What is Switzerland famous for? Here are 11 of many things!

Switzerland is a very unique small Alpine country situated next to the big neighbours: Italy, Germany, France, little brother Austria and small cousin Liechtenstein. Switzerland is famous and known for many things (and places), so let’s uncover 11 things which make this tiny country known around the globe.

1.Swiss Cows – Say Cheese or Chocolate!

Everyone who comes to Switzerland wants to take a picture with these sweet Swiss cows who are eating grass in, sometimes, crazy places. There is no stopping them. It is no wonder to see a cow eating somewhere in the mountain pass at 2,400 m elevation. They are literally everywhere.

Swiss people really love their cows as with their help they can produce the best swiss milk, swiss cheese, swiss chocolate, and many other food products Switzerland is famous for. And you must thank the cows for that.

The Swiss milk is probably the best in the world as cows spend days and days high up in the mountains and eat the grass which is growing that high up. Swiss cows are not put into some small pastures and fed corn. No, they eat the purest grass in the world. If you are lucky, you can see some shepherds leading cows into the pastures through cities (that actually happens quite a lot) – so all the traffic stops and everyone just tries to take out their cameras as fast as possible. 

If you want to get a picture of a Swiss cow – best is to not drive on a highway but go into some smaller villages, off-road even. There’s almost a 100% chance you are going to see cows in Grindelwald, Oberalp Pass, Adelboden, and many other smaller places. 

 

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Tip: To learn more about the cows and see how cheese is produced, visiting a cheese factory is an excellent idea for both, adults and kids. Not only can you see and learn interactively, but you can also taste cheese samples aged differently! Another great idea is to visit a chocolate factory and see, hear, learn about, taste Swiss chocolate.

READ: How to combine a visit to a cheese and chocolate factory in Gruyeres, Switzerland.

If you don’t want to organize this combined trip yourself, you can also book a full-day tour to Gruyeres and Fribourg. 

 

Find your perfect accommodation in the region:


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Editor’s tip: Don’t go too close to the calves though, to avoid getting chased by cows and ending up with a sprained foot or worse!

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 2.Zermatt and Matterhorn: The Toblerone mountain

We must take the time to talk about Zermatt. It is probably the most famous Swiss village with the best skiing resort. But it is not only that, Zermatt has the most well-known mountain in the world. It is called Matterhorn. Never heard of it? Check out the Toblerone package. Yes, it is that one.

Zermatt is very popular and beloved by tourists, so it can get crowded, but it is definitely worth visiting. 

Would you like to go there in your car? Impossible. It is forbidden to go there by car for very long and only electric cars can drive there. But not like Tesla or something, just some small delivery/service cars which are all-electric. They are taking extraordinary care of this small village and pristine nature around it.

If you would come here in the summertime, one thing you must do is to hike around. Go up, go closer to Matterhorn, go around the lakes, there’s so much to see. One of the best hikes in that area, which is beginner-friendly, is definitely the Tasch to Zermatt hike. It’s such a breathtaking journey that will introduce you to the beauty of the Swiss Alps. Beware that Matterhorn climb should be done just with a mountain guide or if you are a real professional.

Check out some deals to stay in the Zermatt area.

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Tip: After mid-October, cable cars going up from Zermatt are limited or closed. So, keep that in mind while planning out your trips in the late autumn and winter. Hiking in the five lakes area is best in the summer. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to stay, consider staying in Tasch and taking a short train ride up to Zermatt. Several hotels are located right next to the train station to make it easier.

 

3.Trains Switzerland is famous for – UNESCO Heritage

Everyone knows an expression “Works like a Swiss clock” – and what works like a Swiss clock? Swiss trains.

Switzerland has the most-developed train network in the world. Trains go almost anywhere. There are very few places Swiss trains can not reach. You can go to small villages, straight to the Swiss Alps and many other places.

Some trains help you explore the beauty of Switzerland even more, such as the cogwheel trains which go up steep mountains: Pilatus for example. Cogwheel train there has to conquer even 48 percent gradient. 

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Some of the most famous train lines in Switzerland include the Bernina and the Albula – part of the Rhaetian Bahn. The Bernina Express, one of the highest trains running across the Alps and apparently, the steepest in the world, starts from Chur in Graubunden, through Davos, St.Moritz before finally crossing over into Italy. The railway line from Thusis to Tirano has UNESCO World Heritage status and is a delightful experience. In fact, the Bernina Express is one of the two most popular Swiss tourism experiences. 

 

You can take a day trip from Milan to St.Moritz with the Bernina Express , travel from St.Moritz to Tirano in Italy or enjoy a day exploring Lake Como, St.Moritz with the Bernina Express.  Which one would you choose?

 

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 4.Swiss Fondue

If you come to Switzerland – that is a must. Swiss fondue is almost everywhere and if you are a cheese lover, you will absolutely relish this.

To put it simply, Swiss fondue is a melted delicious cheese which you can eat with bread and some other fruits or vegetables. The fondue is always standing over the fire (so it doesn’t freeze back and is always liquid). You grab a special fondue fork, take a piece of bread onto it and soak it into cheese. You are going to love it from the first bite. It’s really really good.

You can find Swiss fondue in almost any restaurant, especially in the mountains. It is the best food you can have in the Swiss Alps, especially in wintertime. It’s particularly great in the Valais region. So, if you are visiting Zermatt, put Fondue on your food bucket list!

Tip: Fondue can be made in several variations. In fact, some people tried out 80 recipes and compiled the 52 best ones in a Fondue cookbook! Get it for yourself as a keepsake, take it as a souvenir or gift it to someone who loves cheese. Buy the book here.  More Swiss souvenir ideas at bit.ly/swissgifts.

