Lonely Planet Switzerland

Switzerland

CONTENTS

Plan Your Trip

Switzerland: The Journey Begins Here

Map

Our Picks

Regions & Cities

Itineraries

When to Go

Get Prepared

The Food Scene

The Outdoors

The Guide

Lake Geneva & Vaud

Geneva

Beyond Geneva

Lausanne

Beyond Lausanne

Montreux

Beyond Montreux

Fribourg, Drei-Seen-Land & the Jura Mountains

Fribourg

Beyond Fribourg

Drei-Seen-Land

Jura Mountains

Bern & Bernese Oberland

Bern

Beyond Bern

Interlaken

Beyond Interlaken

Lauterbrunnen Valley

Beyond Lauterbrunnen Valley

Lake Thun

Beyond Lake Thun

Valais

Martigny

Beyond Martigny

Sion

Beyond Sion

Zermatt

Beyond Zermatt

Ticino

Bellinzona

Lugano Region

Ascona-Locarno

Western Valleys

Central Switzerland

Lucerne

Beyond Lucerne

Andermatt

Northwestern Switzerland

Basel

Beyond Basel

Aarau & the Castles

Zürich & Northeastern Switzerland

Zürich

Beyond Zürich

Lake Constance

Beyond Lake Constance

Graubünden

Chur

Beyond Chur

Davos & Klosters

Beyond Davos & Klosters

St Mortiz

Beyond St Mortiz

Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein

Toolkit

Arriving

Getting around

Special Trains

Accommodation

Family Travel

Money

Food, Drink & Nightlife

Responsible Travel

Accessible Travel

LGBTIQ+ Travellers

Health & Safe Travel

Nuts & Bolts

Language

Storybook

A History of Switzerland in 15 Places

Meet the Swiss

The Simple Beauty of Swiss Design

Swiss Transport Going greener

The Dark Side of the Alps

This Book

SWITZERLAND

THE JOURNEY BEGINS HERE

Aletsch Glacier | schame/shutterstock ©

It’s the insatiable combo of lake and mountain that’s so addictive – and energising. Lake Geneva has been my home for more than a decade and it still tickles me pink that most of my journeys elsewhere in Europe begin with a bewitching 20-minute flit across the water – sometimes in a commuter boat packed with office suits clutching foldable bike or e-scooter, sometimes aboard one of the majestic belle époque steamers that I often see twinkling on the water after dark from my kitchen window.

That you can gorge on five-course gastronomy afloat, dip into a cheese fondue atop a rock-chiselled peak, tuck into the morning’s catch lakeside or stock up on wine from an ‘honesty fridge’ in a Unesco-listed vineyard only makes this God-like tableau even more enticing. With such a grandiose landscape on my doorstop, little wonder I can’t sit still for two minutes – the primary hazard of Swiss living!

Nicola Williams

@tripalong

British writer Nicola Williams lives on the shore of Lake Geneva. When she’s not running up a mountain or dipping in alpine lakes for Lonely Planet, she writes about France, Italy and Switzerland for The Telegraph, National Geographic and BBC. She wrote the, Geneva, Lake Geneva & Vaud, and Valais chapters.

My favourite experience is crunching over ice in crampons on the Aletsch Glacier. The rumbling of water flowing deep beneath your feet is a powerful reminder of the glacier’s immensity – and fragility.

WHO GOES WHERE

Our writers and experts choose the places which, for them, define Switzerland.

llewellyn/alamy stock photo ©

Marc Chagall’s stained-glass windows in Zürich’s Fraumünster (pictured) are a thing of beauty. An equally artistic experience can be had in the entrance hall of the Amtshaus and Augusto Giacometti’s 1920s frescoes of fantasy flowers.

Simon Richmond

@simonrichmond

Simon is a travel writer and photographer.

eva bocek/shutterstock ©

Foroglio, a village in the Ticino region, is my defining place here. Nestled in the Bavona Valley, this enchanting hamlet is a step back in time, with its stone houses, narrow alleys and the Foroglio waterfall.

