Switzerland's top 10 tourist destinations to visit in 2024

If you are wondering what are the best places to visit in Switzerland, the answer is its cities, its beautiful towns and villages. Switzerland is a whole collection of cities, each with its own personality and full of the wide variety of attractions that Switzerland has to offer. One of the advantages of sightseeing in Switzerland is their interconnectedness - most of the places on this list can be reached by train, and although Switzerland has a reputation for being expensive, cheap tickets are available for most of the tours on offer, which also include itineraries that are tourist attractions in their own right. In this article, we will look at the main places to visit when traveling to Switzerland.

1. Geneva

If anything characterizes Geneva, it is its French air, different from other Swiss cities that have an Italian or German atmosphere. Geneva is an international city, as Henri Dunant founded the International Red Cross here, and it is also home to several international organizations such as the United Nations Human Rights Council. Among the museums in the city is the Museum of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, located at 17 Avenue de la Paix. If you're a science buff, you'll want to check out the CERN Museum, located at 121 Meyrin Highway, or the Patek Philippe Museum at 7 rue Vieux-Grenadier, where you can pick out one of Switzerland's cultural highlights - its watches.

Geneva is one of the best places in Switzerland to eat chocolate: for example, there are chocolate tasting tours in the historic city center. One of the advantages of Geneva is that it can be used as a starting point not only for trips to the lake that gave its name to the city, but also for excursions to tourist sites on the French side, such as Chamonix-Mont Blanc, or to the Swiss countryside for cheese tasting.

How to get to Geneva

Located on the shores of the lake of the same name, Geneva is very close to France, so getting there from Paris or any other European city is easy and cheap by flying into the airport, located six kilometers from the historic center, which can be reached by train or bus with a free ticket at the airport terminal. Another option is to get there from Lausanne by train, which takes 50 minutes and the ticket costs between 25 and 45 dollars, and a little more if you take the bus, a ticket for which costs between 2 and 21 dollars.

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2. Zurich

If Geneva is French, the soul of Zurich is German. Zurich is Switzerland's largest city, as well as its financial and European center. It is located on the shores of Lake Zurich and is divided into two parts: the old city and the modern city, with which the former sharply contrasts. In April, the Sechseläuten or "Six Hour Bell" festival is celebrated here, when the cathedral bells herald the beginning of spring. If you're wondering what to do in Switzerland, a good answer is shopping or culture in Zurich, as it is home to two of Europe's most exclusive shopping streets - Bahnhofstrasse and Niederdorf - as well as a center for contemporary art.

You can experience the latter by visiting, for example, the lobby of the main police headquarters, decorated with paintings by Giacometti, and culture at museums such as the Art Museum on Heimplatz 1, open on Tuesdays from 10:00-18:00, Wednesdays-Thursdays until 20:00 and Fridays-Sundays until 18:00. In addition to the places listed above, Zurich is worth a visit to the Kunsthaus Zurich with its Impressionist paintings and the Stiftung Bürle, whose collection spans from the Renaissance to the Expressionists.

Back to shopping: on the advice of tourists, head to Bahnhof, the longest street running from the train station to the lake, where you can take a streetcar ride and visit stores such as Gucci and Ferragamo. Christmas decorations make it one of the most beautiful places in Switzerland. The world's leading hotel chains offer accommodation in the city including Zurich Marriott Hotel, Hilton Zurich at the airport, Sheraton Zurich, and a wide range of hotels in different categories and prices from less than CHF99 per night to CHF990.

How to get to Zurich

Zurich is home to Switzerland's largest airport, located just 11 minutes northeast of the city, making it convenient to fly from any European airport. You can also reach Zurich by train from Barcelona, Milan, Rome or Venice, as the city is a hub for high-speed trains. By highway, the city is connected to Geneva and Bern.

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3. Lucerne

Lucerne is the heart of Switzerland. The River Reuss divides it into new and old parts. Its carnival, held in late winter, is one of the must-see attractions on your Swiss itinerary. With the Alps looming in the background, Lucerne's patron saints are Mount Pilatus and Mount Rigi, making it an ideal base for hiking and other mountain activities, one of which is Lucerne's Four Cantons Lake. This small but welcoming town is one of the best places in Switzerland and Europe to visit covered bridges. The old part of town, which is pedestrianized, at least in the historic center, still has beautiful churches such as the Jesuit and Franciscan churches. Both locals and tourists recommend taking a tour while eating chocolate. The Chapel Bridge, a covered bridge over the Rois River, displays vignettes from the history of the city and Switzerland on its wooden panels. It is perhaps the city's biggest attraction and one of the top places in Switzerland that tourists visit.

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4. Chillon Castle

On a rocky ledge on the shores of Lake Geneva, not far from the city of Lausanne, stands the Chillon Castle, a medieval castle that inspired Lord Byron, who based his poem "The Prisoner of Chillon" on the events that took place here during the Reformation. But not only Byron, because the castle is especially attractive to writers: Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas also found inspiration here.

The castle has a modern analog - the Chillon Fort, hidden on a steep mountainside opposite the castle. Visitors are offered brochures and audio guides in several languages, including English, as an entrance fee, and, unusually for Switzerland, parking is free. At the Geneva train station, you can buy a combined ticket that includes rail, bus and entrance to the castle. Interesting fact: Lord Byron carved his name on one of the castle's dungeon columns.

