Switzerland is divided into twelve touristic regions. The aim of these regions is a common base marketing for areas with similar touristic offers. This way, the offers become clearer for visitors.

The base marketing for Switzerland as a whole is taken care of by the Swiss Tourist Board which also supports the concept of touristic regions. A description of every touristic region can be found in the homepages to the respective regions in the "travel destinations".

Switzerland's variety shows especially well in its culture. Never has style been a monopolistic issue in this country, but all the regions have taken part in characterizing it. This is precisely why art and culture have remained alive and vivid.

That this is the case is proven by diverse festivals (film in Lugano and Solothurn, jazz in Montreux and Willisau) as well as theater traditions in the cities and the rural folkloristic customs.

Traditional Swiss culture can be seen, for example, at the Tellspiele in Interlaken and Altdorf, or in the open-air museum on the Ballenberg, where farmhouse styles from all parts of the country are on display.

If you prefer modern art, we can recommend the buildings by Mario Botta, the weird moving sculptures by Jean Tinguely or the works of the video artist Pipilotti Rist.

The landscape of the printed press mirrors Switzerland's cultural variety and federalist tradition. About 200 newspapers (without local or free ones) are released with a total number of copies of 4 million.

Today, however, strong concentration tendencies are perceptible: the nine big publishers divide more than half of the total number of copies amonst themselves, the rest is distributed amongst the almost 200 others. The political party press has vanished completely.

As a national broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG) receives the concession by law. However, it has to consider every language region accordingly.

From six radio studios, ten programs are broadcasted; the three TV studios produce 5 TV programmes, whereof two are open to private broadcasters. Additionally, the SRG participates in international satellite programmes such as 3SAT, TV5, Eurosport, and cooperates with the culture channel ARTE.

The Swiss population is mainly of Christian belief. Christianisation of the country started in Roman times and proceeded in the Middle Ages.

With Zwingli, reformation started in Zurich; the reformator was not least influenced by the humanism of Erasmus of Rotterdam. Calvin in Geneva stood for the puritan belief of this religious change.

The respective Protestant churches today are guided by the synod and the synodal council. The Roman-catholic church is divided into six Swiss dioceses, seated in Solothurn, Sion, Chur, Basel, Fribourg, St Gall, and Lugano. The christ-catholic church consists of an all-Swiss diocese seated in Berne. Moreover, there are Jewish communities in more than twenty Swiss cities whose parent organization is the Swiss Israelite Parish Association.

The following chart shows the distribution of religions and denominations of the Swiss population in 1990:
Protestant: 40.0%
Roman-Catholic: 46.2%
Christ-Catholic: 0.3%
Israelite: 0.2%
Others: 13.4%

Internationally renowned sports aces such as Martina Hingis (tennis) are quite rare. Nevertheless, the balance of Swiss professional sport is very good if you compare it to the amount of inhabitants. Swiss athletes have a word to say when it comes to being competitive in many kinds of sport (skiing, snowboarding, windsurfing, cycling...)

Popular sport are highly demanded. The offer is enormous: from to crossbow shooting to decathlon, a wide range of sports is on offer in Switzerland. Among them are exotic sports such as Hornussen and Swiss wrestling (picture) - check it out!

The Alps as the European weather divide decisively characterize the weather in Switzerland. Whereas on the northern side of the Alps one finds a central European climate, ther are conditions on the south of the Alps which are quite mediterranean.

Precipitations fall copiously and all the more with increasing altitude. Exceptions are the Valais and the Engadine that are amongst the sunniest and driest of Switzerland's areas thanks to their special location.

The temperatures move between 20 and 25 °C in summer, and between 2 and 6 °C in winter. It is of course much colder in the Alps, and somewhat warmer on the southern side of the Alps.

A specially characterizing weather phenomenon is the foehn, a falling wind bringing dry and warm air into the valleys in the Alps. Apart from these positive characteristics, it can also have negative efffects on human wellness.

