Travel to Switzerland

Browse listings of Home Exchange, Vacation Rentals, Homestay, B&B (furnished apartments, villas, cottages, condos, farmhouses and other types of accommodations) of Switzerland:

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Last Minute Tips Before you Travel to Switzerland

• Time ZoneGMT/UTC +1
• Electricity: 220V, 50 Hz (bring an adapter/transformer for your hair drier, laptop, cellular phone etc.)
• Weights & measures: Metric
• Currency Swiss Franc (Swf)
• Country Dialing Code: 41

Must See - Properties on UNESCO World Heritage List

• Old City of Berne
• Convent of St Gall
• Benedictine Convent of St John at Müstair
• Three Castles, Defensive Wall and Ramparts of the Market-town of Bellinzone
• Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn
• Monte San Giorgio

Switzerland

Location
Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy

Capital
Bern

Population
7,489,370 (July 2005 est.)

Regions
Switzerland consists of 26 cantons (cantons, singular - canton in French; cantoni, singular - cantone in Italian; kantone, singular - kanton in German)

Aargau, Appenzell Ausser-Rhoden, Appenzell Inner-Rhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Geneve, Glarus, Graubunden, Jura, Luzern, Neuchatel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Sankt Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug, Zurich

Largest cities of Switzerland
Zürich, Genève, Basel, Bern, Lausanne

Climate
Temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showers.

Ethnic groups
German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6%

Religions
Roman Catholic 41.8%, Protestant 35.3%, Orthodox 1.8%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 4.3%, other 1%, unspecified 4.3%, none 11.1% (2000 census)

Languages
German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 20.4%, Italian (official) 6.5%, Serbo-Croatian 1.5%, Albanian 1.3%, Portuguese 1.2%, Spanish 1.1%, English 1%, Romansch 0.5%, other 2.8% (2000 census) note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national languages, but only the first three are official languages

Government type
Formally a confederation, but similar in structure to a federal republic

Background
The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. Switzerland's sovreignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations, but retains a strong commitment to neutrality

Flag of Switzerland
Red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the center that does not extend to the edges of the flag; various medieval legends purport to describe the origin of the flag; a white cross used as identification for troops of the Swiss Confederation is first attested at the Battle of Laupen (1339)

Switzerland Travel and Accommodation – Your Tips for Travelers

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