Michaela Scalisi

@michaelacarrot

tupungato/shutterstock ©

Michaela is a travel writer, blogger and avid ice skater.

Some of my happiest moments have been spent clambering up exposed crags to jewel-like lakes in the Swiss National Park, a wondrously wild, under-the-radar corner of Graubünden.

Kerry Walker

@kerryawalker

Kerry is an award-winning travel writer, and the author of scores of Lonely Planet guidebooks.

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Lucerne is probably the most typically Swiss part of Switzerland. The old town has that traditional Swiss German feel, the lakeside setting is gorgeous, and it offers every form of transport in the book to reach the nearby mountains.

Caroline Bishop

@carolinebishopauthor

Caroline is a travel writer and the author of several novels.

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When I moved to the Basel tri-national region, I immediately began exploring Basel’s museums, cafes and nightspots, and drifting down the Rhine River in summer. I enjoy seeing the city from this unusual river perspective.

Anthony Haywood

@anthonyjhaywood.com

Anthony is an author and editor, who lives in Germany.

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Clare O’Dea

@clareodea_author

Clare wrote the ‘Meet the Swiss’ essay. She is a journalist and author and has lived in Switzerland since 2003.

MOUNTAIN VISTAS

With the Alps rippling across much of the country, Switzerland pairs serious altitude with soul-soaring panoramas. Fierce peaks punch well above 4000m – dizzying mountains of myth where, for centuries, rock climbers have grappled for fame and a foothold in the realms of eternal ice. Fittingly, it is the weather gods who control the ultimate requirement for venerating these celestial vistas: a clear blue sky. Should the gods not be game, save the experience for another day.

Matterhorn from Klein Matterhorn | rasto kyphua/shutterstock ©

Free Rider

Cable cars (free for hotel guests in some summer resorts) provide seamless access to viewing platforms. Download trail routes and hiking maps at schweizmobil.ch.

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Gear Up

It’s eternal winter above 3000m, even in July and August. Come prepared for snow and wind: long trousers, boots, coat, daypack with gloves, hat, scarf or buff.

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Sunrise Views

Sleep at a mountain hut (refuge/hütte/refugio) to bookend your day with unforgettable vistas hued pink to fiery orange. Bring your own silk/cotton sleeping-bag liner.

BEST MOUNTAIN EXPERIENCES

Get high on close-enough-to-touch views of Eiger’s gnarly north face on a lookout platform above Grindelwald 1.

Lap up the sea of snow-encrusted peaks, Aletsch Glacier and Black Forest that unfurls from Jungfraujoch’s 2 Sphinx observation deck.

Admire A-lister Verbier, the Rhône Valley and Massif du Mont Blanc with early-morning chamois atop the craggy peak of Pierre Avoi 3.

Gawp at glaciers and peaks above 4000m from Zermatt’s Klein Matterhorn 4 (3883m), crossing the world’s highest cableway border into Italy.

Follow in Mark Twain’s footsteps up Mt Rigi 5 near Lucerne, and hit the panorama hiking trail for vertiginous views.

URBAN ART

From the life-sizzling stained glass and swirls of Swiss abstract artist Augusto Giacometti to Zürich’s rebellious Dadaists and St Gallen’s zany ‘city lounge’ which paints several streets a wild red, urban art in Switzerland is ever progressive. Track its rich and colourful course in a series of world-class city museums.

Paltforme 10 | stocksmart/alamy stock photo ©

Street Art

The ‘Sprayer of Zürich’, aka Harald Naegeli, brought graffiti stickmen to his city in the 1970s and Swiss street art hasn’t looked back since.

For Free

Spurn the museum crowd for a sculpture trail in the wild – free and peppered with provocative installations, often with an environmental message.

BEST ART EXPERIENCES

Allow two hours to take in Bern’s eye-catching Zentrum Paul Klee 1 – the Swiss answer to the Guggenheim.