We warmly welcome you and wish you a pleasant stay!

Switzerland is renowned for a very rich flora. Between the subtropically warm areas on the Lake Lugano to the snow regions of the high mountains, all the forms of vegetation in Europe occur.

Many plants are strictly protected, such as the Edelweiss and the various kinds of gentians. The borders of the agricultural landscape are mainly determined by their altitude. Whereas below 500 meters wine is still produced in favourable regions, cultivation of grain is possible up to 1500 meters. A 1000 meters higher up, even extensive grassland farming by cows and sheep comes to an end.

Concerning the animal kingdom, Switzerland does not differ much from other European countries. Various species of animals that were extinct for the last centuries have been tried to be reestablished of late, as for example disputed kinds like the lynx and the wolf.

Switzerland - a land full of contrasts but nevertheless a unity.

26 largely sovereign cantons, four language areas and two denominations divide the territory into different regions. It goes without saying that the respective borders do not coincide. In spite of it, or rather because of it, the Swiss men and women have managed in the last 150 years to live in peace with each other.

Although it does not have access to the sea anywhere, Switzerland today is described as an European island. One of the most recent topics and certainly one for the next few years is handling the fact that Switzerland, once more, is a special case.

Neighbouring countries are Germany to the north, Austria to the east, Italy to the south and France to the west. Or putting it differently: Switzerland borders on all sides on the EC. The largest Swiss cities are Zurich with 363,000 inhabitants, Basel (190,000), Geneva (175,000) und Berne (130,000).

Topographically speaking, Switzerland is divided into three areas. In the northwest and southeast, the ridges of the Jura and the Alps rise, and in between lies the relatively flat Mittelland region.

The Jura and the Alps are both tertiary mountains that - geologically speaking - were created in short sequence when the continents of Europe and Africa collided. Thanks to its geographical-climatic situation, Switzerland is also called the water castle of Europe. The Swiss rivers flow into the North Sea (Rhine, Aare, Reuss), into the Mediterranean (Rhone, Ticino), and into the Black Sea (Inn).


Especially charming are the many small and big lakes. Approximately 600 inland waters can be found all over the country. The biggest Swiss lakes are situated at the foot of the southern Jura and in the Mittelland (Lake Geneva, Lake Neuchâtel, Lake Biel, Lake Zurich, Lake Constance) as well as on the northern and southern end of the Alps (Lake Thun, Lake Brienz, Lake Zug, Lake Lucerne, Lake Lugano, Lake Maggiore).

The origins of the state of Switzerland go back to the year 1291 when the three forest communities Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden formed an alliance in order to defend themselves against the power of Habsburg (nowadays Austria).

In the Rütli oath, the alliance of the three confederates was agreed upon formally. The confederation continually expanded until it attained its territorial form in 1815. An election in 1848 accepted the federal constitution, marking the transition from a loose alliance of states to today's federal state.

Switzerland is a classic example of federalism. The 26 sovereign cantons and half-cantons each have their own respective constitution and laws, even though they are dependent on those of the confederation. Switzerland was not involved martially in the two world wars, granting it the status of a special case in Europe. After largely losing that reputation in the seventies, it reattained it again in the last years by holding dear its neutrality proclaimed in 1516 and not joining the EU.

Founded in 1291, Switzerland can look back on long democratic experience.

On the federal level, the Swiss population entitled to vote cannot only elect the members of parliament, but it can also vote on drafts of laws and constitutions thanks to the right to start initiatives and referendums.

The parliament constitutes the federal assembly consisting of 200 national counsellors elected by proportional representation and 46 state counsellors elected by majoral representation (two per canton, one per half-canton). Switzerland is governed by seven federal counsellors elected by the federal assembly.

With 7.1 Mio inhabitants on 41.284 kms square, and thus 171 inhabitants per km square, Switzerland is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Since 1970 however, population has not increased significantly.

