Switzerland
Visa: Schengen Area Free Visa Check
Language: German, French, Italian, and Romansh are all official languages depending on the region. English is widely spoken.
Currency: Swiss Franc (CHF). Cards accepted nearly everywhere. Keep some cash for mountain huts and smaller village shops.
Transportation:
Train: SBB CFF FFS runs what is arguably the best rail network in the world. The panoramic trains (Glacier Express, Bernina Express) are bucket-list journeys.
Swiss Travel Pass: Covers unlimited travel on trains, buses, boats, and free entry to 500+ museums. Available for 3, 4, 6, 8, or 15 consecutive days.
City transport: Swiss cities have excellent tram and bus networks. Day passes are available at station machines. Bikes can be rented at most stations via Rent a Bike.
What To Expect
Switzerland is what happens when nature and civilization make peace. The trains run to the second. The air is absurdly clean. And everywhere you look, the Alps are doing something unreasonable with the light. The Jungfrau Region is the postcard centerpiece. The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau peaks tower above green valleys where cows wear bells and the only sound is distant avalanches.
Swiss cities are compact and livable. Zurich has the highest quality of living of any city in the world and a lake you can swim in during your lunch break. Bern has a UNESCO-listed medieval old town with six kilometers of covered arcades. Lucerne sits on a lake surrounded by mountains, with the iconic Chapel Bridge crossing the Reuss River. And Geneva balances diplomacy with waterfront elegance.
Switzerland is expensive. A Big Mac costs what a steak dinner costs elsewhere. But the Swiss Travel Pass makes the price tag more bearable by covering nearly all trains, buses, boats, and museum entries. Buy one and let the country's legendary public transport system do the driving.