 

 5.Swiss Treats- Luxemburgurli and Laeckerli

If you have a sweet tooth, you’ve got to indulge in the best macaroons or Luxemburgerli, as they are known, at any Sprungli outlet in Switzerland. While picking out flavours, you are bound to be spoilt for choice!

A typical treat from Basel is the Laeckerli – gingerbread with different coatings and flavours. It also makes for a good gift or souvenir. here are more ideas for typically Swiss gifts.

What other food is famous in Switzerland? Check it all out here! 

6.Swiss Villages

Teeny-tiny Swiss villages are one thing you must visit once you are there. They represent the ultimate Swiss feeling: old wooden beautiful architecture, Swiss flags everywhere (or even canton flags), cows all around the village, mountain trails – all you can wish for when you go to Switzerland.

Switzerland was very lucky to avoid war for the last 200 years, so they have a lot of very old architecture left which makes those villages even better. Quite many villages have old buildings with a lot of Swiss cows bells (this is a very popular thing over there), colorful window blinds and many flowers. They are simply cute.

Just stroll around, take pictures, walkthrough farms (that is mostly allowed) and have a great time. Best known Swiss villages would be Zermatt, Grindelwald, Adelboden, Lauterbrunnen and many others.

7.Cable Cars in the Mountains

As Switzerland is in the middle of the Alps, you can go up some of the thousands of cable cars to breathtaking destinations.

You can find cable cars in almost every Alpine town, even some villages have their own. You can find hundreds of them all around, some cable cars work during summer in skiing resorts, so even if you don’t come in wintertime, you can get the full skiing resort service. Switzerland is famous for having a record number of cable cars and waterfalls.

Almost all the cable cars will take you to a mountain station where you can find restaurants, hiking routes, lakes, playing grounds for kids and many other services. Switzerland has the highest cable car in Europe which is in Zermatt, it will take you to a stunning 3,883 meters altitude. It is absolutely amazing. You can even feel the shortage of oxygen over there.

Depending on the place you are, cable cars vary from 15 CHF (in small villages where they take you up a couple of hundred meters) to over 100 CHF (in bigger stations like Zermatt, Grindelwald).

8.Mountain Peaks famous in Switzerland

As Switzerland is right in the Swiss Alps it is only natural that they have a lot of huge mountains. The highest one is Monte Rosa and it is standing at 4,634 meters, the famous Matterhorn is 4,478 meters high. There are 24 peaks over 4,000 meters. If you are a mountaineer, there is definitely a lot to do.

In quite many Swiss Alps towns and villages they have alpine schools where they teach people how to climb them correctly with ropes, crampons, and all other necessary stuff.

Do not try to climb Swiss peaks if you have no knowledge of it since almost every day, especially in wintertime, people die in the Swiss Alps. It is no joke and you have to take it seriously. But there is no need to go that high to have the best time, you can climb some peaks over 2,000 meters which is doable for almost any hiker. Most such peaks are not technical at all and easy to reach in a couple of hours.

9.Swiss watches and clocks

We must talk about Swiss clocks. As already mentioned, a popular saying is “Works like a Swiss clock”, so we must mention a few. Maybe the most famous Swiss brand is Rolex. It is a flagship brand of luxury Swiss watch production. The headquarters of Rolex is located in fancy Geneva and the prices of these clocks start from around 5,000 CHF and can go pretty high, a 50,000 CHF Rolex doesn’t impress that much.

Let’s talk about Patek Philippe. You must love their famous advertising campaign with a slogan: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe…”. What does that mean? It means that their watch is so good, that it goes through generations. You actually don’t buy it for yourself, but for your children and grandchildren. It lives a long time.

The other one is Omega. It is maybe a second good known watch brand in the world after Rolex. I think just one thing must be said about Omega if you are not already impressed by their designs: it was the first wristwatch on the moon.

Here are some museums for exploring swiss watches, if that interests you.

If you want to visit a watchmaking town, put La-Chaux de- Fonds on your list. It’s been a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the last decade. While there, you can also go on a food tour and experience more!

10.UNESCO World Heritage Sites Switzerland is famous for

We have mentioned the Rhaetian Bahn and the watchmaking town already but Switzerland has 9 cultural and 3 natural sites deemed to be UNESCO World Heritage. from Lavaux vineyards to the old town of Bern, the three castles of Bellinzona to the tectonic area of Sardona, you can take your pick and delve into history while visiting Switzerland.

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 11.CERN

 Switzerland is not just full of cows, swiss villagers, bankers, watchmakers and cheese eaters – it is full of scientists. A lot of scientists. Switzerland is leading in technology and innovation and houses several incubators, research organizations, world-class universities.

The country has a huge pharma industry with giants like Novartis, Roche, Syngenta having Basel as their hub. But it also houses the world-renowned physics institute: CERN, also home to the Large Hadron Collider.

Even if you haven’t been associated with Physics but have ever watched popular shows Big Bang Theory, then you must have also heard of this place and terms like Higgs-Boson or the God particle. 

While visiting Geneva, it is possible to visit CERN, but you must be very fast with reservations. They usually open up reservations just a few days before the actual visit (mostly visits are on weekend) and you must be next to CERN early morning on a visit day. It is located about half an hour away from the city. but, if you happen to be there during one of the open days or manage to get a reservation, it would be a memorable experience indeed.

 

Switzerland is really one of a kind country in the world. It has achieved so much during the last century that it is even hard to count how much they have: from the best cheese to the best clocks, from being one of the most popular tourist destinations to a leader in science and technology. It is one of the safest, nicest, cleanest, wonderful places to visit in the world.

 

Author Bio: Aurimas Pocius is a passionate hiker residing at the moment in Switzerland. He likes to explore the hidden corners of the Swiss Alps, peaks and villages. Connect with him on Facebook, Instagram or Youtube.