Switzerland, country of variety. Four languages are spoken in Switzerland, all of which are official. Three quarters of the population speak Swiss-German, a fifth speaks French, 4% speak Italian, and 1% speaks Rhaeto-Romanic. Swiss-German and Romanic are spoken in various dialects which partly differ distinctively from the written language.

We warmly welcome you and wish you a pleasant stay!

We warmly welcome you and wish you a pleasant stay!

General store opening hours
Mo - Fr: 08.00am - 12.30pm und 1.30pm - 6.30pm
Sat: 08.00am - 4.00pm

In the inner cities usually also open at noon and once a week in the evening until 9.00 pm

Post office
Mo - Fr: 07.30am - noon und 1.45pm - 6.00pm
Sat: 08.30am - 11.00am

Banks
Mo - Fr: 08.30am - noon und 2.30pm - 4.00pm

Authorities
Mo - Fr: 08.00am - noon und 2.00pm - 5.00pm

We warmly welcome you and wish you a pleasant stay!

The following goods can be imported duty-free:

Personal belongings such as clothes, camera equipment, etc. You are allowed to carry two hunting or sporting weapons with you, provided you take them home again. The carrying of weapons underlies cantonal regulations.

Alcoholic beverages: up to 15% alcoholic content: two liters; over 15%: one liter.
Tobacco: 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 g of pipe tobacco. (For people from non-European countries double quantities)
Minimum age for the import of alcohol or tobacco: 17.

Entry:
European citizens need a valid identity card or passport. Citizens from eastern European countries mostly need a visa. Other countries: it is best to contact an official registered Swiss office in one's own country.

The Swiss cuisine is widely renowned. Depending on the region you can find different specialties. Perhaps the most famous of them are fondue, raclette, Grison veal, saucisson vaudois, risotto and rösti. Very many other, less known dishes just wait for you to discover them - En Guete!

Lunch and dinner hours
In restaurants, lunch is usually served as from 12 noon, dinner as from 6 pm.
Closing time usually is at 11.30 pm, but many places have longer opening hours. In bigger cities, you can find the odd place open until the morning hours.

Tipping is included. In restaurants, you can always reward good service generously.

Network tension voltage is 230 volts in all of Switzerland, with a frequency of 50 Hertz.

Since the German safety plug does not fit into the Swiss sockets, an adapter plug, which can be bought in specialized shops, is necessary.

We warmly welcome you and wish you a pleasant stay!

We warmly welcome you and wish you a pleasant stay!

We warmly welcome you and wish you a pleasant stay!

There are emergency telephones along all Swiss motorways and telephones along the most important mountain roads.

Police: 117
Fire department: 118
Ambulance: 144
Breakdown service: 140

Letters and postcards to European countries cost CHF 1.10 (up to 20g) or CHF 1.80 (up to 50g).

Opening hours of post offices
Mo - Fr: 8.00am - noon and 2.00pm - 6.30pm
Sat: 8.00am - 11.00am

Switzerland is the hiking paradise by definition! About 50,000 marked foot and hiking paths as well as many trails which you can discover for yourself are at your disposal.

Hiking in the mountains off the marked tracks can also soon become dangerous! Detailed hiking maps which are issued by the Federal Agency for country topography on a scale of 1:25,000 are highly recommended. The paths are all classified by different levels and are marked with different colors.

Switzerland features an advanced network of national roads (vignette: SFR 40.-). Speed limit on highways is 120, in rural areas 80, in cities and villages 50 km/h.

A hit for all cyclists are the more than 3,000 km of national cycling tracks! The cycling maps will keep you well informed.

Of the three international airports , Zürich-Kloten and Genève-Cointrin feature a railway station, from where fast trains depart for all the bigger Swiss cities. All the trainsfeature first and second-class carriages. Most connections depart every hour. Even remote villages can easily be reached by means of the regional train or bus network.