With its pristine Alpine mountainscapes, bucolic dairy villages and glittering international cities, Switzerland combines broad cultural influences with a deeply independent attitude. Surrounded by other European countries yet protected by its forbidding mountain range, Switzerland is a nation of many regions, languages and landscapes. Our specialists have visited the whole country, from French-speaking Geneva in the west, where the UN has its headquarters, to the glitzy mountain retreat St. Moritz in the east, where Swiss-German is the main language.
We can help you visit a wine region during a jazz festival in Montreux, walk through an intact medieval town in Swiss-German Bern, see the world’s longest glacier from a mountain summit in the Swiss Alps and learn to make risotto in a lakeside grotto in Italian-speaking Ticino. Whether you want to shop Zürich’s fashionable streets, hear alphorn players in the Emmental Valley or see the Matterhorn mirrored in a glassy lake, we’ll tailor your holiday in Switzerland to your interests.
Whatever your interests, our specialists will build activities into your trip that connect to how you want to experience Switzerland.
Glacier Express train journey
The Glacier Express panoramic train meanders through the pine-covered valleys and barren mountain passes of the Swiss Alps between St. Moritz and Zermatt, and you can see it all while enjoying exceptional service on this day-long railway journey.
Lavaux wine tour
You can enjoy a visit to Switzerland’s sunny Lavaux wine country, where red and white wines are created to be enjoyed almost entirely within Switzerland. Terraced lakeside vineyards, wine tastings and lunch with a local wine producer round out your day.
Day trip to Pilatus Kulm
Take a boat ride, a steep tramway, a mountaintop walk and a gondola in this day-long trip to Mount Pilatus, which soars to several peaks above Lake Lucerne. You can revel in 360-degree views from the top of the tallest peak, Tomlishorn.
Our specialists advise on the best months to visit Switzerland, including information about climate, events and festivals.
Covering all seven continents, The World Your Way shows you how you can see the world with us. It features trip ideas from our specialists alongside hand-picked stays and experiences, and introduces our approach to creating meaningful travel experiences.
Switzerland has four national languages: Swiss-German, French, Italian, and Romansh. The most widely spoken is Swiss-German, but you’ll hear French in the western regions, Italian in the south and, in the southeast, a tiny percentage of the population still speaks Romansh. However, English is widely spoken, making travel and conversation simple.
Swiss Francs (CHF) are Switzerland’s national currency, but many places accept euros as well. Credit and debit cards are widely accepted, but in some small, remote towns, you may still be asked to pay cash.
Tips in Switzerland’s restaurants are generally included in the final cost, but it’s common to round up the total. The same holds true for taxis, but tips for housekeeping are not common.
For the latest travel advice for Switzerland, including entry requirements, health information, and the safety and security situation, please refer to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office website.
Cheese features heavily on the national menu and one classic dish you should try in Switzerland is fondue, a rich, creamy pot of warmed Gruyère, Emmental, and white wine, which serves as a dipping sauce for crusty bread. Other local dishes include raclette, which is made from cheese of the same name melted and served with potatoes, and rösti, pan-fried grated potatoes which often accompany eggs, cheese, meat, or vegetables.
Swiss chocolate is well-known around the world, and you’ll find tempting chocolate shops in almost every town. We’d also suggest trying some of Switzerland’s spirits — often enjoyed as a digestif — such as the once-banned absinthe, kirsch, a cherry brandy, or Goldschläger, a cinnamon schnapps.
With snow-capped peaks, glittering lakes, and historic towns and cities, Switzerland offers a wide range of experiences for the visitor. The weathered mountains and steep valleys cradle deep-blue lakes every bit as beautiful as photographs suggest, and with a web of walking trails and an extensive rail network, it’s easy to access the great outdoors.
You can see the sun set over the Matterhorn and spend time in the most indulgent mountain resorts on a tour of the lakes and mountains of Switzerland. Ride the steepest cog wheel train in the world at Pilatus Kulm, visit cheesemakers and chocolatiers, or wander along cobbled streets flanked by half-timbered buildings in Zürich and Bern on a Highlights of Switzerland trip. From cosmopolitan cities offering art galleries, fine dining restaurants and varied nightlife to traditional mountain villages and bustling ski resorts, Switzerland promises majestic landscapes, outdoor adventures, and urban sophistication.
From chic mountain resorts to intimate villas and slick boutique hotels, you can pick and choose where to stay in Switzerland from a wide variety of options. For old-world charm, art and antique-filled rooms, and a Michelin-starred restaurant, the Villa Castagnola on the shores of Lake Lugano is an excellent choice.
In Zürich, stay in the heart of the old town at the Marktgasse Hotel, which blends crisp, modern design with historic features. Experience traditional Swiss style and hospitality at the Hotel Daniela in Zermatt, or stay at the century-old Hotel Belvedere in Grindelwald at the foot of the Eiger.
A direct flight from London to Zürich takes just under two hours.
The time zone in Switzerland is GMT +1.
The Swiss rail network is extensive and highly efficient, and makes a great way to get around the country. Trains will take you right up into the mountains and offer access to remote areas where driving conditions can be challenging.
If you choose to drive, the roads are well maintained but often involve lots of hairpin bends with limited visibility and the concentration needed to drive means you can’t enjoy the scenery quite so much.
Switzerland offers a wide variety of places to go, depending on what you’d most like to see. Cosmopolitan Geneva with its medieval old town, stately architecture, and striking Jet d’Eau — a fountain shooting water high into the crisp mountain air — is a good place to start.
You could then head to a traditional Swiss resort town such as Montreux on the edge of Lake Geneva to relax, plan to go hiking or climbing in the Bernese Oberland, or see the Matterhorn from Zermatt.
Set between soaring peaks, Lugano is a beautiful historic town on the shore of a glacial lake, waterfront Lausanne has a 12th-century cathedral and a Florentine-Renaissance-style museum, while compact Lucerne is best known for its handsome medieval streets.
You don’t need to get any specific vaccinations for Switzerland, but it’s always a good idea to be up to date on vaccinations that would normally be advised at home. For further information on travel health in Switzerland, visit the Travel Health Pro website.
