Must-see attractions in Switzerland

  • SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 01:  Library of the monastery St. Gallen, Switzerland. 2000 hand writings, 1635 incunable and almost 100.000 books. The library was built between 1758 and 1767 und richly decorated.  (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images) [St. Gallen, Schweiz: Ehemaliges Benediktiner-Kloster. Stiftsbibliothek mit 2000 Handschriften, 1635 Wiegen- und Fruehdrucken (Inkunabeln) und schliesslich 100.000 Buechern, 1758-1767 erbaut und kunstvoll ausgestattet.   Stift St. Gallen: 612 Zelle des hl. Gallus, eines Gefaehrten Columbans, 719 wird durch den hl. Otmar das Kloster errichtet, das 747 die Regel Benedikts annimmt, 1805 saekularisiert.]
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Abbeys, Architecture, Books, Interiors, Libraries, Photo tgg06/01

    Stiftsbibliothek

    Northeastern Switzerland

    If the greatest masterpieces on earth are wrought for the glory of God, St Gallen’s Stiftsbibliothek (Abbey Library), is like a living prayer. Religious…

  • The red train running on the Jungfrau railway with a background view of Jungfrau

    Jungfraujoch

    Bernese Oberland

    This is the big one. At 3454m above sea level, Jungfraujoch is Europe’s highest train station: a once-in-a-lifetime trip, with views of the deeply…

  • A hiker explores the Aletsch glacier.

    Aletsch Glacier

    Valais

    If ever a view in Switzerland is going to leave you dumbstruck (and there are a few great ones to choose from!), it will surely be the infinite swoop of…

  • Château de Chillon

    Montreux

    If ever a castle could fit the fairy-tale bill, the dashingly handsome Château de Chillon would be it, with its moat, double ramparts and riot of turrets…

  • Paul Klee Centre.

    Zentrum Paul Klee

    Bern

    Bern’s answer to the Guggenheim, Renzo Piano’s architecturally bold, 150m-long wave-like edifice houses an exhibition space that showcases rotating works…

  • Bellinzona, Switzerland: a tower at Castelgrande with blue sky.
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    Castelgrande

    Ticino

    Rising dramatically above the Old Town, this medieval stronghold is Bellinzona’s most visible icon. Head up Salita San Michele from Piazza Collegiata, or…

  • Rhine Falls with Laufen Castle in Neuhausen am Rheinfall.

    Rheinfall

    Northeastern Switzerland

    Ensnared in wispy spray, the thunderous Rheinfall might not give Niagara much competition in height (23m), width (150m) or even flow of water (700 cu…

  • Vitra Campus

    Basel

    Showcasing the works of the adjoining, eponymous high-end furniture manufacturer, Vitra Campus comprises the dazzling Vitra Design Museum (of Guggenheim…

  • Rooftops in the old town district of Bern.

    Berner Altstadt

    Bern

    Bern’s flag-bedecked medieval centre has 6km of covered arcades and cellar shops and bars descending from the streets. After a devastating fire in 1405,…

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    Chaplin's World

    Vevey

    This engaging museum celebrates the life and work of iconic London-born film star Charlie Chaplin. Split between the neoclassical Manoir de Ban – the…

  • Jet d'eau, Geneva

    Jet d'Eau

    Geneva

    When landing by plane, this lakeside fountain is your first dramatic glimpse of Geneva. The 140m-tall structure shoots up water with incredible force –…

  • Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland.

    Reichenbachfälle

    Bernese Oberland

    Gazing over the mighty Reichenbach Falls, where the cataract plunges 250m to the ground with a deafening roar, you can see how Arthur Conan Doyle thought…

  • Augusta Raurica, a Roman archaeological site and an open-air museum in Switzerland.

    Augusta Raurica

    Basel

    About 17km east of Basel, on the Rhine's south bank, Switzerland’s largest Roman ruins are the last remnants of a colony founded in 43 BC, the population…

  • Alimentarium in the centre of Vevey.

    Alimentarium

    Vevey

    Nestlé’s headquarters have been in Vevey since 1814, hence its presence in the form of this museum dedicated to nutrition and all things edible, past and…

  • Beyerler Foundation Basel

    Fondation Beyeler

    Basel

    This astounding private-turned-public collection, assembled by former art dealers Hildy and Ernst Beyeler, is housed in a long, low, light-filled, open…

  • Large Hadron Collider, Geneva, Switzerland

    CERN

    Geneva

    Founded in 1954, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), 8km west of Geneva, is a laboratory for research into particle physics. It…

  • Kunstmuseum Basel in Basel, Switzerland.

