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Switzerland

This is possibly the most expensive country in Europe, but on saying that it is also probably the easiest in which to travel and one of the most beautiful. Their tourist infrastructure is second to none. The Swiss speak four different languages, French, German, Italian, or, in the extreme southeast, Romansch. Most Swiss also speak English.

Hostels and Student accomodation

If you're travelling on a budget, you'll need to rely a great deal on youth hostels (Jugendherbergen/ Auberges de Jeunesse/Alberghi per la Gioventù), though they can get very full between June and September, when you should book in advance. The hostels are of a high standard and feature a high proportion of double rooms as well as small dorms. Prices depend on the category of hostel and range from Sfr19 for a dorm bed at the lowest grade to Sfr40 at the highest, with the average around Sfr25, including breakfast and sheet sleeping bag hire; non-HI members pay around Sfr5 on top, sometimes more. Note that under-25s are given priority and that in towns there's usually a three-night maximum stay in summer. Meals, where available, are around Sfr10. There are over eighty hostels in Switzerland altogether; for more details contact the Swiss hostelling association, the Schweizerischer Bund für Jugendherbergen, Postfach, 3001 Bern. Many new hostels have opened in the last few years to supplement the official ones. Naturfreunde hotels are an alternative to youth hostels and are similarly priced.
Use our Hostel Booking form to book your hostel.

This is a nice rustic Swiss Chalet, Chalet Martin it is situated in Gryon and has been open to Backpackers and travellers for the last 10 yrs. Prices from $12.00 US per night.

Places to see

As for where to go, the country's breathtaking concentration of mountainous scenery has drawn travellers since the beginning of the nineteenth century, and these days it's not always easy to avoid the crowds. The advantage is that the country is so small you can cross it by train in as little as five hours, and you can see a fair bit from one central base. Of the northern German-speaking cities, Zurich provides a wealth of sightseeing and nightlife possibilities as well as a base for venturing south towards the Alps. Basel and Bern, (the capital) are quieter, but each has an attractive historic core, while Luzern combines a cosmopolitan urban setting with close proximity to lakes and mountains. The most visited Alpine area is perhaps the central Bernese Oberland, which has the highest concentration of picturesque peaks and mountainside villages, although the loftiest Alps are those of the Valais in the southwest, where the small but crowded resort of Zermatt provides access to the country's most distinctive peak, the Matterhorn. The isolated mountain valleys of Graubünden, in the eastern corner of the country, provide the setting for winter resorts like St Moritz and Davos. In the west, the cities lining the northern shore of Lake Geneva. Geneve, Montreux and Lausanne make up the bulk of French Switzerland. Switzerland's southernmost canton, Italian-speaking Ticino, can seem a world apart from the rest of the country, especially the lakeside resorts of Lugano and Locarno, with their Mediterranean Riviera atmosphere.
Medieval castles don't come better than the Chateau de Chillon. Its walls plunge into the clear waters of Lake Geneva, the Savoy Alps are its backdrop. Inside are a maze of well-preserved rooms and the dungeons, whose erstwhile captives would have found the view small consolation.

Grindelewald a lovely town nestled amongst the mountains, this is a great place for walking, you can also walk the glaciers here, but be careful.

Witness some of the most scenic Graubünden landscape from the narrow-gauge Rätische Bahn as it wends its way in and out of tunnels along the Albula valley between Chur and St Moritz.

Hallstatt The most beautiful village of the lakeland district of Salzkammergut is Hallstatt, it is set right on the lake's edge at the base of a precipitous cliff. It is famous for its Fronleichnahm (Corpus Christi) procession, held annually in May, when the whole of the town takes to the water in boats.

Innsbruck Innsbruck's proximity to the high Alps makes it an ideal base for outdoor pursuits year-round, whether you're skiing, hiking, or simply keen to breath in some fresh mountain air.

Interlaken another picturesque town, is situated on the edge of lake Thuner See, to stand at the base of the funicular railway and look up, it seems impossible for any machine to climb so steep an incline, this has to be the steepest climb I have ever seen.

The Jungfraujoch is Europe's highest railway station, nestling on the snowy ridge between the Jungfrau and Mönch mountains. The train tunnels through the Eiger itself, up to this fantastic vantage point where, on a clear day, you can see France and Germany.

In the town of Lauterbrunnen, at the bottom of a U-shaped valley, is the spectacular Staubach Falls which cascade 300m down a sheer rock face. They're best seen in May during the snow melt, as are the nearby Trümmelbachfälle - a series of caverns which thunder with the raging waters. Be sure to take the train and ski lift to the revolving restaurant on the Schillthorn, (ask in the rail station first, if the weather is not good enough for viewing they will tell you, and save you a wasted trip and money) how many other countries can boast a service like this??.

Luzern's fourteenth-century wooden bridge, the Kapellbrücke, seems to take the longest route between two points, but it's a delight to cross. Although it burnt down in 1993, it has been reconstructed as it was originaly, and has regained its position as one of Switzerland's most popular landmarks.

The Matterhorn is the classic Alpine peak adorning chocolate boxes and calendars around the world. Head for the ski resort of Zermatt and then ascend to the Gornergrat, a view point with a magnificent panorama of the Valaisian Alps and glacial ice below.

Salzburg At the heart of Salzburg's Altstadt runs the Getreidegasse, the city's busiest pedestrian thoroughfare, it is lined with expensive boutiques and famous for its wrought-iron shop signs.

Schönbrunn The Habsburgs' summer palace Schönbrunn, in the suburbs of Vienna, is without doubt the most ornate of the country's imperial palaces. Its grounds contain the city's Tiergarten or "zoo", Palmenhaus, a glasshouse full of tropical ferns and Schmetterlinghaus, or "butterfly house".

Wachau The most photogenic section of the Danube is the Wachau between Krems and Melk, and the best way to see it is on one of the frequent boats that ply between the two from April to October.

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