We live in Switzerland and we are obviously biased, but we can’t help and advise you to visit Switzerland whenever you have a chance! And here are our top things to do in Switzerland which are also best reasons to visit this amazing country.
Tour inside a natural postcard
You can find higher mountains, bigger lakes, denser forests in many places in the world. But why you should go and visit Switzerland is because this amazing country has many of these natural wonders in a relatively small area. Every photo you take is a potential post card! Switzerland is home to 208 mountains over 3,000 meters high and up to 3000 Swiss lakes. That’s plenty of hiking and adventures for activity lovers from skiing to sailing and swimming. All of which are among the top things to do in Switzerland! What makes the Swiss Alps particularly popular is the ease of accessibility through a network of trains, funiculars and cable cars that enables you to reach almost any point even if you are not a mountaineer. Its also one of the drivers of tourism in Switzerland.
On top, Switzerland contains some of Europe’s best and biggest. The highest railway station in Jungfrau (called Top of Europe for a reason). One of the biggest lakes in Western Europe: lake Geneva (known also as Lac Leman). The largest plain waterfall on the European continent: the Rhine Falls. The largest glacier in the Alps and all of Europe: the Great Aletsch Glacier. And the world’s longest suspended pedestrian bridge: the Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge! That’s on top of several iconic landmarks such as the infamous Matterhorn in Zermatt and the Schilthorn where James Bond shot one of his movies! If you are into adventure you can take a paragliding trip over some of the key Swiss valleys. Or for the less adventurous ones a hot air balloon trip or a helicopter ride is highly recommended. Just some of exciting things to do in Switzerland.
The land of Swiss chocolate
Switzerland is globally known for its high quality chocolate with several renowned labels. 18 Swiss chocolate companies together produced about 200 tons of Swiss chocolate in year 2017. That’s a lot of chocolate! The Swiss residents definitely are chocolate lovers and eat approximately 10kg of chocolate annually. It’s in Switzerland where milk chocolate was invented more than 100 years ago! Several of the big Swiss Chocolate companies such as Cailler or Lindt, not only produce and sell but also they amplify the experience for visitors via a guided tour through their museums. When you visit Switzerland, going more local is highly advised. You can try the best Swiss chocolate in the world by visiting some of the local but well known chocolatiers! This is one of the distinctive tourism in Switzerland activities.
Say “Swiss cheese”!
Emmental? Gruyère? Switzerland is home to 450 varieties of Swiss cheese, ranging from soft to extra hard. The Swiss make it even more distinctive by giving it hard-to-pronounce names like Sbrinz, Mutschli, Formaggini, and Tomme Vaudoise. Switzerland can even solidly prove how fantastic its Swiss cheese is: out of 2,615 cheese varieties from 22 countries in 89 categories, it captured the first prize in 2014 at the World Championship Cheese Contest and was a runner up in 2016 and 2018. The Swiss’ love for cheese is obvious also in making a national dish out of Swiss cheese. Fondue is basically a dish of melted cheese. Definitely you should try eating natural fondue or with different flavours while visiting!
More than just Swiss cheese? The medieval village of Gruyères not only gave its name to the famous cheese type, but also tops a dreamy landscape and hosts a fantastic Swiss castle that is a no miss to visit!
If you want to taste Swiss wine then you definitely need to visit Switzerland! The reason is simple. Only about 2% of Switzerland’s wine leaves the country! The Swiss produce about 200 million liters of wine per year and consume almost all of it themselves. During spring, several vineyards open their doors simultaneously on a designated weekend in May or June (“Caves Ouvertes”) and invite guests to taste their wine for free! There you can enjoy a sip(s) of wine overlooking fantastic scenery of the vineyards and lake Geneva. A no miss is visiting the Lavaux region vineyards, an UNESCO Heritage gem. Touring in between the wine villages and contemplating on a heavenly view of the vineyards covering the mountains and touching Lac Leman!
Swiss watches: watch the clock!
One of Switzerland’s most known and luxurious products are…as you know… luxury watches! A product of Swiss love for precision, unmatchable craftsmanship and ultimate luxury. It’s thanks to the Swiss that we have the handiness of clocks on our wrists. When Calvinists banned jewellery in 1541, goldsmiths and jewellers in Geneva brainstormed the invention of watches, as a functional timepiece was acceptable. Since then, it has proven to be one of the most successful industries of the country. The museum of Patek Philippe in Geneva is a fantasy to the eye and a big story teller of the history of watches.
Reach anyone, anywhere: a multinational and well-connected country!
Switzerland has such a diverse population, and has declared 4 national languages: French (20 %), German (64%), Italian (7%), and Romansh (a bit over 1%). So it is quite fine that you might not understand everybody. So you can feel comfortable as a foreign visitor or a resident speaking your own language.
As to distance and transportation, you definitely shouldn’t worry about that. The Swiss public transport works as a Swiss clock! This one of the key drivers of tourism in Switzerland! All cities, villages and towns connect through a meticulous railway, tram and bus network. A bit expensive but always on time, and you can always benefit from half price passes, day cards or other offers. Switzerland offers several scenic train rides that are worth every Swiss franc spent! Additionally, being in the center of Europe and part of the Schengen Agreement, it is easy to visit Switzerland. Tourism in Switzerland flourished, as the country connects with Europe through direct fast trains such as to Paris or Milan or to the world through several international airports such as Geneva, Zurich or Lugano.
I hope we brought you closer to the decision of going to Switzerland that you will never regret! And let us know if we can help you with any question you might have when planning your trip. Hope soon we will soon see you in Switzerland and be able to say “Bienvenue! Willkomen! Benvenuti! Bainvegni!”
