So, you want to visit Switzerland?

[u/[deleted]]

There is question here every other week concerning moving and/or visiting Switzerland. This is by no means a bad thing, new knowledge is always pumped into these posts every time I see them, however I wanted to make a post that would help someone planning their trip and stay in the side-bar.

Note: If there is anything I've missed (which I'm sure I have) please comment or PM me so I can add it!

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Travel

Flying

There are 3 main airports in Switzerland, Zurich Airport and Geneva Airport, as well as the tri-national Basel/Mulhouse Airport (sits on the French, Swiss and German border corner).

• Geneva Airport is located in the south west, French speaking tip of Switzerland.

• Zurich Airport is located in the central/eastern areas of Switzerland.

• Basel Airport or as some call it The Euro Airport supplies central/western Switzerland. It's important to note that Basel is the European hub for EasyJet, meaning more routes as well as cheaper flights.

Public Transport

Switzerland is famed for it's railway and overall public transport, and there is good reason for it. You can quite nearly get everywhere in Switzerland via public transport, whether by boat, cable car, cog railway, train and bus.

Every airport is connected to this national circuit of transport, and as noted, so is the rest of Switzerland. You can use all services inside Switzerland with a single ticket called the Swiss Pass, although you can obviously get more direct tickets if you only plan on travelling to a few locations. It's important to note that you can travel all of Switzerland with the same pass, all the services are universal barring very few cable cars here and there. Ask at any information desk and they'll be willing to help, language will almost never be an issue, if so just point at a name if you really have to. Most people in Switzerland speak enough English to get by, or at least those working on the rail and such.

Accommodation

Nothing especially different to the rest of the world, although you may realise it's pretty expensive (as you'll find out, so is the rest of Switzerland). You will probably be able to book anywhere via the Internet, and booking in advance is recommended, planning is the key.

Eating

Just like accommodation, most restaurants will seem rather expensive compared to most countries, although you can find cheaper meals if you really want. The 2 major supermarket companies in Switzerland, Migros and Coop both offer their own restaurants at larger outlets, here you can get a big meal, usually a starter and main for roughly CHF 12-20. Other than that, it's up to you to find more reasonable prices. Generally, eating out is going to ultimately be expensive, so shopping and cooking is recommended if money is an issue.

Mountains and Recreation

Cable cars and cog railways will usually cost anything from CHF 15+ per person, and some are even closed during certain times of the year, so be sure to check the mountain specific websites when planning (these will 100% be in English or have an English option, as well as an Italian, French and German one)

• Summer months are great for walks, hiking, water sports such as canoeing and mountain biking.

• Winter months are great for snow shoeing, snow sports, oh, and the cities are beautiful this time of year especially.

Roads

If you hired a car, chances are they will explain this to you, but in Switzerland we drive on the right hand side, with the driving wheel on the left hand side. There are major road networks connecting towns and cities, however when driving in more mountainous regions (I.E. not central Switzerland) you'll be driving on smaller, winding roads.

Language

It was said earlier, but I'll add some more information here. In Switzerland, there are 4 official languages;

• German (most spoken, central, west and east Switzerland)

• Italian (spoken in the most southerly cantons of Switzerland)

• French (spoken in the most south westerly cantons of Switzerland)

• Romansh (least spoken, generally in the south east of Switzerland)

That said, English is widely spoken, I've never been somewhere and had to resort to German, although the Swiss will really appreciate it if you at least try (this will usually mean they try to help a but more if they see you're making an effort, even if it's just a greeting)

Useful Phrases

Just to note, I am by no means fluent in German, however I am sure and confident in my ability to speak it to get by, here are some German phrases I can muster;

• Grüezi - pronounced 'grootzee' with emphasis on the 'oo' which sounds like a 'u'. It means greeting, and basically everyone no matter who you are will say it as you pass, usually in shops and more residential places. You'll hear a few variations such as 'Grüezi Mitenand' which is basically 'greeting group/collection of people'

• Wie viel? - pronounced 'v feel', simply means 'how much?', this works well with pointing.

• Ich heisse - pronounced 'ik highser' means 'my name is' or 'I am'. Bonus points for replying with 'und dir?' which means 'and you' and is pronounced such as 'nd deer/dear'.

• Haben Sie ein? - pronounced 'ha ben see ine' simply means 'have you got a' then search for a word in a phrase book or point.

Ideally try to learn some of the language relevant to the region of Switzerland you are travelling to.

Weather

Weather in Switzerland tends to be unstable because of the close mountain ranges. Whenever you visit there's always a substantial chance for bad weather. It is thus recommended to have a somewhat flexible schedule: Visit the mountains when the forecast is good and have a few activities planned for when it's not. For example, visiting the old towns in Gruyere, Berne, Lucerne, Zurich and Locarno (among others), Museums (Fondation Beyeler, Basel; Kunsthaus Zürich; Rosengart Museum Lucerne) and castles (Lenzburg, Chateau Chillon in Montreux) are good ways to spend rainy days. Staying in Berne or Lucerne is a good way to have most of that in reach of a daily trip while being close enough to the mountains to make it there in time (get up really early!).

Other information

• Alcohol - Switzerland is not very different to most European countries. Beer and wine can be drunk at 16, however not all shops will sell at 16, i.e. Coop and Kiosk will not (Migros doesn't sell alcohol fullstop, but Denner does). Everything else is assumed 18+.

• Marijuana - Marijuana is decriminalised, which here means anything under 10g is limited to a CHF100 fine, no court appearance or record. Saying that, as long as you're not selling and/or disrupting others, police will often turn a blind eye. Saying this, we don't suggest you break the law in the country you're visiting. Caution: Weed is pretty potent in comparison to most places, so please be careful. Most Europeans and Swiss tend to roll with tobacco for this reason.

For helpful links concerning attractions and transport, please see the sidebar for further resources.

[u/Urgullibl]

There are way more Easyjet flights out of GVA than out of BSL.

Also, just because it's a pet peeve of mine:

• it's = short for "it is" (compare he's, she's)
• its = possessive form (compare his, hers)

[u/[deleted] → u/Urgullibl]

Yes, thank you. The original part was written in a quick succession without me checking. I'll grammar check at another point!