Nowhere is perfect, but let’s face it, Switzerland gets pretty darned close.
The Alps ripple across 60% of the country, and the landscapes and towns look like they have been dreamed up by a particularly imaginative child. We’re talking glacier-capped peaks, crash-bang waterfalls, turreted castles of the fairy-tale kind and lakes in the most surreal shade of turquoise blue. Red trains curl up mountains to improbable heights and clanging cowbells ring out across hilly meadows that you can skip down with Heidi-like glee.
Even the culture-filled cities have magnificent backdrops of vineyards, lakes or rivers, and the mountains are never more than a whisper away. As natural beauty goes, Switzerland is off the charts. That makes it a joy to travel around, whether by train, bus or car. Here are the 11 best places to visit in Switzerland.
1. Jungfrau
Best for outdoor activities
The idyllic Jungfrau region is the icing on the Alpine cake of Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland. Sky-high peaks, glaciers and thundering falls elicit gasps of wonder wherever you go. Grazing the 4,000m (13,123ft) mark are Switzerland’s "big three:" Eiger (Ogre), Mönch (Monk) and Jungfrau (Virgin), enshrined in mountaineering legend.
Take a once-in-a-lifetime ride up to the everlasting snow at Europe’s highest train station, 3,454m (11,332ft) Jungfraujoch. Hike, ski, sled and zip-line among mountains of myth in Grindelwald, enjoy waterfalls galore in Lauterbrunnen and tackle every kind of extreme sport imaginable in Interlaken (skydiving, ice climbing, glacial bungee jumping – you name it). The Jungfrau region is the great outdoors on a blockbuster scale.
Planning tip: Rush this region and you’ll regret it. Allow a week or more to dive in deep if you have the time. It's worth it.
2. Bern
Best for stepping back in time
Bern often pops up in those I-can’t-believe-it’s-the-capital trivia questions, but frankly, Switzerland’s first city deserves more love. The cobbled, flag-bedecked medieval Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage treat, with 6km (3.7 miles) of covered arcades, cellar shops and bars, fantastical folk figures topping 16th-century fountains and the eye-grabbing Zytglogge. Framed by wooded hills and split in two by the turquoise Aare River, this red-roofed city looks good from pretty much every angle. It’s pure storybook stuff for kids, too, with its giant who snacks on children (the Kindlifresserbrunnen) and resident bears.
Sights-wise, you’ll be drawn to big-hitters like the Einstein-Haus (where the genius and Nobel laureate developed his theory of relativity), the Kunsthaus (with its outstanding fine arts collection) and Renzo Piano’s wavy Zentrum Paul Klee (Bern’s answer to the Guggenheim).
In summer, the action’s on the water with swimming, tubing, rafting and paddleboarding along the Aare River.
3. Geneva and Lake Geneva
Best for a cosmopolitan city experience
In Switzerland’s western crook, crescent-shaped Lake Geneva (Lac Léman to Francophones) is a joy to behold with its mountain backdrop, spirit-lifting views, vineyards and shoreline necklaced with handsome cities and castle-crowned towns.
Marked by its rainbow-kissed Jet d’Eau fountain and Mont Blanc peeping up on the horizon, Geneva wraps around the lake’s southern shore. The worldly city makes an excellent launchpad for exploring with big-hitting museums and galleries to absorb, botanical gardens to stroll, lidos to swim at, Old Town cafes to hang out in and bright-yellow mouettes ferrying locals across the water – surely one of the world’s most scenic commutes.
Planning tip: It’s a quick boat or train hop to Lausanne, which can culturally give Geneva a run for its money, especially with its Plateforme 10 arts district, the lovely terraced vineyards of the Lavaux wine region (a UNESCO World Heritage site) and flower-draped Montreux, host to one of the world’s most famous jazz festivals, with the picture-perfect Château de Chillon right on its doorstep.
4. Zermatt
Best for hiking, skiing and rock-climbing
No peak has more pulling power than the 4,478m (14,692ft) Matterhorn, a terrific, gnarled fang of rock that flings up above the seductive, timber chalet-filled Alpine resort of Zermatt. It's Switzerland’s mountain icon, so beloved by the nation that it inspired the pyramid shape of Toblerone chocolate.
Zermatt is more than a one-mountain wonder. Climbers have been rocking up here since the mid-19th-century, and it’s still a magnet for challenging summit ascents today. Otherwise, come to hike, ski and gaze over a sea of glaciers and 4,000m (13,123ft) peaks at Matterhorn Glacier Paradise.
5. Swiss National Park
Best for wildlife (and wildflowers) spotting
Switzerland has just one national park? Yes, we know it’s a shock, but trust us it’s a good one. Snuggled away in a remote corner of the country’s southeast on the border with Italy, the 172-sq-km (66-sq-mile) Swiss National Park is the Alps in overdrive: a nature-gone-wild spectacle of high moors, forests, wildflower-freckled pastures, waterfalls, jewel-colored lakes and mountains as high as the sky, where ibex, chamois, marmots, deer and golden eagles roam and fly free.
Planning tip: Start off on the right foot with the inside scoop on walking trails and ranger-led guided hikes at the visitor center in Zernez.
Also read: Your Definitive Manual for Booking Air Tickets in Thane: Tips and Deceives
Source: lonelyplanet.com
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