I create the Switzerland Travel Guide to reveal to you a fascinating country, small in size but huge on the world stage. It's a picturesque country, and the best way to show it to you, is through words and pictures. Through this, I hope that you will get to know Switzerland better than ever before. Let's now embark on this mersmerizing journey to discover Switzerland.
Switzerland, or officially the Swiss Confederation, or Confœderatio Helvetica in Latin, is a relatively small landlocked country in Central Europe. It has a total area of 41,285 sq km (15,940 sq miles), making it slightly bigger than the US state of Maryland.
Guide to Switzerland Hotels
Here's a list of hotels in Switzerland that you can book online, listed by city, with full description, star rating, address, location map, evaluation, and prices as offered by different booking sites.
View of Paradiso in Lugano, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland
Author: Valser (public domain)
More on Switzerland
Switzerland is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Much of Switzerland is mountainous, with most of its 7.8 million inhabitants concentrated in its major cities.
Interior of Cathédrale de Lausanne
Author: Arnaud Gaillard (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)
Switzerland is home to two global cities, Zürich and Geneva, which lead the country in having some of the highest per capita gross domestic product in the world. Three major languages are spoken in Switzerland, predominant according to region. They are German, French and Italian. In the canton of Graubünden, the people speak Romansh, an obscure language believed to have been derived from Vulgar Latin. Together they form the four national languages of Switzerland.
Traveling in Switzerland pose a challenge to many budget travelers at it is an expensive country. Having said that, every major town and city has at least one budget hostel. Alternatively, you should compare the price of hotel rooms in Switzerland before making any bookings. (Use our free hotel search engine - scroll down below - to compare prices quoted by different booking sites.)
Klein Matterhorn Bahn
Author: Patrick (public domain)
Fast Facts about Switzerland
- Official Name: Switzerland, Swiss Confederation
- Capital: Bern
- Population of Switzerland: 7,318,000
- Languages: German, French, Italian, Romansch
- Currency: Swiss Franc
- Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, others
- Size: 39,770 sq km (15,355 sq miles)
Grand Combin glaciers as seen from Verbier, Switzerland
Author: Jphoto (public domain)
Preparing Money for your trip to Switzerland
The currency used in Switzerland is the Swiss Franc (CHF). The following are the latest rates for Swiss Franc in the last 24-hours.
Recommended Travel Guidebook
My favorite travel guidebook for further reading in preparation of your trip is the Switzerland Eyewitness Guide, because it follows a format that I find useful to users, not to mention I have also contributed to some of the titles in the Eyewitness series of guidebooks.
Planning your visit to Switzerland
By Plane
The major airports in Switzerland are located in Zürich, Geneva and Basil. Budget travelers can also opt to fly to Friedrichshafen in Germany, a short distance from Zürich.
By Train
Being in the heart of Europe, Switzerland is connect by rail to most of the major cities on the continent. There are several high-speed trains that links Switzerland to its neighbors. Major Swiss cities are served by the French TGV trains from Paris, Avignon, Dijon and Nice. The German ICE links Zürich with Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin as well as to Amsterdam.
Lac de Moiry, near Grimentz, Valais, Switzerland
Author: BraunW (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
Planning your travel within Switzerland
The most practical form of transport in Switzerland are the trains. Switzerland has a high level of public transportation that is famously punctual. When traveling in Switzerland, you should get the Half-Fare Card entitling you to half fare on all national buses and trains. The card costs CHF99 for one month and CHF150 for a whole year. The Half-Fare Card is available from the train station ticket office.
Here's some tips to understand the train schedule sheet in Switzerland. The yellow sheet shows departures while the white sheets are the arrivals. Express trains are printed in red while regular trains in black.
Useful Links
Scenic view of Lake Geneva, Switzerland
Author: CalistaZ (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)
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