Here we are, ready to leave? Here, today we will begin our adventure in Switzerland. Before reaching the various Swiss cities, we get to know the state more closely so that we will be prepared and ready to admire our destinations with more awareness.

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal state in Central Europe. It is made up of 26 cantons (Aargau, Zurich, Ticino, Bern, Friborg, Geneva, Glarus, Grisons, Jura…) 6 of them are half cantons. It is a landlocked Alpine country, whose territory is geographically divided between the Jura massif, the Plateau and the Swiss Alps. It borders to the north with Germany, to the east with Austria and Liechtenstein, to the south with Italy and to the west with France and its capital is Bern. Switzerland is one of the oldest states in the world and is one of the most economically prosperous countries in the world. Two thirds of the workforce are active in the tertiary sector and around one third in the secondary sector. So there is a strong investment in the field of services and tourism, but also in the gastronomy and watch industry.

Most of the inhabitants concentrate on the Plateau, where the major cities are located: Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lausanne, Bern, Winterthur, Lucerne and St. Gallen. Zurich and Geneva are two international financial centers and are regarded as the cities with the highest quality of life in the world. Bern, on the other hand, is the bureaucratic and political center of the nation. Here is located the Federal Palace, seat of the Parliament and the Swiss government. Basel is the center of the Swiss pharmaceutical industry and the second largest economic center in the country. Lausanne and Lucerne are the seats of the highest legal instance of the Confederation, without forgetting the seats of some courts such as St. Gallen and Bellinzona.

The major Swiss rivers are the Rhine and the Rhone; while the largest lakes in the area are, Lake Neuchâtel, Lake Lucerne and Lake Zurich.

Despite its location within the European continent, the country’s climate is influenced by the Atlantic. The air from the west brings a humid and mild climate to Switzerland, cool climate on summer and temperate on winter.

Well, as for the language we have to say there are some of them. But now we will explain everything.
Switzerland is divided into three major linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and plus the Romansh that is spoken in the valleys of the Canton of Grisons. Therefore German, French and Italian are the official languages.
In the German part of Switzerland is spoken a set of dialects known as Schwiizertüütsch.
Let’s see in detail in which cantons these languages ​​are spoken. In 17 cantons is spoken only German, in 4 cantons only French. The canton of Valais, the canton of Bern and the canton of Friborg are bilingual, are spoken both German and French. The Canton of Ticino is the only one of the Italian language (here people speak Lombard varieties such as Comasco too); without forgetting the town of Bosco Gurin which is bilingual, they speak Italian-German. The canton of Grisons is the only trilingual: German, Italian and Romansh. Let’s say that there is a nice mix of languages ​​and this is the peculiarity of the place, its versatility.

In addition to the linguistic diversity there is the religious one, there are Protestant cantons and Catholic cantons. So there is no real ethnic belonging. The strong sense of belonging to the country is based on other principles, as historical or political ones.

Skiing, flora, fauna, art, music and culture, there seems to be nothing missing in this state.

In conclusion, Switzerland is recognized as a neutral state as it undertakes not to take sides in war among other states. This is a condition chosen by the country (since ancient times), so a free, permanent and armed choice.

After this short presentation, we can say that we are absolutely ready to start this new adventure in your company.

Meanwhile we reach our first city, we welcome you to Switzerland.

A big kiss to everyone.

 

 

 

66 thoughts on “Switzerland

  1. Leggendo il tuo articolo mi sono resa conto di quanto poco conosco la Svizzera. Non avrei mai immaginato tutte queste differenze linguistiche tra cantoni.

  2. Ho sempre voluto fare un viaggio in Svizzera è una nazione che mi ha sempre molto incuriosita quindi spero che dopo queste restrizioni si possa tornare a viaggiare e finalmente realizzare i nostri sogni.

  3. Great article! I feel like i have been to Switzerland already very informative…. but sometimes Sweden and Switzerland can be mixed up that’s why this article are very helpful. Thanks for sharing!

  4. Non ce l’ho molto lontana da casa eppure l’ho visitata pochissimo, sarà che è super cara…
    Io per quest’estate ho già prenotato tutto, dunque basta, cascasse il mondo dalla primavera voglio tornare a viaggiare!

    1. Noi ci auguriamo davvero di tornare a viaggiare in assoluta sicurezza come prima e speriamo nei prossimi mesi.
      Ti suggeriamo di considerare la Svizzera per un prossimo viaggio, con la giusta programmazione si può risparmiare qualcosa 😉

  5. Ci ho sempre girato intorno alla Svizzera: sono stata in Francia, in Germania, in Austria, ma mai in Svizzera. Forse è il caso di rimediare a questa mancanza 😀

  6. Conosco molto poco la Svizzera, ma ho visto foto di vallate e panorami stupendi che mi piacerebbe visitare e città come Zurigo che mi incuriosiscono molto. Purtroppo è anche molto cara e questo mi ha sempre un po’ frenato ma prima o poi mi farò un bel giro in Svizzera!

  7. What a great introduction to Switzerland! Looking forward to seeing amazing photos of this place and discovering their beautiful culture

  8. Yeah!! Switzerland always on my to travel list, just that now due to the global health pandemic, I am unsure when I can realise my travel there. Thanks for sharing this & will save it for my travel planning reference. Cheers, siennylovesdrawing

    1. Hi, when everything will return to the normality (and we hope soon) you should really think to travel here. Meanwhile you can discover a little bit about Switzerland throught to our guides, stay connected 🙂

  9. Switzerland is a gem. I visited two times already and there is so much to explore. I try to go by one canton or two a trip so there will be a lot more! You did great summery of it.

  10. Ammetto di conoscere molto poco la Svizzera, a parte la zona di Lugano del lago che ho avuto occasione di visitare. Vi ringrazio per questa guida dettagliata!

  11. Non sono mai stata in Svizzera. Tuttavia mi ha sempre incuriosita per via dei suoi paesaggi e per le città come Berna, ma anche per la varietà linguistica, che mi appassiona ed interessa dal momento che parlo e conosco anche il tedesco.
    Maria Domenica

  12. La Svizzera, croce e delizia, io e mio marito ne amiamo i territori, ma nel tempo l’abbiamo spesso evitata. Le nostre esperienze in Svizzera sono un po’ datate, l’articolo mi ha fatto tornare la voglia di passarci.

    1. Qualche altro viaggio in Svizzera è da considerare anche perché se già ci siete stati diverse volte significa che qualcosa vi spinge a farlo ahahah
      Noi recensiremo diverse mete, seguici così potrai aggiungere qualche nuova tappa per il vostro prossimo viaggio.

  13. Un paese che mi ha sempre affascinato e paese natale del mio compagno. Spero che tolte queste restrizioni si possa ritornare a viaggiare e finalmente avrò la possibilità di visitare questo meraviglioso paese.

  14. A una manciata d’ore di distanza ma la conosco davvero poco, il che è un vero peccato. Attendo con ansia i tuoi prossimi articoli di questo viaggio.

  15. Come ti dicevo io ci sono… pronta a partire.. non appena si potrà.. da sempre avrei voluto visitare la Svizzera, invece praticamente ci sono solo passata una volta!! Ora è il caso di conoscerla!!

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