Don’t skip Basel’s 2 ‘big three’: a contemporary-art portfolio, a meta-mechanic sculpted quirk and a large public-art collection.

Visit the marble-clad underground tunnel linking new and old galleries at Zürich’s Kunsthaus 3, a dazzling work of art in itself.

Turn conventional art (and trainspotting) on its head at Plateforme 10 4, Lausanne’s cutting-edge arts centre at the train station.

Admire masterpieces by Picasso, Klee and other modern masters at Sammlung Rosengart 5, Lucerne’s ‘Picasso Museum’.

WINE TRAILS

Savouring local reds, whites and rosé in Switzerland is a rare joy in this globalised world – few are exported. Sublime whites come from steeply terraced vineyards stitched with drystone walls on Lake Geneva’s shores. Italianate climes in Ticino produce full-bodied merlot, and fruity rosé fuels the Route du Vignoble vineyard trail between Neuchâtel and Biel lakes.

Ordering Wine

In restaurants and wine bars, order wine in multiples of déci (decilitre) – two déci is roughly one glass.

siamionau pavel/Shutterstock ©

Open Cellars

Meet local winegrowers and taste boutique wines at May’s caves ouvertes days in Valais (caves-ouvertes-valais.ch) and Vaud (mescavesouvertes.ch).

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Vineyard Dining

Is there anything more romantic than dining around a long table between vines? La Tavolata des Vins du Valais (tavolata-valais.ch) in August is just that.

BEST WINE EXPERIENCES

Unearth emerald vines marching uphill in perfect unison from Lake Geneva in the prized, Unesco-listed Lavaux 1 wine region.

Hike through vineyards with music, winegrowers and tasting glass in hand in Sierre 2.

Taste crisp Rieslings in a Torkel (wine cellar) and overnight in a wine barrel in Graubünden’s premier wine region Bündner Herrschaft 3.

Explore Pinot noir country around Schaffenhausen with a scenic bike ride along the Klettgau Wine Route 4.

Take part in a digital grape harvest, make your own wine and learn about Switzerland’s best whites at a 12th-century castle in Aigle 5.

RAILROAD ROMANCE

There’s no denying it: Swiss train travel is dreamy. No other country pairs slick, punctual trains and a kaleidoscope of giddy views with such harmony and romance. Summer or winter, this slideshow of epic proportions has been seducing travellers since the days of the Grand Tour. Legendary trains with panoramic coaches such as the Bernina, Glacier or Golden Pass Express are the tip of the iceberg: regular services in this picture-perfect country can be equally bewitching.

Glacier Express | alessandro colle/shutterstock ©

Get the App

Download the SBB app before arrival – it’s a one-stop shop for working out train itineraries, checking schedules and buying tickets.

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Bagging a Window Seat

It often costs. Priority boarding (Sfr7) ensures a window seat on Zermatt’s Gornergratbahn, as does pricier ‘excellence class’ on the Glacier Express (pictured).

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Explore Off Track

On remoter routes like Montreux’s cogwheel train to Rochers de Naye, alight at a ‘stop-on-request’ station – stations display panels with hiking routes.

BEST TRAIN EXPERIENCES

Chink champagne flutes on the Glacier Express 1, among the world’s most storied trains linking two glitzy alpine resorts.

Puff up to snow-dusted peaks aboard the Brienz Rothorn Bahn 2, one of two steam-powered cogwheel train lines.

Enjoy the nostalgia of 19th-century rail travel on a little red train through flower meadows and storybook forests to Schynige Platte 3.

Soak up the vintage glamour and Matterhorn views on Zermatt’s Gornergratbahn 4 to Gornergrat at 3089m.

Book ahead for a ride on one of the original steam trains – Europe’s oldest mountain railway – back in service on Mt Rigi 5.