How to get to Chillon Castle

The nearest town is Montreux, so you can get there on foot, by train in just nine minutes, by bus in 11 minutes, and by ferry in 17 minutes. A little farther away, the castle is a 40-minute train ride from Lausanne, with tickets costing 14.85 and 27.75 Swiss francs (15 dollars and 28 dollars); just over an hour by bus from the same city and 1 hour and 48 minutes by ferry.

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5. Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva is one of the largest lakes in Europe. Residents of several Swiss cities, such as Geneva and Lausanne, swim on its shores. On the Geneva shore of the lake you can stroll through the English Garden, which houses the Flower Clock - a clock of flowers that change color depending on the season and plants of different blooms, one of the most beautiful spectacles in all of Switzerland, which should be seen at least once in a lifetime.

Also worth a visit is the Jet d'Eau, or lake fountain, located right at the confluence of the lake with the Rhone and open all year round during the day and only at night in spring and fall. The play of lights that illuminates the night is a must-see spectacle. Yacht races are one of the events that attract the largest number of tourists to the lake. Two of them stand out: the Bol d'Or and the Tour du Lac. However, a leisurely stroll along its shores while swans saunter around definitely makes it one of the must-see places in Switzerland.

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6. Schaffhausen

In Schaffhausen, located 40 minutes away from Zurich, the main tourist attraction is the Munot. It is a 16th century fortress that you can visit for free at Munotstieg 7, right in the historic center of town but surrounded by vineyards. Its tower offers an unparalleled view of the city. It's amazing that a small town brings together everything you can see in Switzerland. If you exclude Munot, you are left with the Abbey of All Saints, the Münsterkirche with its portico and tower and the rest of the old town with its medieval air. From here you can plan an excursion to the nearby Rhine Falls, as the city is connected to them by railroad.

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7. Rhine Falls

At 23 meters high, the Rhine Falls are the largest waterfalls not only in Switzerland but also on the European continent. They can be reached by car, bicycle, public transportation or on foot. There are viewing platforms on both banks of the Rhine, but tours can be taken upstream or from Laufen Castle. Some tourists take a barcoded tour as well as a cake to get the full experience. Although there is debate about whether they should be used to generate electricity, their value for tourism is higher, as you can see for yourself if you include them in your itinerary the next time you visit Switzerland. A bus tour of Zurich can help, where you'll visit the falls and other attractions like Munot, and then return to the same city.

How to get to the Rhine Falls

Although the nearest town is Neuhausen am Rheinfall, you can get there from Schaffhausen, which in turn can be reached from Zurich in just under an hour by train for between 23 dollars and 45 dollars per ticket or by bus in 45 minutes for between 2 dollars and 8 dollars per ticket. The train ride to the falls takes only 10 minutes.

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8. Chapel Bridge

The Chapel Bridge is a covered bridge over the Reuss River in Lucerne, whose wooden panels feature vignettes from the city's history. It is one of the top 10 best places in Switzerland for photography. Although it is a pedestrian bridge, beware of motorcycles and other vehicles. Although there are other bridges in the city, as Lucerne is one of the best places in Switzerland to see covered bridges, the history of this bridge makes it unique: it is the oldest covered wooden bridge in Europe, although much of it was rebuilt or removed after a fire in 1993.

The bridge is also unique in its 17th century wood paneling with vignettes, a feature not found on other remaining covered wooden bridges in Europe. It is a pity that fire destroyed most of them. In the center of the bridge, though, stands the Water Tower, which was once a prison and torture chamber and is now closed to visitors, who can, however, buy souvenirs and other trinkets in its store.

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9. Matterhorn Mountain

The Matterhorn is one of the main natural attractions of Switzerland and the Alps in general, thanks to the unique pyramid-shaped profile of the 4,478-meter peak. Although climbing it requires preparation and equipment, several trains, such as the Gornergrat with its record-breaking height of 3,100 meters above sea level (as well as telephone lines), take tourists to other nearby peaks.

The hiking route to the Matterhorn is one of the most beautiful walks in the Alps, involving crossing the glaciers and valleys of the Valais and Aosta, as well as lakes such as the Riffelsee. An unforgettable way to see the Matterhorn is to take a tandem paragliding flight on the route to the summit, which is over 3,000 meters above sea level. This is something you must do at least once in your life.

How to get to the Matterhorn

You can get there by train from the neighboring communes of Tasch, the trip takes just 12 minutes and the ticket costs between CHF2.97 and CHF6.93, or from Visp, just over an hour and the ticket costs between CHF20 and CHF44.5. After Zermatt, trains and cable cars will take you to some nearby peaks, but not to the summit.

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10. Jungfrau Peak

Located in the mountain region of the same name, Jungfrau (Virgin) Peak forms a triad with Mönch (Monk) and Eiger (Ogre), each with its own glacier like wall in this section of the Bernese Alps. The summit of this mountain can only be reached by mountaineering, but the cog railroad, which usually travels at no more than 15 kilometers per hour so you can enjoy all there is to see during the ride, reaches its foot at the Jungfraujoch station at an altitude of 3,545 meters, making it the highest railway station in Europe.

The station offers a range of amenities from a hotel to restaurants and a viewing station, as well as the Ice Palace, a small park with ice sculptures. If you hire a guide and equipment and are prepared, the summit can be conquered right from the resort. Interesting fact: On the way back, the train staff will give you a chocolate bar as a gift.

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Switzerland's tourist attractions are innumerable: Alpine glaciers, mountains, lakes, medieval churches, Art Nouveau buildings, covered bridges - the list of things to see can go on and on without exhausting the interest of the traveler. Switzerland is undoubtedly a tourist destination to which one wants to return again and again, because it cannot be recognized in a few visits.