Lakes & Mountain Towns

Switzerland is small enough to cross in a few hours, but each valley feels like its own country. The language on the street, the shape of the roofs and even the time people sit down to dinner can change after one tunnel.

Four ways of speaking

Switzerland has four national tongues. Swiss German is spoken across most of the north and centre, French in the west, Italian in Ticino and some southern valleys of Graubünden, and Romansh in parts of Graubünden. Road signs, menus and station announcements follow the local language, so a few words of greeting go a long way.

Old towns on rivers

Many Swiss cities grew up on fast green rivers where they leave a lake. Lucerne has its covered wooden Chapel Bridge, first built in the fourteenth century and carefully restored after a fire in 1993. Bern, the federal city, sits on a loop of the Aare, and its old town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has kilometres of stone arcades that keep shoppers dry in the rain. In summer, local people float down the river through the city.

Waterfall valleys

The Lauterbrunnen valley in the Bernese Oberland is a deep U-shaped trough with sheer cliffs and dozens of waterfalls. Staubbach Falls drops so far that much of it turns to spray before it reaches the ground. Trains and cable cars climb from the valley floor to the car-free villages of Wengen and Mürren.

The southern lakes

South of the Alps, in Ticino, the air is warmer and the language is Italian. Lugano and Locarno have lakeside promenades with palm trees and camellias, piazzas with arcades, and stone villages up the side valleys. Lake Maggiore, shared with Italy, holds the lowest point in the country at about 193 metres.

Vineyard terraces

Above Lake Geneva between Lausanne and Montreux, the Lavaux terraces climb steeply from the water. Monks began building their stone walls centuries ago, and the area is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. A local train and well-marked footpaths run through the vines, with small villages and wine cellars along the way.

Car-free mountain villages

Zermatt, below the Matterhorn, keeps private cars out: you arrive by train and get around on foot or in small electric taxis. Wengen, Mürren, Saas-Fee and several other resorts work the same way. The quiet is the first thing most visitors notice.

When to go

Season	What it is like
Spring (April to May)	Blossom in the lowlands and Ticino, snow still high up. Some mountain lifts pause between seasons.
Summer (June to August)	High passes open, alpine meadows in flower, the busiest time on scenic lines.
Autumn (September to October)	Clear days, golden larches, the wine harvest on the terraces.
Winter (December to March)	Snow sports in the mountains, Christmas markets in the towns, and some passes closed.

Next stop: The Swiss Table