BEACH LIFE

It has no coastline, but Switzerland’s enviable flush of alpine lakes and rivers provide ample opportunity to strip off, play the sun lizard on sand or rock, and – when it all gets sizzling-hot – dive in. This being hyperactive Switzerland, beach life is as much about action afloat as cocktail- or kombucha-quaffing at sunset.

Swimming with Fish

In Basel, buy a Wickelfisch (a fish-shaped watertight bag to stuff your clothes in) from the tourist office to float downstream in style (pictured).

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Swiss Softs

Waterfront snack bars (buvettes/buvetten) sell drinks and light bites. Cool down Swiss-style with a Rivella (pictured), Sinalco (like Orangina) or a blue herbal Zyt.

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Paddling Out

From May to September, many lake beaches have a hut with SUP, kayaks and pedalos to rent; some have speedboats. Lifejackets and wet bags are provided.

BEST BEACH EXPERIENCES

Dip from rocks and drink with Lausanne’s student set at industrial container turned sunset bar Jetée de la Compagnie 1.

Drift down the Rhine River with city slickers commuting home to see Basel 2 from a very different perspective.

Leap into Bern’s 3 turquoise ribbon of a river, the Aare, at sunrise or with the lunchtime work crowd.

Try a badi for every mood and moment in Zürich 4: art nouveau pool house, floating sauna, hipster hangout.

Soak up the old-school romance of a 1920s bathhouse at Rorschach’s Badhütte 5 on Lake Constance’s shores.

STORYBOOK CASTLES

Standing sentry on hillside or by the water’s edge, Switzerland’s portfolio of fairy-tale castles enhances its natural good looks. Linger beyond the snapshot selfie to immerse yourself in the stories hidden within these picture-perfect facades: modern Swiss history might start in 1291, but it’s the period before that gave Switzerland its finest schlösser, châteaux and castelli (castles).

Schloss Spiez, Lake Thun | daliu/shutterstock ©

Modern Museums

Switzerland doesn’t do castle ruins: well-tended castles house museums celebrating everything from Swiss history to tin soldiers and toys. Many close on Monday.

Lavish Libraries

Up there with the most regal of castle libraries is the rococo library inside St Gallen’s Unesco-listed abbey – tiptoe between bookshelves in felt slippers.

BEST CASTLE EXPERIENCES

Gulp in breathtaking vistas and centuries of history in Bellinzona’s 1 priceless trio of magnificent medieval castles.

Follow a trail of flowers and art sculptures along the lakeshore from Montreux to Lake Geneva’s magnificent Château de Chillon 2.

Visit Lake Thun’s turreted beauty in Spiez 3 – no schloss (castle) in Germanic Switzerland is as fairy-tale.

Castle-hop in a region straight out of legend. Don’t miss Schloss Habsburg 4, ancestral home to the powerful Habsburg dynasty.

Cruise from village to village to uncover French-style gardens, period porcelain, sumptious salons and tin soldiers in Nyon’s 5 châteaux.

REGIONS & CITIES

Find the places that tick all your boxes.

ITINERARIES

Urban Artistry

Allow: 7 days Distance: 550km

The perfect antidote to natural rural beauty is Switzerland’s urban edge. Not only does travelling by train from city to city unveil a smorgasbord of avant-garde art museums, architectural curiosities and cultural happenings, it also shines light on the country’s mixed bag of cultures, eloquently expressed in four languages and a bonanza of varied travel experiences.

Railway station, St Gallen | gaid kornsilapa/shutterstock ©

1 Geneva 1 DAY

Nose-dive into multilingual Switzerland in Geneva Explore its old-town museums, boutiques and cafes. Swoon over Lake Geneva views from the cathedral tower – this is Europe’s largest alpine lake. Dash under the Jet d’Eau on the waterfront and lunch with a cool crowd at Bâins des Paquis.

Detour: Take an e-bike for a spin to Hermance on the Swiss–French border. 3 hours

prosiaczeq/Shutterstock ©

2 Lausanne 1 DAY

Pulling into Lausanne train station, people-watch over a coffee and croissant at Café de Grancy. Devour Swiss art and photography at Plateforme 10, and world-class Art Brut at the seminal Collection de l’Art Brut. Spend the afternoon exploring lakefront Ouchy or Lausanne’s hilly old town.

