Western Europe · Europe
Switzerland · 5 days
5 Days in Zurich
Switzerland's biggest city, planned honestly: what's worth the francs, what isn't, and which pass really saves money.
Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →
Western Europe · Europe
Switzerland
Discover Switzerland - a landlocked Alpine nation of four languages, direct democracy, chocolate, watchmaking, and some of the most spectacular mountain scenery on Earth.
Where Is Switzerland?
Switzerland is a country in Western Europe. Its capital is Bern.
- Capital Bern
- Population 9.09M
- Area 41,284 km²
Switzerland is the country that turned neutrality into a brand. It hasn't fought a war since 1815, hosts more international organizations than any other country, and somehow manages to have four official languages without anyone getting too upset about it. The Swiss have built a society that runs with the precision of, well, a Swiss watch - trains arrive on time, streets are clean, and the economy is one of the strongest in the world per capita.
But beyond the stereotypes of banks and chocolate, Switzerland is genuinely spectacular. The Alps dominate the south, with the Matterhorn, the Jungfrau, and the Eiger forming some of the most iconic mountain landscapes on the planet. The trains that wind through these mountains are engineering marvels - the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express are bucket-list journeys. Zurich and Geneva are consistently ranked among the world's most livable (and most expensive) cities, the old town in Bern is a UNESCO site, and the lakes - Geneva, Lucerne, Zurich - are as blue as the sky. Yes, everything costs a fortune. Yes, it's worth it.
At a glance
Language
German, French, Italian, Romansh
Currency
Swiss Franc (CHF)
Calling Code
+41
Drives On
Right
Internet
.ch
Timezone
CET (UTC+1)
Script
Latin
Government
Federal Semi-Direct Democracy
Independence
1291
Travel guides
Plan a trip to Switzerland
Switzerland · Ticino · 5 days
5 Days in Lugano
Italian life on a Swiss lake: funiculars, olive paths, three castles and a river valley, planned day by day with winter limits flagged.
Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →
Switzerland · 5 days
5 Days in Lucerne
A small lake town with a covered bridge and three famous mountains within an hour, planned day by day with the passes explained.
Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →
Switzerland · Jungfrau Region, Bernese Oberland · 5 days
5 Days in Interlaken
Two lakes, the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, and a lot of cable cars. Five warm-season days planned with passes, prices and closure dates.
Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →
Switzerland · 5 days
5 Days in Geneva
Calvin, the Red Cross, the UN and one very tall fountain. Geneva is small, expensive and a lot more interesting than its banker image.
Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →
Switzerland · 3 days
3 Days in Bern
A medieval peninsula in a river bend, six kilometers of arcades and a capital that isn't called one. Three days, planned properly.
Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →
By population
Largest cities in Switzerland
1
Zurich
Switzerland's largest city and financial center, sitting at the tip of Lake Zurich with a vibrant arts and nightlife scene
436,000
2
Geneva
International city hosting the UN, Red Cross, and WHO, on the shores of Lake Geneva with Mont Blanc views
204,000
3
Basel
Cultural capital at the meeting point of Switzerland, France, and Germany, home to Art Basel and world-class museums
178,000
4
Bern
The federal capital with a UNESCO-listed medieval old town, the Federal Palace, and the famous bear pit
134,000
5
Lausanne
Olympic capital on Lake Geneva, home to the International Olympic Committee and a stunning hillside old town
140,000
6
Lucerne
Postcard-perfect city with a medieval covered bridge, lakefront setting, and direct views of Mount Pilatus
82,000
People
Famous people from Switzerland
Albert Einstein
ScienceDeveloped the theory of relativity while working at the patent office in Bern, though born in Germany
Roger Federer
Sport20-time Grand Slam champion from Basel, widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
LiteratureBorn in Geneva, his philosophical works profoundly influenced the French Revolution and modern political thought
Le Corbusier
ArtBorn in La Chaux-de-Fonds, became one of the most influential architects of the 20th century
Carl Jung
ScienceFounded analytical psychology in Zurich, introduced concepts like archetypes and the collective unconscious
Jean-Luc Godard
FilmFrench-Swiss filmmaker who revolutionized cinema with the French New Wave, born in Paris but Swiss citizen
Food
Traditional cuisine of Switzerland
- Cheese Fondue
- Melted Gruyere and Emmental cheese in a pot with white wine, eaten by dipping bread on long forks - Switzerland's national dish
- Raclette
- Half-wheel of cheese melted under heat and scraped onto potatoes, pickles, and onions - a winter ritual
- Rosti
- Crispy grated potato cake fried in butter, a Swiss-German staple and the source of the cultural 'Rosti divide'
- Swiss Chocolate
- Switzerland essentially invented milk chocolate (Daniel Peter, 1875) and conching (Rodolphe Lindt, 1879)
- Birchermuesli
- Invented by Swiss doctor Maximilian Bircher-Benner around 1900, the original overnight oats with fruits and nuts
- Zürcher Geschnetzeltes
- Zurich-style sliced veal in cream sauce with mushrooms, served with rosti
Nature
Nature and landmarks in Switzerland
- MatterhornMountain
- The most photographed mountain in the world at 4,478m, its pyramidal peak is the symbol of Switzerland
- Jungfrau RegionMountain
- UNESCO World Heritage Alpine area including the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau, with Europe's highest railway station
- Lake GenevaLake
- Western Europe's largest lake, shared with France, with the Jet d'Eau fountain and surrounding vineyards
- Rhine FallsRiver
- Europe's largest waterfall by volume near Schaffhausen, 150 meters wide and 23 meters high
- Swiss National ParkNational Park
- The oldest national park in the Alps (1914), a pristine wilderness in the Engadin Valley with ibex and marmots
- Aletsch GlacierMountain
- The largest glacier in the Alps at 23 km long, a UNESCO World Heritage natural site slowly retreating with climate change
Sport
Sports in Switzerland
- Tennis
- Roger Federer (20 Grand Slams) and Stan Wawrinka (3 Grand Slams) made Switzerland a tennis powerhouse
- Alpine Skiing
- Consistently among the top skiing nations with legends like Pirmin Zurbriggen, Didier Cuche, and Lara Gut-Behrami
- Football
- Regular World Cup and Euro qualifiers, with a strong multicultural team reflecting Swiss diversity
- Ice Hockey
- One of the strongest European hockey nations with a competitive national league
Facts
Did you know?
Switzerland has four official languages: German (63%), French (23%), Italian (8%), and Romansh (0.5%)
Every Swiss citizen lives within 16 km of a nuclear bunker - the country has enough shelter space for 114% of its population
Swiss trains are so punctual that a delay of more than 3 minutes is considered a newsworthy event
It's illegal to own just one guinea pig in Switzerland - they're social animals and must be kept in pairs
Switzerland didn't give women the right to vote in federal elections until 1971
The Swiss consume more chocolate per capita than any other country - about 10 kg per person per year
CERN, home of the Large Hadron Collider and where the World Wide Web was invented, straddles the Swiss-French border
Stories
Read more about Switzerland
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