Switzerland tourist information

Switzerland is a landlocked Alpine country in Central Europe with a strong economy in finance and banking. Switzerland borders Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Historically a confederation, Switzerland has been a federation since 1848, and has a long and strong tradition of political and military neutrality. This background allows Switzerland various international co-operations and organisations. A male living in this country is said to be a Schweizer and a female is a Schweizerin in German; Suisse (male) or Suissesse (female) in Swiss French and svizzero (male) or svizzera (female) in Swiss Italian.

Places to go in Switzerland ...

Aarau Adelboden Agarn Agno Aigle Arolla Arosa Ascona Bad Ragaz Baden Basel Beatenberg Bern Bettmeralp Biasca Biel Birsfelden Brig Brissago Brunnen Bulle Burgdorf Cademario Cadro Caslano Celerina Champery Charmey Chexbres Chur Cointrin Couvet Cully Davos Davos Dorf Davos Platz Diessenhofen Dietikon Egerkingen Engelberg Filzbach Flims Fribourg Geneva Geroldswil Glattbrugg Glion Grachen Grenchen Grimentz Grindelwald Gstaad Guarda Gunten Hergiswil Hilterfingen Horgen Horw Interlaken Iseltwald Kandersteg Kastanienbaum Klosters Kloten Kuessnacht Am Rigi Lausanne Lauterbrunnen Lenzburg Lenzerheide Les Diablerets Leukerbad Leysin Liestal Locarno Lucerne Lugano Lully Martigny Meiringen Mendrisio Minusio Mont Pelerin Montreux Morges Muri Murren Neuchatel Olten Pfaffikon Ponte Tresa Pontresina Reckingen Regensdorf Rheinfelden Rigi Kaltbad Rorschach Rossens Rothrist Rovio Rumlang Saanen Saanenmoeser Saas Fee Sachseln San Bernardino Sarnen Savognin Schaffhausen Schlieren Schonried Scuol Sigriswil Sion Solothurn Speicher Spiez Stalden Stettlen Tarasp Territet Thalwil Thun Twann Unterseen Uster Verbier Vermala Vevey Veysonnaz Visp Vitznau Vufflens Le Chateau Vulpera Wallisellen Walzenhausen Weggis Wengen Wildegg Wilderswil Wilen Winterthur Zermatt Zinal Zug Zurich Zweisimmen

With an area of 41,285 square kilometres (15,940 sq mi), Switzerland is a relatively small country. The population is about 7.4 million, resulting in a population density of 182 people per square kilometre (472/sq mi).

Switzerland comprises three basic topographical areas: the Swiss Alps, the Swiss plateau, and the Jura mountains.The Alps are a high mountain range running across the central-south of the country. Among the high peaks of the Swiss Alps, the highest of which is the Dufour Peak at 4,634 metres (15,203 ft), are found countless valleys, some with glaciers. From these the headwaters of several major European rivers such as the Rhine, the Rhône, the Inn, the Aare or the Ticino, flow down into lakes such as Lake Geneva, Lake Zürich, Lake Neuchâtel, and Lake Constance.

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Cuisine ^*

The Swiss cuisine is unique in its many regional influences from its neighbors' cuisine, including Italian, French, and, to a lesser extent, German cuisine.

Foods often associated with Switzerland include cheese and chocolate. Swiss cheeses, in particular Emmental cheese, Gruyere, Vacherin, and Appenzeller, are famous Swiss products. The most popular cheese dishes are fondue and Raclette. Both these dishes were originally regional dishes, but were popularized by the Swiss Cheese Union to boost sales of cheese.

Rosti is a popular potato dish that is eaten all over Switzerland. It was originally a breakfast food, but this has been replaced by the muesli, which is commonly eaten for breakfast and in Switzerland goes by the name of "Birchermuesli" ("Birchermiesli" in some regions). For breakfast and dinner many Swiss enjoy sliced bread with butter and jam. There is a wide variety of bread rolls available in Switzerland. Bread and cheese is a popular dish for dinner.

Tarts and quiches are also traditional Swiss dishes. Tarts in particular are made with all sorts of toppings, from sweet apple to onion.

There are a great number of regional dishes in Switzerland. One example is zurigschnatzlets - thin strips of veal with mushrooms in a cream sauce served with rosti. Italian cuisine is popular in contemporary Switzerland, particularly pasta and pizza.