Detour: Tour the Lavaux wine region to sample Swiss whites between vines. 5 hours

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3 Bern 1 DAY

Pinch yourself: despite the laid-back vibe, cobbled Bern really is the Swiss capital. Ditch your best French now for German, and allow the small town with a big medieval heart to win you over with Switzerland’s oldest fine-arts collection at Kunstmuseum and Guggenheim-esque Zentrum Paul Klee. If it’s summer, drift past historic landmarks of the Altstadt afloat the Aare River.

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4 Basel 1 DAY

Aplomb on the French, German and Swiss borders, sassy Basel is captivating. Start at top-billing Fondation Beyeler; then, for something different, spin along the art-strewn Rehberger-Weg footpath to design-buff-must Vitra. Return to Grossbasel’s Altstadt on the Rhine’s south bank and swim with a Wickelfisch (watertight bag) if you dare. Come dusk, riverbank drinks at artsy Cargo Bar are all the rage.

Jean Housen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons ©

5 Zürich 2 DAYS

Zürich is as ‘big city’ as Switzerland gets. Tour the old town, marvelling at Chagall stained glass in the cathedral and zipping across the river to old and modern masters in the Kunsthaus. Venture to Züri-West. Watch sunset make its splash from a lakeshore badi (swimming area).

Detour: Catch a train to abbey-rich St Gallen, ‘writing room of Europe’. 4-6 hours

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6 Bellinzona 1 DAY

Load ‘Italian’ in your translation app as you pull into Ticino’s head-turning capital, Bellinzona Begin on the medieval ramparts of Castelgrande, one of three forts with top-of-the-beanstalk views of the old town’s cafe-rimmed piazzas, Renaissance churches and snowcapped Alps beyond. Spot Lago Maggiore from Castello di Montebello. Fuel up on homemade pasta and full-throttle Italianate vibe at Ristorante Pedemonte.

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ITINERARIES

The Glacier Express

Allow: 6 days Distance: 290km

One of those irresistible ‘champagne picnic’ train journeys, this mythical rail route has been in every savvy traveller’s little black book of must-dos since the 1930s. Count eight hours in one stretch – or savour it slowly, as several sweet nuggets interwoven with overnights in some of Switzerland’s most fashionable alpine resorts.

Lago St Moritzersee, St Mortiz | dmitry eagle orlov/shutterstock ©

1 St Moritz 1 DAY

With its shimmering aquamarine lake, emerald forests and aloof mountains, St Moritz looks a million dollars. You can easily devote a day to celeb-spotting on boutique-studded Via Serlas and carving some of the country’s greenest slopes at Corviglia: snow canons here use reclaimed water. Bonus buzz: clattering down the world’s oldest bobsleigh run.

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2 Chur HALF DAY

Expect fatal attraction in Switzerland’s oldest city and Graubünden’s capital Chur, a captivating overnight with its riverside Altstadt, historic hotels and busy bar scene. If you’re craving a replay of the iconic Landwasser Viaduct you crossed en route here, hop aboard a train on the scenic Rhaetian Railway to Arosa – only an hour away – to window-drool over another vintage viaduct.

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3 Disentis HALF DAY

Everyone briefly hops off the Glacier Express in this small village in western Graubünden while the train switches to cogwheel engine for the ensuing climb up to the Oberalp Pass at 2044m. Linger longer in Disentis to drink in its unique Romansch vibe and visit the lavishly stuccoed baroque church and museum in the massive Benedictine monastery towering above town.

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4 Andermatt 1 DAY

Dump your bags at your hotel and go for a hike – at the crux of several mountain passes, Andermatt is top-drawer hiking terrain. Either train it 20 minutes back to the Oberalp Pass to walk to the source of the Rhine at Lai da Tuma, returning by cable car, or gorge-climb at Devil’s Bridge. Refuel on a perfect rösti at Gasthaus zum Sternen.

