Best of Switzerland 1 Preview

Welcome to Switzerland Look beyond the chocolate, cuckoo clocks and yodelling – contemporary Switzerland, land of four languages, is all about once-in-a-lifetime journeys, heart-racing alpine pursuits, spectacular natural beauty and vibrant urban culture. Switzerland’s ravishing landscapes demand immedi- ate action – grab boots, leap on board, ring bike bell and let spirits rip. In summer, hiking and biking trails SWITZERLAND invite exploration of Switzerland’s glacier- encrusted mountains and deep green valleys, glittering lake- TOP SIGHTS, AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES shores and terraced vineyards. View the grandeur from a hot-air balloon, parachute, or white-water raft, or seek out close-up encounters with Eiger’s chiselled north face and Jungfraujoch’s crevassed icy expanses (extraordinarily, you don’t need to be a mountaineer to do it). Come winter, skiing and snow- boarding in Graubünden, Valais, Bernese Oberland and Central Switzerland take centre stage. The perfect counterpoint to Switzerland’s rural beauty is its urban edge. A host of great cities awaits you here: Bern with its medieval old town and world- class modern art; chic Geneva astride Europe’s largest lake; and ubercool Zürich with its riverside bars and reborn industrial districts. Ever innovative, the Swiss have always embraced the new and the experimental. Capturing the zeitgeist throughout the country – even in back-of-beyond corners of the Alps – are cutting-edge cultural venues, avant-garde galleries, attention-grabbing architecture and fresh-faced design. And then there’s Swiss cuisine: a hearty and flavour- some celebration of gooey cheese desperate to be dipped in, comfort food favourites such as rösti and Spätzli (egg noodles), air-dried meats and autumnal game and, of course, velvety Swiss chocolate.

The perfect counterpoint to Switzerland’s rural beauty is its urban edge.

Gregor Clark, Kerry Christiani, Craig McLachlan, Benedict Walker View towards the Fraumünster (p165), from Limmat riverbank MARINADA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

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#] Ravensburg #\ Mulhouse #\ Contents Lake Meersburg Kempten Schaffhausen^# Constance #\ #\ Friedrichshafen #\ Belfort #] AHRheinfall #] Vesoul Waldshut Konstanz #\ (Constance) Lake Plan Your Trip R Constance h EuroAirport A5 i (Bodensee) FRANCE ^# ne River ^#Frauenfeld Switzerland’s Top 9 ...... 4 Local Life ...... 18 Itineraries ...... 24 Montbéliard #\ Basel #\Winterthur ^#Bregenz #\ Need to Know ...... 14 Month by Month ...... 20 Family Travel ...... 30 Baden A5Zürich Airport Aarau ^# Hot Spots For...... 16 Get Inspired ...... 23 ^# St Gallen Jura ^# ^# Delémont ^# Zürich p149 Olten ^# Appenzell #] Besançon Moutier #\ Lake Zürich Davos ...... 100 #\ Geneva 33 Zermatt 69 (Zürichsee)#\ Feldkirch AUSTRIA ^# Solothurn Rapperswil …at a Glance 34 … at a Glance 70 Klosters ...... 101 Bludenz ^# Zug Buchs #\ La Chaux- #]Biel-Bienne #_ #\ #\ de-Fonds VADUZ Geneva The Matterhorn ...... 72 Lake Biel (Bieler LIECHTENSTEIN Old Town ...... 36 ^# Lucerne Glacier Express ...... 74 Central See) ^# Glarus ^# Neuchâtel ^# Lake Lucerne Schwyz Geneva Alfresco ..... 38 Walking Tour: Switzerland 103 (Vierwaldstättersee) #_ Bern p173 Landquart #\ Sights ...... 42 Aletsch Glacier...... 76 … at a Glance 104 Pontarlier #\ Lac de Neuchâtel Central Martina #\ Shopping ...... 46 Sights ...... 78 Switzerland ^# Altdorf Klosters #\ Lucerne ...... 106 ^# Chur Entertainment ...... 47 Activities ...... 79 ^# p103 #\ Engelberg Lake Lucerne ...... 110 #] Fribourg #] Davos Scuol#\ #\ Champagnole Yverdon- Brienz GMt Titlis Arosa#\ Eating ...... 48 Eating ...... 79 #]Thun #\ Engelberg & les-Bains (3239m) in Lake Thun rhe Drinking & Drinking &

(Thunersee) Oberalp der Mt Titlis ...... 112

#\ or L V #]Interlaken Pass ine Nightlife ...... 49 Nightlife ...... 82 Spiez d Walking Tour: Grindelwald Bernese !A Jura #\ #\ #\ Enga Swiss Wengen #\ Andermatt Müstair Bürgenstock #\ Oberland National Gruyères Park #\ St Gotthard St Mortiz & Morez #\ Lake Geneva Mürren G p125 L Felsenweg ...... 116 ^# Lausanne Château- Pass Graubünden Lake Geneva 53 St Moritz & p53 d’Œx Jungfraujoch San Lucerne ...... 118 #\ Bernardino L #] Graubünden 85 #\ Vevey #\ Gstaad (3471m) p85 #\ … at a Glance 54 Lake Geneva Pass Bormio

