Switzerland

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Inn River, Switzerland

Introducing Switzerland

If you could travel through only one European country, which might you choose? Italy? France? Germany? How about a taste of three in one? That can only mean Switzerland!

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Known as a summer and winter sports paradise (just look at those glistening white 4000m-plus Alpine peaks and glittering lakes), Switzerland is where people first skied for fun. Illustrious names evoke all the romance and glamorous drama of the mountain high life: Zermatt, St Moritz, Interlaken, Gstaad, the Jungfrau, Verbier and more. Cities like Geneva (the most cosmopolitan), Zürich (the most outrageous), Basel and Lausanne heave with heady artistic activity and sometimes incendiary nightlife.

Beyond the après-ski chic, edelweiss and Heidi lies a complex country of cohabiting cultures. It not only has four languages (Swiss German, French, Italian and Romansch), but the cultural variety to match. You could be chomping on sausages over beer in an oom-pah-pah Stübli one day and pasta over a glass of merlot in a granite grotto the next. And if over-indulgence becomes a problem try one of the country's thermal baths, from Yverdon-les-Bains to Scuol.

The grandeur of the finest churches, such as the cathedrals in Lausanne and Bern, contrasts with sparkling but lesser-known treasures like the frescoes of Müstair or the abbey complex of St Gallen (both World Heritage sites).

The list of enchanting towns is endless: from Lucerne with its covered bridge to Neuchâtel and its fountains; from Gruyères with its cheese, and Grimentz with its traditional timber houses to the sgraffito-blazoned buildings of Engadine towns like Scuol and Zuoz.

Whether visiting the remotest Ticino villages or sampling the finest of Valais wines, you'll find Switzerland a chocolate box bursting with unexpected flavours.

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Thorn Tree forum discussion

Recent posts

  1. clementis_fur_cap avatar
    RE: Paris, Italy, Switzerland and London in August

    by clementis_fur_cap 27 May 2012

    Sushi, you've expressed my feelings far more reasonably and diplomatically than I could have managed. Thank you.
  2. sushi75 avatar
    RE: Paris, Italy, Switzerland and London in August

    by sushi75 27 May 2012

    +I think 2 nights in Florence is fine. It's amazing and I love it, but can be seen in a day or so for your first visit.+ Remarks like…
  3. Pirate_at_50 avatar
    RE: Great Place - but issues

    by Pirate_at_50 27 May 2012

    Aren't you the bleeding heart? BBC? How's England doing in that regard? Or did you watch it in Switzerland where they actually know what…

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Top cities in Switzerland

  1. Geneva
  2. Zürich
  3. Bern
  4. Lausanne
  5. Lucerne
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