Switzerland

The seven wonders

• The Castle of Chillon: near Montreux
• The Lavaux vineyards: on the shore of Lake Geneva
• The Castles of Bellinzona: in the southern canton of Ticino
• The Abbey of St. Gallen
• The Top of Europe and the Sphinx observatory: a “village” with a post office on the 3,500 metres high Jungfraujoch above Wengen
• The Grande Dixence: a 285 metres high dam, south of Sion
• The Landwasser viaduct: on the railway between Chur and St. Moritz

The seven natural wonders

• The Matterhorn: from Schwarzsee, Gornergrat or simply from the village of Zermatt
• The northern walls of the Jungfrau and Eiger: two of the most celebrated mountains in the Alps, they can be seen from the valley of Lauterbrunnen or from one of the many summits that can be reached by train or cable car
• The Aletsch Glacier: the longest in Europe, the Aletsch wild Forest is located above the glacier, best seen from above Bettmeralp
• The lakes of the Upper Engadine: one of the highest inhabited valley in the Alps at the foot of Piz Bernina, they can be all seen from Muottas Muragl
• The Lake Lucerne: from the Pilatus above Lucerne
• The Oeschinensee: a mountain lake with no rivals above Kandersteg
• The Rhine Falls: the largest in Europe, take a boat to the rock in the middle of the falls

Events

• The European Football Championships in 2008 was held in Austria and Switzerland. Basel, Berne, Geneva and Zurich were all hosting sites.

Plan

The official “MySwitzerland” ipad app from Switzerland Tourism (the national tourism organisation) offers a wealth of useful information and inspiring ideas to help you plan your holiday – anything from a summer in the mountains to a city break. You will find tips for refreshing adventures on the water, breathtaking trips into nature, thrilling train journeys, cultural treats and top events, great accommodation offers – and much more. Consulting MySwitzerland website and/or app is recommended.

At main stations & at tourist points there are ‘i’ information centers. These centers are properly staffed with impartial, knowledable and ‘tourist friendly’ people. These centers have local maps and many other useful brochures.

• Trek Via Alpina Green Trail, Altdorf to Adelboden. This trek combines exhausting hikes during the day (climb 12,157m on 144km of trails in 7 days), comfortable accommodations, haut cuisine, low cost, all with non-stop spectacular scenery in the middle of the Swiss alpine mountains. Refer to the link for a trip report that includes route overview, description, GPX track, lodging, packing list, and references.  

Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in the world to buy stuff in (with exception of electronic and informatic devices which are usually cheaper than in the rest of the EU). This is due to a confluence of several factors, not least of which include high minimum wages, limited real estate, and the perceived superior quality of the goods being produced.

Switzerland is not part of the European Union and the currency is the Swiss franc (or Franken or franco, depending in which language area you are), divided into 100 centimes, Rappen or centesimi. This is symbolised internationally and throughout our guides with CHF placed immediately before the amount with no intervening space.

However, many places – such as supermarkets, restaurants, sightseeings’ box offices, hotels and the railways or ticket machines – accept euro and will give you change in Swiss francs (seldom in euro, only if they have it in cash). A bill or a price-label may contain prices both in francs and in euro. Usually in such cases the exchange-rates comply with official exchange rates, but if the exchange-rates is not market at the counter, ask for the rate. Changing some money to Swiss francs (CHF) is essential. Money can be exchanged at all train stations and most banks throughout the country. Changing Swiss francs in Euro (in France, Germany or Italy) is only possible in a bank. Therefore it is recommended to use cards or smaller euro bills.

Switzerland is more cash-oriented than most other European countries. It is not unusual to see bills being paid by cash, even CHF200 and CHF1000 notes. Some establishments (smaller boutiques, but fewer than before) do not accept credit cards so check first. When doing credit card payments, carefully review the information printed on the receipt (details on this can be found in the “Stay Safe” section below). All ATMs accept foreign cards, getting cash should not be a problem.

Coins are issued in 5 centime (brass, rare), 10 centime, 20 centime, ½ Franc, 1 Franc, 2 Franc, and 5 Franc (all silver colored) denominations. One centime coins are no longer legal tender, but may be exchanged until 2027 for face value. Two centime coins have not been legal tender since the 1970’s and are, consequently, worthless.

Banknotes are found in denominations of 10 (yellow), 20 (red), 50 (green), 100 (blue), 200 (brown), and 1000 (purple) francs. They are all the same width but vary in length and feature a variety of security measures.