Guide to Switzerland
Must See Switzerland
- Augusta Raurica
- Château de Chillon
- Franches Montagnes
- Great St Bernard Pass Hospice Museum
- Lucerne
- Rheinfall
Places in Switzerland
In association with:
At a glance
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.
Fast Facts
- Full name:
- Swiss Confederation
- Capital city:
- Bern
- Area:
- 41,290 sq km / 15,943 sq miles
- Population:
- 7,318,000
- Time Zone:
- GMT/UTC +1 (Greenwich Mean Time)
- Language:
- German (official)
German (most commonly the dialect known as Schwyzertütsch) is spoken by about 66% of the population.
French (official)
spoken by 19% of the population.
Italian (official)
Spoken by 8% of the population.
Raeto-Romance (official)
spoken by under 1% of the population, mainly in the canton of Graubunden.
- Religion:
- 46.1% Roman Catholic, 40% Protestant, 5% other, 8.9% other.
- Currency:
- Swiss Franc
- Electricity:
- 230V 50Hz
- Electric plug details:
- European plug with three circular metal pins