Things to Do in Switzerland

The Jungfrau, a sky-high saddle in the Swiss Alps and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, offers jaw-dropping views of the Bernese Oberland’s massive glaciers and snowy peaks. Travel by narrow cog railway to Jungfraujoch and stand on “the Top of Europe” as you gaze out at the Aletsch Glacier, the longest glacier in Europe, and far, far beyond.

This mountain pass in the Bernese Oberland may be best known as the starting point for the scenic Jungfrau Railway, but it's also a hiking hub: several trails from here offer stunning mountain views. From an elevation of more than 2,000 meters (6,560 feet), you can marvel at the peaks of Jungfrau and Mönch, and the stark Eiger North Face.

All visitors to Geneva should spend some time exploring the Old Town (Vieille Ville) area. It’s full of fascinating museums, churches, and atmospheric cafés, plus most of the streets are pedestrian-only, so you can wander aimlessly without a care.

As the principal venue for the Zurich Opera since it opened its doors in 1891, the Zurich Opera House (Opernhaus Zürich) has garnered worldwide acclaim for its outstanding acoustics and wide variety of international performances. Originally called the ‘Stadttheater’, the venue was built on the site of the Actientheater, which burned down just a few years earlier, and staged its opening to a dramatic performance of Richard Wagner’s ‘Lohengrin’. Despite changing its name to the Zurich Opera House in 1964, the concert hall maintains its original Neo-classical façade, designed by Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer and held up by 1,800 oak pillars. Equally impressive is the Rococo style entrance foyer and auditorium, which seats 1,200 people and is notable for its intricate ceiling paintings that represent love, tragedy, comedy, music and poetry.

Soaring over the Bernina Pass and climbing to a dizzying 7,392 feet (2,253 meters) above sea level, the famous Bernina Express is one of Europe’s most beautiful railway routes. Running for 75 miles (122 kilometers) from Chur in Switzerland to Tirano in Italy, it’s the only railway that connects the North and South Alps, and offers dramatic mountain views.

A snow-coated wonderland perched high in the Vaud Alps of Western Switzerland, the Glacier 3000 resort is a one-stop destination for outdoor enthusiasts. Just an hour from Montreux, it offers spectacular mountain views, ample opportunities for hiking and skiing, and a huge range of adrenaline-fueled activities.

With its striking 19th-century buildings and winding cobblestone lanes stretching along both sides of River Limmat, Zurich’s Old Town (Altstadt) is the most atmospheric part of the city and home to many principal tourist attractions.

Opened in spring 2016, Chaplin’s World by Grévin in Corsier-Sur-Vevey, Switzerland, is the first museum dedicated to the life of actor Charlie Chaplin. Set in a neoclassical mansion where Chaplin lived for some 25 years, the museum features many of the home’s original furnishings, as well as family photographs, personal belongings, mementos and more than 30 wax figures of individuals who crossed paths with Chaplin or who were inspired by his work.

Chaplin’s World also includes a separate, Hollywood-style studio where visitors can immerse themselves in the world of silent film and try out the art of pantomime. The studio also includes recreated sets from some of Chaplin’s most famous movies. The surrounding park is also open to the public and offers panoramic views of Lake Geneva and the Swiss Alps.

The Swiss Museum of Transport (Verkehrshaus der Schweiz) is Switzerland’s most popular museum and shows the past, present and future of transport and mobility on land, at sea, in the air and even outer space. More than 3,000 displays on approximately 20,000 square meters of exhibition space bear witness to a moving history in the truest sense of the word and show the inventions and deeds of explorers and inventors. But isn’t only the old planes and trains that draw visitors from young to old here, the Swiss Museum of Transport also tells of future challenges in the field of transport and communications and has a focus that goes beyond Switzerland and Earth. Apart from the many halls dedicated to road, rail and air travel, the museum also hosts the largest screen in Switzerland in the adjoining IMAX theatre as well as a planetarium. No matter what the weather in often rainy Switzerland might be like outside, inside you can enjoy incredible nature documentaries from around the planet or go on an unforgettable space walk among the stars.

The newest exhibition in the Museum of Transport is the Swiss Chocolate Adventure. The display that has been developed together with Lindt is covering 700 square meters and is a multimedia journey that informs about the discovery, origin and production of chocolate. The famous Swiss chocolate is a globally exported product and therefore, there is still a strong transportation theme that ties into this cross section of chocolate history. Visitors sit in automatically controlled cars and head out on a 25-minute journey that takes them from the cultivation of cocoa beans in Ghana, all the way to lush alpine meadows with Matterhorn Mountain in the background, and ends in an oversized box of chocolate.

Bahnhofstrasse isthe shopping street in Zurich. Running from Bahnhofplatz outside the main train station all the way to the lake, it's full of luxury shops selling designer fashion, furs, porcelain, and, of course, chocolates, clocks and watches. Halfway along is Zurich's first, biggest and best department store Jelmoli. The basement food-hall is a must. Or if you want the best in Swiss chocolate, take a break at Cafe Sprungli, the epicenter of sweet Switzerland since 1836.

Bahnhofstrasse follows the line of the moat of medieval Zurich and is mainly pedestrianized, although watch out for the trams running along it. It runs parallel to the river Limmat and it's easy to punctuate your shopping with visits to churches and other important sites of Zurich dotted in the narrow streets between. Culture and consumerism: Zurich has them both.

Chillon Castle (Chateau de Chillon), a medieval castle on the banks of Lake Geneva, is one of Switzerland’s most visited attractions. Travelers come to find out more about its fascinating history—it was used as a defensive outpost, a summer home for the dukes of Savoy, and a state-run prison.

Maienfeld is the picturesque town, in which the best-selling Heidi story by Johanna Spyri takes place. The famous novel tells of the life and adventures of a cheerful young girl growing up in the alps in her grandfather’s, the Alm-Uncle’s, care. The town of Maienfeld, which can be found in the canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland, embodies this image of a romantic and nature-oriented Switzerland and transports visitors back in time. Experience an emotional journey to the Swiss mountain world of the 19th century and visit the Heidi Village and Trail detailed in Spyri’s novels. The venue makes history come alive and displays everything from the goat barn, to Heidi’s house as well as a museum dedicated to the author and shows nothing but pure dedication to the story that has inspired children around the world.

Heidi made the little town famous, but Maienfeld would have probably done just fine without her too. The village has become well known for producing the Maienfelder Beerliwein, a fruity red wine, in the vineyards surrounding the village. The excellent quality of the wine is based not only on the favorable climate, warm winds and a lot of sun, but also on the quality conscious work of the vintners. In the midst of these wineyards lies Salenegg Castle, a feudal mansion dating back to the year 950. The big estate has been producing wine since 1068, making it the oldest winery in all of Europe.

Perched on a rocky precipice 11,716 feet (3,571 meters) above sea level, the Sphinx Observatory is a working lab with a large telescope. The landmark sits on Jungfraujoch peak, (known as the Top of Europe), and offers stunning views of the Bernese Alps and beyond from its observation deck, one of the highest in Switzerland.

The oldest covered bridge in Europe, Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrucke) has spanned the river Reuss in Lucerne since the Middle Ages. Decorated with paintings along the interior, it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Switzerland.