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5 Aletsch Glacier 1 DAY

Hop off in Betten, cable-car station for the drop-dead gorgeous, car-free village and ski resort of Bettmeralp, or in neighbouring Fiesch. Both villages are launchpads for unforgettable hiking and skiing with open-mouthed views of the Aletsch Glacier Plan ahead to embark on a guided trek – with crampons or touring skis – on this mind-blowing sea of ice.

gertjan hooijer/shutterstock ©

6 Zermatt 2 DAYS

No finale is more fitting than that first glimpse of the Matterhorn in car-free Zermatt The iconic peak dominates any stay in this fashionable mountain resort in the Upper Valais. Rides of a lifetime on the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and Gornergratbahn easily fill two days, but you could happily spend a week hiking its trails or skiing one of Europe’s most desirables.

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ITINERARIES

Chocolate Flavours

Allow: 4 days Distance: 380km

No country is more synonymous with chocolate. More than half of all Swiss chocolate is consumed by the Swiss, making this the obvious place in which to savour it. Switzerland’s Chocolate Train consistently gets top billing, but there are ample sweeter ops for crafting, cooking and going plain crazy over Swiss chocolate.

Maison Cailler chocolate shop, Broc | name/credit ©

1 Geneva HALF DAY

Chocolate pearls, cocoa-dusted truffles, dark chocolate shells filled with fiery herbal génépi (liqueur) and praline cigars: Geneva chocolate tours run by the tourist office whisk chocolate aficionados around a select handful of the city’s 30-odd luxury chocolatiers. Don’t miss the old town – the spot where Geneva’s ‘smash a chocolate cauldron’ tradition was born in 1602.

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2 Vevey HALF DAY

Charlie Chaplin, exceptional dining, goddess lake views deep into the crux of the Alps: there’s bags to be said for captivating Vevey, HQ to Nestlé since 1814. Take a dip and lunch at the lakefront, then hit the Swiss food giant’s playful Alimentarium to gen up on nutrition, chocolate, and edibles past and present. Spot the cylindrical chocolate bar (a fake) from a 1910s window display.

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3 Broc HALF DAY

In 1819, François-Louis Cailler opened a chocolate factory in an old mill in Broc and the rest is history. Twirl through the history of Switzerland’s oldest chocolate brand at Maison Cailler, tour its factory or join a chocolate-making workshop.

Detour: Further indulge your sweet tooth in Gruyères with piped meringues smothered in thick double Gruyère cream. 2 hours

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4 Interlaken 1 DAY

Things risk getting messy in Interlaken, daredevil hub for adrenalin-fused outdoor action in buckets and home base to Sandy and Brad’s Funky Chocolate Club. After spending a day indulging in your pick of alpine sporting adventure – abseiling waterfalls, thrashing white water, that sort of stuff – what can be sweeter than getting your hands dirty making chocolate?

Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons ©

5 Lucerne HALF DAY

Lakeside living, culture and nightlife blend in graceful Lucerne, a Goethe and Queen Victoria favourite. Tune into its chocolate story at the town’s blockbuster transport museum where the 20-minute ‘Swiss Chocolate Adventure’ funfair ride ends with tastings led by a Lindt chocolatier.

Detour: Feel the spirit of William Tell at fjord-like Lake Uri 5 hours

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6 Zürich 1 DAY

Summon your inner Willy Wonka in urban Zürich where the cinematic Lindt Home of Chocolate unwraps Swiss chocolate’s backstory. In town, bite into a chunk of melt-in-your-mouth Grand Cru Absolu at historic Café Sprüngli and shop for bean-to-bar goodies crafted by new-wave contemporary chocolate makers.

Detour: Palate-cleanse with the theatrical splash of the thunderous Rheinfall waterfall. 3 hours

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ITINERARIES

Northern Treasures