Switzerland is one of
Europe's most visited countries, but
one of its least understood. Pass
through for a day or two, as most
people do, and you'll get the quaint
stereotype of Switzerland that the
locals deem suitable for public
consumption - the Alpine idyll of
cheese and chocolate, Heidi and the
Matterhorn. Stay longer though and
another Switzerland will emerge, the
one which the Swiss inhabit, and one
which can be an infinitely more
rewarding place to explore. Sights
are breathtaking, transport links
are excellent, costs are no higher
than in Britain or Germany, and the
locals are unfailingly courteous.
Almost everyone speaks some English
along with at least one of the
official Swiss languages (German,
French, Italian, or, in the
southeast, Romansh).
Notoriously placid these days,
Switzerland nonetheless spent the
first five hundred years of its
existence rent by conflict, and
fought a civil war as recently as
1847. The Swiss Confederation
(abbreviated in Latin to " CH
") dates back to 1291, when
Alpine peasants formed an alliance
to defend themselves against the
Hapsburgs. By the early 1500s, the
Confederation had grown into a
military superpower feared
throughout Europe. It was only with
the Reformation that the Swiss began
to earn their reputation for
neutrality, a reputation which
served them well right through into
the boom years after World War II.
In the 1990s, the country's image
was tainted, as exposés uncovered
Swiss banks' dubious wartime
collusion with the Nazis. Public
soul-searching in the aftermath of
the scandal is heralding
Switzerland's first tentative steps
towards ending its dogged isolation
and joining the EU and the UN.
As for where to go ,
Switzerland invented tourism: the
country's breathtaking scenery has
drawn travellers since the early
1800s. The most visited Alpine area
is the central Bernese Oberland
, which has the highest
concentration of picturesque peaks
and mountainside villages, although
the loftiest Alps are further south,
where the small but crowded resort
of Zermatt provides access to
the country's most distinctive
mountain, the Toblerone-peaked Matterhorn
. In the southeastern corner of the
country, wild, thickly forested
mountain slopes provide the setting
for the world-famous resorts of St
Moritz and Davos . Of the
northern German-speaking cities, Zürich
has a wealth of sightseeing and
nightlife possibilities and provides
easy access to the tiny independent
principality of Liechtenstein
overlooking the Rhine. Basel
and especially the capital Bern
are quieter, each with an attractive
historic core, while Luzern
is in an appealing setting close to
lakes and mountains. In the
French-speaking west, the cities
lining the northern shore of Lake
Geneva - notably Geneva
itself, and Lausanne - make
up the heart of Suisse-Romande
. South of the Alps, sunny,
Italian-speaking Ticino can
seem a world apart from the rest of
the country, particularly the
palm-fringed lakeside resorts of Lugano
and Locarno , with their
Mediterranean, riviera atmosphere.