In the Italian speaking part of Switzerland, the Ticino area, one will find a type of restaurant unique to the region. The Grotto is a rustic eatery, offering traditional food ranging from pasta to home made meat specialties. Popular dishes are Luganighe and Luganighetta, a type of artisan sausages. Authentic grottoes are old wine caves re-functioned into restaurants. Due to their nature they are mostly found in or around forests and built against a rocky background. Typically, the facade is built from granite blocks and the outside tables and benches are made of the same stone as well. Grottoes are popular with locals and tourists alike, especially during the hot summer months.

Cervelat or cervelas is considered the national sausage, and is popular all over Switzerland.

Popular Dishes

Papet vaudois (Leeks with sausage): The dishes of Canton Vaud tend to be particularly filling: pork sausage, leek and potato hotpot. If you ask a Vaudois what - apart from Saucisson - the typical dish of the canton is, you will usually get the answer: 'Papet vaudois', leeks with potatoes, served with Saucisson, and/or with 'Saucisse au foie' and 'Saucisse au chou' (smoked liver or cabbage sausages).
Fondue: This is probably the most famous swiss menu. Fondue is made out of melted cheese. It is eaten by dipping small pieces of bread or potatoes in the melted cheese.
Raclette: Hot cheese dribbled over potatoes, served with small gherkins, pickled onions etc.
Emmental Apple Rosti: This used to be a very popular meal, since the ingredients were usually to hand and the preparation is very simple. The recipe comes from the Emmental in Canton Bern, the home of the famous cheese.
Fotzel slices: Nobody really knows how this dish got its name. Fotzel means a torn-off scrap of paper. But in Basel dialect it means a suspicious individual, or a ne'er-do-well... Our grandmothers used to use stale bread to make fotzel slices, which made it an ideal recipe for homemakers accustomed to the rule: "Never throw any bread away."
Zopf (bread): There are dozens of types of bread in Switzerland. However, Zopf is a typical Swiss speciality for Sundays.
Birchermusli: "Birchermuesli" was invented by Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner (1867-1939), a pioneer of organic medicine and wholefoods.
Cut meat, Zurich style: This dish is often served with Rosti.
Rosti: This simple dish, similar to hash browns, is traditionally regarded as a Swiss German favorite. It has given its name to the "Rosti ditch", the imaginary line - or cultural divide - between German and French speakers in Switzerland. However, it is also eaten by the French-speaking Swiss.
Alplermagaronen: This dish is often eaten in a mountain restaurant on a nice ski day.
Polenta: For centuries polenta was regarded as a meal for the poor. Corn was introduced to the south of what is now Canton Ticino as long ago as the beginning of the 17th century in, which led to a change in the monotonous cuisine. But it took another 200 years before polenta - at first made of mixed flour, only later of pure cornmeal - became the staple dish of the area.
Saffron Risotto: A typical dish from Ticino.
Chestnut Cake: Try this delicious cake, done with chestnut puree.
Chur Meat Pie: A popular dish from Graubunden in south eastern Switzerland.
Graubunden Barley Soup: The most famous soup from Graubunden.
Pizokel with cabbage: Pizokel were eaten in a wide variety of ways. In some places when eaten by themselves they are known in Rumantsch as "bizochels bluts", or "bald pizokel". If someone leaves a small amount of any kind of food on the serving dish for politeness sake, in the Engadine this is called "far sco quel dal bizoccal", meaning more or less "leaving the last pizokel".
Engadine Nut Cake: There are several different recipes for nut cake, but the most famous is probably the one from the Engadine, a valley in Canton Graubunden.

Culture ^*

The culture of Switzerland is influenced by its neighbours, but over the years a distinctive culture with strong regional differences has developed.

A number of culturally active Swiss have chosen to move abroad, probably given the limited opportunities in their homeland. At the same time, the neutrality of Switzerland and the low taxes have attracted many creative people from all over the world. In war times the tradition of political asylum helped to attract artists, whilst recently low taxes seem predominant.

Strong regionalism in Switzerland makes it difficult to speak of a homogeneous Swiss culture. The influence of German, French and Italian culture on their neighbouring parts and the influence of Anglo-American culture cannot be denied. The Rhaeto-Romanic culture in the eastern mountains of Switzerland is robust.

History Switzerland's independence and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and Switzerland was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations, but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.

Transportation

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Languages German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 19.2%, Italian (official) 7.6%, Romansch (official) 0.6%, other 8.9%

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Terrain Mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes.

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Ethnic Groups German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6%