Switzerland Itineraries

Switzerland is a landlocked country of 8.7 million people set at the heart of the Alps, defined equally by its dramatic mountain scenery and its extraordinary precision in everything from watchmaking to railway timetables. With four official languages (German, French, Italian, and Romansh), it is a kind of microcosm of Europe — French-speaking Geneva and Lausanne on the western shore of Lake Geneva, German-speaking Zurich and Bern in the north, Italian-speaking Ticino in the south, and the rare Romansh-speaking valleys of Graubünden. Despite its compact size (smaller than the US state of West Virginia), Switzerland contains some of the most concentrated scenic beauty in Europe — more than sixty mountains over 4,000 metres, nearly 1,500 lakes, and 7,000 kilometres of hiking trails. Zurich, the largest city, is built where the Limmat River exits Lake Zurich. Its Altstadt preserves Romanesque churches, medieval squares, and Europe's greatest concentration of gold bars in the private banks lining Bahnhofstrasse. But Zurich is more than finance — the Kunsthaus is an excellent art museum, the old industrial districts of Zurich-West have been transformed into one of Europe's liveliest creative quarters, and the lake itself offers summer swimming at Strandbad beaches. Bern, the capital, is a UNESCO-listed medieval city of arcaded sandstone streets and a famous zytglogge (clock tower), set in a sharp bend of the Aare River. Lucerne, on the lake that gives the city its name, is one of Switzerland's most photographed scenes — with the 14th-century covered Kapellbrücke bridge, the surrounding Alpine peaks of Rigi and Pilatus accessible by cable car. Geneva, on the southern tip of Lac Léman, hosts the European headquarters of the United Nations, the Red Cross, and CERN, and offers a French-flavoured sophistication quite different from German-speaking Switzerland. But Switzerland's soul is in its mountain villages. Zermatt, at the foot of the Matterhorn, is car-free and offers year-round skiing on the Matterhorn glacier, world-class hiking in summer, and what many consider the most perfect pyramid-shaped mountain on Earth. Interlaken is the gateway to the Bernese Oberland, with day-trip options to Jungfraujoch (Europe's highest railway station), Schilthorn (featured in On Her Majesty's Secret Service), and dozens of Alpine villages with traditional chalets and ski lifts. St. Moritz and Davos in the Engadine Valley are legendary winter resorts. The Swiss train network is a wonder in itself — the Glacier Express, Bernina Express, and GoldenPass Line offer some of the most spectacular train journeys in the world. Swiss food is hearty and regionally distinct: Zürich Geschnetzeltes, fondue and raclette, Rösti, French-influenced cuisine in the west, Italian-influenced polenta and risotto in Ticino, and of course some of the world's finest chocolate. Swiss chocolate, cheese, watches, and Swiss army knives are the cliché exports, but the lived experience is of a country where everything simply works beautifully.