#\ Aletsch L Weggis ...... 120 (Lac Léman) Montreux Glacier … at a Glance 86 Bernina #\ Château #\ Leukerbad Pass Brunnen ...... 121 Geneva de Chillon ...... 56 Hiking & Wildlife #\ Aigle Montana Brig Chiavenna Engelberg ...... 122 International #\#\ Rhône #\ Va #\ Crans ll in the Swiss Airport #\ e M Museums of Visp a A5 g #\ Brusio National Park ...... 88 ^# g Geneva p33 ^# i Lake Geneva ...... 58 Sion a #\ ^# Tirano Winter & Summer Bernese Locarno Bellinzona Sondrio #\ Edolo Lavaux & #] #\ in St Moritz ...... 90 Martigny Saas- Domodossola Gravedona #\ Aigle Wineries ...... 60 Oberland 125 #\ #] #\ Verbier Fee#\ Ticino's Lago di Davos & Klosters ... 94 … at a Glance 126 #\Cluses Como #\Täsch Lausanne ...... 62 Lake Towns Walking Tour: Matterhorn #\Zermatt Lugano Nyon ...... 65 (4478m) Zermatt p69 p189 #] #\ Varenna Jungfraujoch G Lago di Valleys & Lakes ...... 96 Lugano Chamonix Grand St Vevey ...... 66 Train ...... 128 #]Annecy #] G Dufourspitze Lago St Moritz ...... 98 Bernard (4634m) Verbania#] Maggiore

Pass ITALY Cully ...... 67 Skiing the L Pontresina ...... 100 G #]Lecco Lutry ...... 67 Jungfrau Region ...132 Mont Courmayeur Lago Lovere #] Blanc #\ d'Orta #\ Como (4807m) Aosta #\ #\ St-Vincent Lago d'Iseo FRANCE #\Alberville #]Bergamo

Monza #]

#\ Moûtiers #\ Ivrea ^# ^# Novara Milan

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Hiking in Rheinfall ...... 156 Activities ...... 185 the Bernese A Day in Eating ...... 185 Oberland ...... 134 Schaffhausen ...... 158 Drinking & Interlaken St Gallen ...... 162 Nightlife ...... 186 Outdoors ...... 136 Sights ...... 165 Entertainment ...... 186 Walking Tour: Activities ...... 166 Faulhornweg ...... 138 Tours ...... 167 Interlaken ...... 140 Ticino’s Shopping ...... 167 Lake Towns 189 Grindelwald ...... 143 Entertainment ...... 168 … at a Glance 190 Lauterbrunnen ...... 145 Eating ...... 169 Wengen ...... 146 Castles of Drinking & Bellinzona ...... 192 Mürren ...... 147 Nightlife ...... 170 A Day on the Water ...... 194 Zurich 149 Bern 173 Bellinzona ...... 198 … at a Glance 150 … at a Glance 174 Lugano ...... 199 Gandria ...... 204 Gastronomic Berner Altstadt .....176 Zürich ...... 152 Locarno ...... 204 Day Trip Zürich to Basel ...... 178 Shopping ...... 154 Sights ...... 183

In Focus Survival Guide Switzerland Directory A–Z ...... 242 Today ...... 208 Transport ...... 247 History ...... 210 Language ...... 253 Activities ...... 217 Index ...... 255 Swiss Way of Life ....225 Symbols & The Arts...... 229 Map Key ...... 259 The Swiss Table ...... 233 Swiss Wine ...... 238 Cow in the Bernese Oberland (p125) STEVEN VAN AERSCHOT/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

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Geneva Switzerland’s international city by the lake More than 150 nationalities jostle for a stool at the bar in this French- speaking cosmopolitan city (p32), where luxury watchmakers, chocolate gods, diplomats and artists come together around lovely Lake Geneva. Canary-yellow mouettes (‘seagulls’) ferry locals across the water and Mont Blanc looks over the action. Strolling Old Town streets, savouring the vibrant cafe and museum scene, paddleboarding on the lake and dashing beneath the iconic Jet d’Eau fountain is what life’s about here. 1

001-top-9-bo-swi1.indd1-top-9-bo-swi1.indd 4 113-Apr-183-Apr-18 11:33:5611:33:56 AMAM 14 Plan Your Trip Need to Know C Currency When to Go Swiss franc (officially CHF, also Sfr) Language German, French, Basel Italian, Romansch GO Jul & Aug, Dec # Visas # Zürich GO Apr–Aug Generally not required for stays of up to 90 # Bern days. Some non- GO Jul & Aug, Nov European citizens re- Swiss Alps quire a Schengen Visa. GO late Dec–early Apr, May–Aug Money # ATMs are at every Geneva GO Any time, airport, most train Jun–Sep stations and on every second street corner in Warm to hot summers, mild winters towns and cities; Visa, Warm to hot summers, cold winters MasterCard and Amex Mild summers, cold winters widely accepted. Cold climate Polar climate, below zero year round Mobile Phones Most mobile (cell) phones brought from overseas will function High Season (Jul, Aug & Dec–Apr) in Switzerland; check  In July and August walkers and cyclists hit high-altitude with your provider trails. about costs. Prepaid local SIM cards are  Christmas and New Year see serious snow-sports action. widely available.  Late December to early April is high season for skiing. Time GMT/UTC plus one Shoulder (Apr–Jun & Sep) hour. Daylight-saving  Get accommodation deals in ski resorts and hot spots. time starts on the last Saturday in March;  Spring is warm and idyllic, with flowers and local produce. clocks go back again  Watch the grape harvest in autumn. on the last Saturday in October. Low Season (Oct–Mar) Note that, in German,  Mountain resorts hibernate until early December. halb is used to indicate the half-hour before  Prices are up to 50% lower than in high season. the hour, hence halb  Sights and restaurants open for fewer days and acht (half eight) means shorter hours. 7.30, not 8.30.

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