Switzerland destinations

Switzerland destinations: where to go

Switzerland is small, but it holds three very different worlds: the busy lowland cities along the Rhine and the lakes, the high Alps in the centre and south, and the French and Italian speaking regions to the west and south. Excellent trains tie them together, so you can see a lot without rushing. Start here to see how they fit.

Canton of Zurich, northern Switzerland
Zurich
Switzerland's largest city and main gateway, with a medieval old town, a swimmable lake and river, and a lively food and arts scene.
Read the guidePhoto: Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Central Switzerland
Lucerne
The postcard lake city of wooden bridges and painted squares, with boats and mountain railways to Pilatus, Rigi and Titlis.
Read the guidePhoto: Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Canton of Bern, western central Switzerland
Bern
The relaxed federal city, with a UNESCO-listed old town of stone arcades and fountains wrapped by the bright green Aare river.
Read the guidePhoto: Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bernese Oberland, central Switzerland
Interlaken and the Jungfrau
The heart of the Bernese Oberland: two lakes, waterfall valleys, car-free villages and the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks.
Read the guidePhoto: NOTE: This image is a panorama consisting of multiple frames that were merged or stitched in software. As a result, this image necessarily underwent some form of digital manipulation. These manipulations may include blending, blurring, cloning, and color and perspective adjustments. As a result of these adjustments, the image content may be slightly different from reality at the points where multiple images were combined. This manipulation is often required due to lens, perspective, and parallax distortions., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Canton of Valais, southern Switzerland
Zermatt
A car-free mountain village under the Matterhorn, with glacier lifts, year-round skiing and some of the best hiking in the Alps.
Read the guidePhoto: Ximonic (Simo Räsänen), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Canton of Geneva, western Switzerland
Geneva
The French-speaking city of diplomacy and watchmaking on Lake Geneva, with an old town, lakeside swims and vineyards nearby.
Read the guidePhoto: John Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The north: Zurich

Zurich is the biggest city and the main airport. Give it two or three days for the old town, the lake, museums and summer swims, with a day trip to the Rhine Falls.

The centre: Lucerne and Bern

Lucerne, an hour from Zurich, is the classic lake city with Chapel Bridge, paddle steamers and mountain railways to Pilatus, Rigi and Titlis. Bern, the federal city, has a UNESCO old town of arcades and fountains on the Aare river, and sits on the main line between Zurich and Geneva.

The high Alps: the Jungfrau region and Zermatt

Interlaken and the Jungfrau region is the most popular mountain area, with Lauterbrunnen's waterfalls, Grindelwald under the Eiger and the railway to Jungfraujoch. Further south in the Valais, car-free Zermatt sits below the Matterhorn and links to St Moritz by the Glacier Express.

The west: Geneva and Lake Geneva

Geneva is the French-speaking international city, with the Jet d'Eau, the UN and easy trips to Lausanne, the Lavaux vineyards and Montreux.

A first route

A classic first trip of ten days runs Zurich, Lucerne, the Jungfrau region, Zermatt and Geneva, or the reverse, flying into one airport and out of the other. With a week, drop Zermatt or Geneva. Use the free trip planner to shape your route and the places to visit list to fill your days.

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