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Switzerland
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Destinations:
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Switzerland
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Zurich
Overview:
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 travelers 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.
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