Introduction:
Switzerland may be neutral but it is certainly not flavourless.
The fusion of German, French and Italian ingredients has formed
a robust national culture, and the country's alpine landscapes
have enough zing to reinvigorate the most jaded traveller.
Goethe summed up Switzerland succinctly as a combination of
'the colossal and the well-ordered'. You can be sure that
your trains and letters will be on time. The tidy, just-so
precision of Swiss towns is tempered by the lofty splendour
of the landscapes that surround them.
Switzerland conjures up a fair swag of clichés: irresistible
chocolates, yodelling Heidis, humourless bankers, international
bureaucracies and an orderly, anally-retentive and rather
bland national persona. But Harry Lime was wrong on more than
one account when, in The Third Man, he said 500 years of Swiss
democracy and peace had produced nothing more than the cuckoo
clock. For a start, the Germans invented this monstrous timepiece;
secondly, the Swiss, who are a brainy lot, have won more Nobel
Prizes and registered more patents per capita than any other
nation on earth.
When to Visit Switzerland:
You can visit Switzerland any time throughout the year. Summer
lasts roughly from June to September, and offers the most
pleasant climate for outdoor pursuits. Unfortunately, you
won't be the only tourist during this period, so prices can
be high, accommodation hard to find and the mainstream sights
crowded. You'll find much better deals and fewer crowds in
the shoulder seasons of April-May and late-September-October.
If you're keen on winter sports, resorts in the Alps begin
operating in late-November, move into full swing around Christmas,
and close down when the snow begins to melt in April.
 Attraction
in Switzerland:
Château de Chillon
Chillon Castle receives more visitors than any other historical
building in Switzerland. Occupying a stunning position right
on Lake Geneva, the fortress caught the public imagination
when Lord Byron wrote about the fate of Bonivard, a follower
of the Reformation who was chained to the fifth pillar in
the dungeons for four years in the 16th century.
The castle, still in excellent condition, dates from the 11th
century and has been much modified and enlarged since then.
It's worth spending an afternoon viewing the tower, courtyards
and dungeons.
Geneva
Geneva is Switzerland's second-largest city, but surely the
most international: a third of the population is from elsewhere.
The city is crowded with museums, has many excellent cultural
events, even more good restaurants, and is ideally placed
for quick hops to the Swiss and French Alps.
Geneva is a great place to get stuck on a rainy day; it's
packed with museums, many with a horological bent. Outside,
the towering Jet d'Eau and the pleasant gardens tempt feet
in the direction of the lake. There's also plenty of classic
Swiss kitsch to combat the high-brow culture.
 Great
St Bernard Pass Hospice Museum
Perhaps the Great St Bernard Pass should be renamed the Great
Alsation Pass. It might save the local rescue dogs at the
local hospice some embarrassment. These days the affable Alsatian
breed does the rescuing. The museum explains the importance
of the monks' rescue work and religious vocation, which dates
back to the 11th century.
Jungfrau Region
Some of Switzerland's most magnificent views are found around
the peaks of the Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger, their rugged
flanks made even more awe-inspiring by the greens, and golds
of nearby hills and valleys. The best rail trip (it's the
highest railway in Europe) cuts through both the Eiger and
the Mönch before terminating at the tip of the majestic
Jungfraujoch.
Lake Thun
For some great castle touring head, to the Lake Thun area
in central Switzerland, just south of Bern. In the town of
Thun itself, you'll find the 12th-century Schloss Thun on
the hill. It contains a good historical museum and there are
fine views from the turrets of the Romanesque tower.
One of the best castles around the lake is the 13th-century
Schloss Oberhofen, which was once held by the Habsburgs; it
has a good collection of grand furniture, portraits and  weapons,
and even boasts a Turkish smoking room. The gardens were landscaped
in the 19th century and are a fine place for a stroll. Schloss
Hunegg, at nearby Hilterfingen, was built in the 1860s and
renovated in 1900. It's a fascinating mix of neo-Renaissance
and art nouveau styles and has a funky split-level bathroom
complete with a nickel-plated bathtub. If you're a castle
buff, you can squeeze in a visit to all three fortifications
in a day-trip by boat.
Ascona
The relatively low-lying canton of Ticino, situated south
of the Alps, enjoys a Mediterranean climate and imports a
distinctive Italian flavour to Switzerland. The village of
Ascona on the shore of Lake Maggiore is a regional centre
for the arts and its backstreets are filled with art galleries
and craft shops. The community of artists and intellectuals
living here at the beginning of the century embraced the 'back
to nature' movement and welcomed the exiled Lenin for a time.
The Museo Comunale D'Arte Moderna includes paintings by artists
connected with the town, among them Paul Klee, Hans Arp, Ben
Nicholson and Alexej Jawlensky.
Estavayer-le-Lac
This small resort on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel has
a perfectly preserved medieval centre, but the real allure
is its collection of 130-year-old frogs in the Regional Museum.
The stuffed slimeys are the work of 19th-century eccentric,
François Perrier, who spent much of his leisure time
killing frogs, preserving their skins, and filling them with
sand.
He then arranged the frogs in parodies of human situations
- courting, studying, playing games, etc - and ornamented
them with props. Go figure.
Franches Montagnes
Overlooked by most visitors, this pretty woodlands area in
the Jura mountain chain has hiking trails and cross-country
ski trails. Horse-riding is also popular, and the horses in
the area are supposedly renowned for their gentleness and
calm disposition. The main town in the region is Saignelégier,
which hosts the national horse show in August.
Reaching Switzerland:
The main entry points for international flights are Zürich
and Geneva. Basel, Bern and Lugarno airports also receive
international flights. There is no departure tax when flying
out of Switzerland. Trains are a popular and convenient way
to travel to Switzerland, and European rail passes make train
travel affordable. Buses tend to be slower and less comfortable,
though sometimes cheaper. Getting to Switzerland by road is
simple, since there are fast, well-maintained motorways through
all surrounding countries. If you have time and money, it's
possible to get to Switzerland by boat along the Rhine all
the way from Amsterdam. Switzerland can also be reached by
lake steamer ferries from Germany via Lake Constance, from
Italy via Lake Maggiore and from France via Lake Geneva. |
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