General information Switzerland

Fresh air, beautiful diverse countryside, Alps pastures. Also well known for the clichés such as cheese, delicious chocolate, the banking world, watches and cuckoo clocks and Heidi and Peter. In total Switzerland numbers 1000 waterfalls and glaciers and about 1600 lakes. Famous lakes include Lake Geneva, The Bodenmeer and Lago maggiore.

The Alps take up sixty percent of the land in Switzerland. Another thirty percent of the countryside is taken up the hilly highlands Mittelland an ten percent by the mid-highlands Jura. It's not surprising to find numerous winter sport areas in a country in which sixty percent of the countryside consists of Alps.

The largest ski area is the 'Portes du Soleil'. This border crossing ski region (France and Switzerland) is considered one of the largest ski regions in the world. The landscape alternates between mountain tops, glaciers, valleys, lakes and passes and Alps villages. The Aletschglacier in Wallisis is really impressive, at 115 km2 the largest glacier in Switzerland and at the same time part of the Unesco World Natural Inheritance. Towns like Bern are well known for their culture and history (historic centre is on the UNESCO world inheritance list), along with Luzern and Geneva.

Interesting things to do in Switzerland

• Activity in the Alps: mountainbiking, walking or "klettersteigen" (climbing)
• Watercycling on the lake of Gruyère
• Walk near the magnificent Aletsch glacier or the Matterhorn
• Botanical garden San Grato in Carona
• St. Leonard, the underground lake
• Day trip to the Alpine Zoo
• Ski and snowboarding on the kilometres-long slopes

Opening hours

Opening times can vary from place to place, but as a general rule they are as follows:

• Shops: Open Mon. to Fri. from 09.00 a.m to 18.00 p.m. Some supermarkets are open on Sunday.
• Banks: Open Mon. to Fri. from 09.00 a.m. to 16.00 p.m. Some close during luchtime. Sat. Sun. and public holidays closed. Post offices: Open Mon. to Fri. from 09.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. and from 14.00 p.m. to 17.00 p.m. On Saturday from 09.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m.
• Museums: Mostly open from 09.00 a.m to 12.00 p.m. and from 14.00 tot 17.00 p.m.

Temperature

Holidays