like their climate, cool towards foreigners.

Where to travel in Switzerland:

South-west [Lake Geneva]:
**Geneva, attractively situated at the southwest tip of Lake Geneva and near France, is cultured and metropolitan, but more of a business and diplomatic centre than party place.
It does, however, offer a great selection of museums and some decent architecture including the ubiquitous old town.
***Lausanne, on the other hand and the other side of the lake, really knows how to play, due partly to the university's youth contribution. Steeply tiered, it 's stylish and pleasantly walkable [going down or along the waterfront] and alive with varied street action and nutty cafés.
On the east side of Lake Geneva lie three smaller locations of interest:
*Vevey is a small, appealing market town with a lively Street Artist's Festival in late August; *Montreux, 6km down the road is bijou but wealth-oriented and not particularly hospitable apart from July's Jazz Festival; the 13thC ***Chateau de Chillon is the star attraction in this area, a beautifully located and well-preserved castle popularised by Lord Byron's 'Prisoner of Chillon.'

The middle [Mittelland]:
**Bern's tiny, quiet, riverside elegance is not at all what you would expect of Switzerland's capital. The old town's cobbled streets and arcaded buildings date from the 11thC to the 18thC, and there is life there still...
Just south of Bern the Lake Thun area affords castle freaks the opportunity to pleasure themselves repeatedly on fine 12th and 13thC fortifications.
***Lucerne [Luzern] is more than just another gorgeous Swiss city. Mix lake with river with mountain with alpine meadows with well-preserved old town, throw in some stunning new architecture, a lively youth-oriented street culture, plenty of adventure sports [mostly 1 hour by train uphill to Engelberg], simmer gently and you've got the young traveller's #1 Swiss role model.
The area also provides the country's most spectacular ferry rides.
*Basel is wealthy, cultured and convenient, with a pleasant old town and fine museums, but too preoccupied with business to be much fun.
***Zurich, up north, is a far, gnomic cry from it's stuffy banking image these days. Gorgeously located astride a river and boxed in by Lake Zurich and distant snowy mountains, the city is a buzzing hive of creativity and charm, with a lovely medieval old town and a huge variety of imaginative new establishments to relieve you of your wad.
The miniscule principality of Liechtenstein is two hours away but offers little of interest.

The Alps mountains [south]:
*** The Jungfrau Region towards the country's centre offers the highest and most scenic rail trip, connecting three peaks, the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau, though some argue that the Schilthorn cable-car is cheaper, quicker and more scenic.
**Murren and **Grindelwald towns are good bases for both winter and summer sports, but Interlaken is too busy to be enjoyable for those who value tranquility.
***The Matterhorn is a Swiss icon and the original model for Toblerone chocolate, while traffic-free ***Zermatt - at it's foot - is the place to stay and base for any number of staggering view experiences, including year-round snow sports and the day-long, panoramic Glacier Express train from Zermatt to St Moritz.
**St Moritz. Very posh, very beautiful, and very expensive, though St Moritz-Bad would be less bad for your wallet than snooty St Moritz-Dorf.

Ticino, Italian region, south Alps:
Warmer and culturally very different from the rest of Switzerland, Ticino sports palm trees, piazzas and pizzas along with the usual lakes, woody hills and medieval old towns. Prime targets are **Locarno and ***Lugano, both on lakes, with the latter offering more views, style and sights.

Local Transport:
Swiss transport is brilliant and trains are the way to go if available. InterRail or Eurail passes offer well-discounted travel, though not on a few spectacular mountain routes.
Lake ferries are famously scenic [only June-Sept].

International Transport:
Roads and railways from the rest of Europe are superb, while boating from Germany, France and Italy is also possible. Buses are a less comfortable option.

Pictures are courtesy of Switzerland Tourism.

If you plan to travel Switzerland you may find information in these other Bugbog guides useful:

Germany Travel Guide | Austria Travel Guide

France Travel Guide | Italy Travel Guide