Most beautiful Swiss Cities are Located Around Lakes
If you drive through Switzerland and visit our Swiss cities and towns, you will discover that many of them are located on lakes throughout the country. With barely 7.5 million inhabitants, it becomes clear that Switzerland does not have any large cities. Even Zurich, the largest city has only 366,000 inhabitants. Therefore, it becomes a fact that Swiss cities never fail to impress visitors by their scope. What few travelers know, the Swiss are actually a farming nation and like living in the country. Today many young people are leaving the valleys that have been hidden and isolated for centuries and flock to the cities in Switzerland. However, many of those so-called mountain people return home from their work place every evening and head back to their villages where they grew up. As of this day those same people from the mountainous areas farmon their time off, which means they have cows, sheeps, goats or other livestock. You see Switzerland is actually still a heavily subsidized country. However, things begin to change and it remains to be seen what the government decides to do regarding that. Living in the mountains in those beautiful but sometimes a bit isolated Swiss towns can have its advantages too. Even during the busy summer or winter season when many people are on holidays, these places are quiet without all the noisy big city-traffic and pollution. This after all is what people from all over the world are desiring. Walking, skiing or just relaxing in the mountains with clean air and without the daily pressure in our time starved and hectic world. The life between the various Swiss cities from Geneva to Zurich is very similar. However, the people speak three different languages and many dialects in German from which the mentality and the climate depend. Nowhere else so close together will you discover attractions, cultural places, innovative gastronomy, and hidden secret traditions to new favorite places. This page presents you with the most interesting Swiss cities and towns with tips on what to do and see…
Bern – The Capital of Switzerland
Biel / Bienne – The Watchmaking Town
Fribourg - The University Town
Geneva - The Smallest Metropolis in The World
Locarno - The Film Festival City
Lugano - The Mediterranean City
Neuchatel - The City of Microtechnology
Sion - City With The Two Castles
St Gallen - The City of Architecture
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Basel is located in the northwestern corner of Switzerland. It shares the border with France and Germany. Basel made a name in the pharmaceutical industry. Big companies like Hoffmann / La Roche, Sandoz and Ciba Geigy were known worldwide. The latter two later merged and today are called Novartis. Basel is probably slightly under-rated as an attractive Swiss city and a tourist destination.
Bern is the capital of Switzerland. It is a fairly small city with a population of only 130,000. UNESCO has recognized Bern as a Cultural Heritage Site. The most famous sight is the Zytglogge. This Clock Tower has an astronomical clock and some adjacent figures, which shows a small display each hour. This very interesting clock shows you the time, week of the day, position of the planets and the signs of the zodiac.
It is the largest bilingual town (50,000 inhabitants) in Switzerland. The first things you notice when entering Biel/Bienne are the street signs, written in German and French. In this small Swiss city, you will find over one hundred different nationalities. It is the Watch-making Metropolis. It is also the center of the "High Precision Machine Industry".
Chur the capital of Graubuenden is the most ancient Swiss city and the hub for many ski resorts. Outstanding buildings are a restored 8th century Church, the Rhaetian Folklore Museum, and the Renaissance Episcopal Palace. The city is rich of mineral water and every household has therefore their water in the quality of rich mineral clean water. Most of the inhabitants speak German, but there are Romansh- and Italian speaking Minorities.
Fribourg or Freiburg (in German) is a town in the country with a population of over 36,400. Of those, 21,240 are of French and approximately 15,160 of Swiss German mentality. Most people speak both languages because they are integrated into the Education system. The university is bilingual, which means students are expected to have an active knowledge of both languages. Its old town is rich in fountains and churches dating from the 12th- until the 17th century.
Geneva is the smallest Metropolis in the world. It is the home of over 200 organizations like the Red Cross or the Aga Khan Foundation. Also based there are the European Head Quarters of the United Nations. Like some of the other Swiss Cities and Towns, Geneva is located on Lac Léman. With its multi-cultural society, it is in second place of all the cities in the world in the quality of life list - right after Zurich.
Lausanne is another entirely French-speaking city on Lac Léman about 60 km northeast of Geneva. The headquarters of the International Olympic Committee is located there. It lies in the middle of a wine growing region. Lausanne will become the first city in Switzerland to have a Rubber-tired metro system, which opens in 2008. In the tourism sector, it also enjoys some excellent higher education establishments.
Locarno to the very south of Switzerland bordering Italy claims to be the sunniest spot. It is located in the northeast corner on Lago Maggiore and was once a small fishing village. Today however, Locarno is a high-class resort that has been for years a drawing card for painters, celebrities, and writers. Every year in August, an important International film festival, the "Festival Internazionale del Cinema di Locarno" takes place in the Piazza Grande.
Lugano has a temperate microclimate just like Locarno and has as much sun hours as Southern Europe. It borders Italy too which explains why Lugano clearly has an Italian character. However, it is much more organized and cleaner than Italian cities are. The economy is mainly tourism based. Furthermore, the city is Switzerland's third major banking centre, after Zurich and Geneva.
Lucerne is truly the most beautiful Swiss city. Is it any wonder that Lucerne is the most visited of the Swiss cities. You will find plenty of things to do and see, like walk over the old Kappellbrücke (the Chapel Bridge), one of the oldest wooden bridges in Europe. Or the famous Swiss Transportation Museum with the IMAX theatre. Of major interest is also the Lion Monument dedicated to the bravery and courage of the Swiss soldiers serving under Napoleon.
The city of Neuchatel (or Neuenburg in German) is surrounded by vineyards. This town was one of the five sites, which held the Expo in 2002. Despite its size, Neuchatel has several excellent museums and is home of a small but active University and is the Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology. In the art and history museum, you can see the very first robot made between 1770 and 1774 by Pierre Jacquet-Droz, a Swiss watchmaker.
The capital of the Canton of Valais, is an alluring and attractive town of just 27,000 inhabitants. Sion has an exceptionally long history that dates back to the Neolithic times. Plunge into the history of Sion and visit the Cathedral and its Roman Bell Tower - its many museums - the Supersaxo House with its sculptured Gothic ceiling - the Celtic Dolmens, which are very unique in Europe.
Take a short walk to "Dreiweihern". It is a beautiful place located just above the city from where you have great views of St. Gallen. On clear days you can see as far away as Lake Constance. At night and especially in the wintertime, the lights over this Swiss city are very beautiful and very romantic. The city library counts as one of the oldest and most beautiful in the world.
This lovely small town is located right in the center of Switzerland. The best way to see the city of Zug and the surrounding lakes is to get to the top of the Rigi Mountain. It has a very impressing view from there. Treat yourself to a relaxing boat trip on Lake Aegeri. In the midst of the wild, romantic Lorze Ravine are the Hoell Caves that can be reached from Baar.
The picturesque city of Zurich is the driving force behind Switzerland's economy. However, that alone is not the only reason why Zurich offers the highest quality of life in the world. It is the biggest Swiss city with a population of some 366,000 in the city center. At the Parade-Platz, a plaza in the middle of Bahnhofstrasse is the financial heart of the city and the world-headquarters of several Swiss banks.