Switzerland – five top travel destinations

Discover cities worth seeing, beautifully situated lakes and fascinating mountain landscapes in Switzerland

The city of Zurich, with over 400,000 inhabitants, is the capital of the canton of the same name, which borders Germany in the north.

You will find a particularly large number of sights in Zurich's old town on both sides of the Limmat, which flows through the city.

Completed in 1220 after over 100 years of construction, the Grossmünster, with its striking twin towers, is the landmark of the city on the Limmat River that can be seen from afar. The first written references to previous buildings date from the 8th century. The church building, built in the Romanesque style, was the starting point of the Reformation under the reformer Huldrych Zwingli (1484 to 1531).

The town hall, built in the Renaissance style at the end of the 17th century, is now used by the canton and municipality of Zurich.

On the left bank of the Limmat there are old town streets with medieval buildings.

Zurich lies at the northern tip of the 42 kilometer long Lake Zurich. Hikes or tours around the lake lead to popular viewpoints or to the pilgrimage site of Einsiedeln.

Geneva, located in the southwest of Switzerland on Lake Geneva, exudes international flair. 200 international organizations, including those of the United Nations, have their headquarters in Geneva.

Some of the UN buildings can be visited. The Palais des Nations, the European UN headquarters since 1966, is 25,000 square meters in size and is surrounded by a 46-hectare park.

The city's prominent sights include the seaport and the so-called Jet d'eau, a 140 meter rising water fountain. The water monument was created in 1891 - initially as a technically necessary "valve solution" that served to reduce excess pressure when using water energy.

The old town stretches along the left bank of the lake. The historic center of Geneva's old town is the Place du Bourg-de-Four, a transport hub and an important market square since the 11th century.

Very close to the Place du Bourg-de-Four is the Cathedral of St. Peter (Cathédrale Saint-Pierre), the main Protestant church in Geneva. The church was built in the Romanesque style in 1160, completed a hundred years later in the Gothic style and expanded in the 18th century in the classicist style.

The “federal city” of Bern, which has 140,000 inhabitants, is also the capital of the canton of Bern, which is part of western Switzerland. The city is located 95 kilometers southwest of Zurich and 225 kilometers northeast of Geneva.

Since it was not possible to agree on a “capital” when the federal state of Switzerland was founded in 1848, Bern was instead designated as the seat of the federal bodies (“federal city”). The federal government (“Federal Council”) and parliament (“Federal Assembly” consisting of the National Council and the Council of States) have their headquarters in the “federal city”.

The current city of Bern was founded in 1191. However, there is archaeological evidence of a Celtic settlement in the city as early as the second century BC. Bern's Old Town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

Das bedeutendste Bauwerk Berns ist das Münster, dessen Grundsteinlegung 1421 erfolgte. Erst 1893 wurde der 100 Meter hohe Turm vollendet. Der Figurenschmuck und die spätgotischen Fenster des Münsters gelten als die bedeutsamsten in der Schweiz.

Lucerne, the cultural center of Inner Switzerland (Central Switzerland), is located 65 kilometers east of the federal city of Bern on Lake Lucerne. The city of Lucerne was probably founded at the end of the 12th century. Neolithic settlements on the lakeshore are dated to the fifth or fourth millennium BC.

Lucerne's attractions include the bridges that connect the old town and the new town, which are separated by the Reuss River. The Chapel Bridge, in the middle of which is a water tower, is Lucerne's landmark and at the same time an important tourist attraction.

Other landmarks of the city are the Musegg Wall and the Musegg Towers, which were built as northern fortifications in the 14th century.

The 114 square kilometer Lake Lucerne has resorts and beaches, marinas and boat harbors. The lake is popular with water and diving enthusiasts.

The impressive mountain landscapes of the Swiss Alps are popular travel destinations among tourists.

The 4,478 meter high Matterhorn, located in the southern canton of Valais, is a Swiss landmark and tourist attraction.

The highest Swiss mountain peak is the Dufourspitze (also in the canton of Valais) at 4,634 meters above sea level. The Finsteraarhorn (4,278 meters) is the highest in the Bernese Alps.