Switzerland

Overview

There are some countries on the earth which have the special blessings from the nature and Switzerland is undoubtedly one of them. It is called as the heaven on the earth because it has so many things to offer to its universal tourists. From natural magnificence to vibrant culture, Switzerland is surely at the top position into the travel preferences of the holiday seekers. It is beautifully nestled in Western and Central Europe. Furthermore, it is surrounded by some major nations of Europe such as Germany to the north, Italy to the south, France to the west and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Travelling to this magnificent destination means dream comes true for any voyager on this globe.

Capital

The city of Berne is considered as the capital of Switzerland. Although, the largest city in the country is Zurich but Berne is the seat of the federal government which makes it the de facto capital of this beautiful nation. The city was founded in 1911 and it had listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the year 1983. It is now the fourth largest city in Switzerland.

Area

41,285 km2

Population

8,014,000 (as per 2012 estimate)

Language

Switzerland has four main official languages - German, French, Italian and Romansh. Majority of the Swizz people speak German language with the percentage of 65.3%. Almost 23% to 24% people here speak French and Italian has 8% while Romansh has 0.7% people to speak.

Currency

Swiss Franc is the official currency of Switzerland. In fact, it has been continuing as official currency since the year 1850. Swiss Franc is also considered as the reserve currency around the world.

Weather

The weather in Switzerland generally remains temperate but may vary from location to another. Summer here is normally warm and humid with some periodic rainfall. The climate stays less humid during the winters with sometime no sun for weeks.

Modes of Transport

Tourists of Switzerland enjoy multiple options for transportation here. There are various ways of transport in the country, which are mentioned below:

By Road: Switzerland possesses a network of two-lane national roads in which local buses are constantly running. Most of the tourists used to board yellow postal buses that take the travelers even to the mountain regions. In addition, these buses also take you from one railway station to another, at your desired destination. You can also hire car service to have more comfortable ride to your end.

By Rail: Switzerland has large railway network with all important train stations are interlinked to each other. The trains with long distance normally have a dining car that makes traveling more enjoyable. The announcements at the station are done in German, French, English and Italian languages depending on the particular station.

By Air: Switzerland has the services of both internal and international flights. The international tourists here board any of these flights to travel around this amazing destination. Moreover, some mountain resorts in the country have helicopter operators, which allow you to take pleasure of the scenic beauty of the country.

By Waterways: In order to travel around from lake to another, tourists can take ride in Swiss boats and cruises. They usually covered all important lakes such as Geneva, Lucerne, Constance, Lugano, Murten, Thun, Neuchatel, Brienz and Zug.

Local Cuisine

The cuisine in Switzerland is as vary as the local languages of this country. It is basically depend upon the seasonal and regional dishes. In Italian dishes, people love to taste pasta and pizza in particular along with Swizz chocolates and cheeses. Papet Vaudois, carac, fondue, meringue and raclette are the favorite French dishes in Switzerland. Moreover, people here also like to have some German dishes such as rosti, tirggel, zopf and emmental.

Shopping Centers

While visiting astonishing place like Switzerland, you would surely like to buy some things for yourself as a memory of this memorable trip. There are several shopping centers in Switzerland that will charm you with some attractive and affordable products.

Markthalle: It is a big market hall, which is located at Basel. Markthalle is considered as the best place to buy fruits, cheeses and vegetables. Events, exhibitions and entertainment activities are constantly conducted at this market place.

Westside Shopping Mall: Ideally located in Berne, Switzerland, Westside Shopping Mall is a big shopping center. It comprises of shops of various products, 10 restaurants and bars, hotel, multiplex cinema halls, wellness center and housing.

Heimathaus: Heimathaus is the best place to buy clothes, children items, tableware, decorated items and handicrafts items. It has also placed a shop at the Zurich Airport.

Restaurants

Give your taste some delicious flavors by visiting to these wonderful restaurants of Switzerland:

Ristorante Marconi: It is an Italian restaurant in which you will have mouth-watering Italian dishes like fresh pasta and pizzas. It also serves dishes for children along with tasty desserts. It is located in Street via Pellanda 21.

Hôtel-Restaurant de la Plage: It is a fine dining place where the visitors would love to have flavors of European dishes. This restaurant is surely the best place to taste scrumptious food items and to enjoy panoramic view of the surroundings.

Cottage Café: It is a Mediterranean specialty restaurant where delectable dishes are available for the people who can also enjoy wide range of wines and spirits. It is located in 7 Adhémar-Fabri, 1201 Genève.

Le Namasté: Located in Les Planards, Le Namaste is the best place to taste luscious European food items. It remains open on daily basis to offer delectable cuisines to the visitors.

L' Entrecôte: Silent your hunger with some delicious menu with green salad, crisp and skinny fries offered at this magnificent dining place. Situated at Rue du Rhône 49, it also offers tasty desserts to the people.

Major Tourist Attractions

Regarded as the heaven on the earth, Switzerland is adorned with astonishing natural attractions. Some of them are:

The Chillon Castle: The Chillon Castle is indeed one of the top travel destinations in the country. It is also known as the Chateau de Chillon. The biggest allure of this place is the structure of castle that consists of one hundred buildings, many dungeons, three court yards and four great walls. In addition, by visiting to this amazing place, the traveler can also take pleasure of the panoramic view of Lake Geneva.

The Swiss National Park: The Swiss National Park attracts worldwide visitors through its wide range of species of animals and plants. It is an excellent place for the bird lovers as they can enjoy various kinds of birds in their natural habitats. In fact, this park is quite ideal for the honeymoon travelers as they can enjoy scenic beauty of the background of the Alps Mountain.

The Matterhorn: The Matterhorn is listed among the world’s most popular mountain. It is 4478 meters high and provides excellent sightseeing for the travel vacationers. However, entire faces of the mountain have been rising in all seasons.

Zermatt: Zermatt is also a major tourist attraction of Switzerland. It is largely famous for its majestic ski resort where the travelers would like to do skiing. Besides that, they can also enjoy dining in a gourmet restaurant and shopping at the nearby markets.

The Tropical Alps: While touring to Switzerland, you should not miss a trip to the Tropical Alps. It boasts of beautiful palm trees and glaciers that increase the excitement of the visitors. They can also enjoy rich and vibrant culture of this place.

The Rhine Falls: Visit to the largest waterfalls in the entire Europe i.e. the Rhine Falls. They are situated in the town of Schaffhausen. Tourists come here and enjoy magnificent sightseeing of waterfalls along with boat ride around the falls.

Local Festivals

All the annual Festivals in Switzerland provide lots of joy to the travelers. Some of these festivals are:

Grindelwald Snow Festival: Grindelwald Snow Festival is celebrated in mid-January. It is the perfect days for those artists who are the master of artistic ice sculptures. Such artists from all over the world come at Grindelwald near to Interlaken in order to celebrate the occasion. Moreover, the white statues of ice here produce an enjoyable experience for the travelers.

Lucerne Festival: The Lucerne Festival is celebrated as the festival of sound. It is conducted three times in a year in Lucerne where music performers from the world gather to rejoice the occasion. Almost 120,000 travelers come for the three festivals with summer one is the largest in numbers.

Zurich Festival: Zurich Festival is celebrated in every summer for a month. On this day, several music artists come and perform opera, concerts, theatre, art and dance. The opening night of the festival is conducted in Theaterhaus Gessnerallee.

Vernier Sur Rock Festival: Vernier Sur Rock Festival is conducted in Geneva. During this festival, live music is performed for three nights and it consists of punk, reggae and heavy metal as the range of sounds. Popular artists from all over the world participate in this festival.