    Kunstmuseum Basel

    Basel

    Housing the most comprehensive collection of public art in Switzerland, this superb fine arts museum reopened in mid-2016 after updates to the existing…

  • Creux du Van.

    Creux du Van

    The Jura Mountains

    About 14km east of Môtiers, a short walk leads to the enormous abyss known as the Creux du Van (Rocky Hole) – van is a word of Celtic origin meaning 'rock…

  • The Pierre Gianadda Foundation

    Fondation Pierre Gianadda

    Valais

    This renowned gallery harbours a stunning art collection with works by Picasso, Cézanne and Van Gogh. The sculpture garden (with cafe and picnic area)…

  • Peak walk by Tissot at Glacier 3000.

    Peak Walk by Tissot

    Lake Geneva & Vaud

    On clear days the views from this world-first peak-to-peak footbridge are heaven-sent; think legendary Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn, plus Eiger, Mönch…

  • The medieval Château de la Bâtiaz in Martigny, Valais, Switzerland.

    Château de la Bâtiaz

    Valais

    Clinging to a crag above town, 800-year-old Bâtiaz Castle is worth the 15-minute uphill climb. Once there, add another 120 steps to the top of castle for…

  • Tympanum of the St Nicolas cathedral in the city of Fribourg, Switzerland showing the scene of the Last Judgment.

    Cathédrale St Nicolas de Fribourg

    Fribourg, Drei-Seen-Land and The Jura

    Before entering this brooding 13th-century Gothic cathedral, contemplate the main portal with its 15th-century sculptured portrayal of the Last Judgment…

  • Autumn view from the Furka Pass, Switzerland.

    Furka Pass

    Valais

    Marking the cantonal frontier with Uri is the vertiginous Furka Pass (2431m), the run up to which offers superlative views over the fissured Rhône glacier…

  • Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke).

    Kapellbrücke

    Lucerne

    You haven’t really been to Lucerne until you have strolled the creaky 14th-century Kapellbrücke, spanning the Reuss River in the Old Town. The octagonal…

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Zytglogge clock tower lit up at night, in Bern.

    Zytglogge

    Bern

    Bern’s most famous Old Town sight, this ornate clock tower once formed part of the city’s western gate (1191–1256). Crowds congregate to watch its…

  • Kloster Allerheiligen, a former Benedictine monastery in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

    Allerheiligen Münster

    Northeastern Switzerland

    Completed in 1103, Schaffhausen’s cathedral is a rare, largely intact specimen of the Romanesque style in Switzerland. It opens to a beautifully simple…

  • The Valere Basilica, an ancient fortified church in Sion, Canton of Valais, Switzerland.

    Château de Valère

    Valais

    Slung on a hillock opposite Château de Tourbillon is this 11th- to 13th-century château that grew up around a fortified basilica. The church interior…

  • Staubbach Falls during autumn.

    Staubbachfall

    Lauterbrunnen

    Especially in the early morning light, you can see how the vaporous, 297m-high Staubbach Falls captivated prominent writers with its threads of spray…

  • Rhone Glacier.

    Rhône Glacier

    Valais

    Coming from Valais, the mesmerising Rhône Glacier is first seen from the tiny hamlet of Gletsch. This glacier is the source of the Rhône River, which…

  • Thun Castle in Switzerland.

    Schloss Thun

    Bernese Oberland

    Sitting on a hilltop and looking proudly back on 900 years of history, Schloss Thun is the castle of your wildest fairy-tale dreams, crowned by a riot of…

  • Limmat, Münsterbridge, Frauenmünster church

    Fraumünster

    Zürich

    This 13th-century church is renowned for its stunning stained-glass windows, designed by the Russian-Jewish master Marc Chagall (1887–1985), who executed…

  • Old town Chur, Switzerland.

    Altstadt

    Chur

    Near the Plessur River, the Obertor marks the entrance to Chur's alley-woven Altstadt (Old Town). Along with the stout Malteserturm (once the munitions…

  • The lower waterfall of the Trümmelbach glacier waterfalls in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Bernese Oberland, Switzerland.

    Trümmelbachfälle

    Lauterbrunnen

    These glacier falls are a bang-crash spectacle. Inside the mountain, up to 20,000L of water per second corkscrews through ravines and potholes shaped by…

  • The interior of the Einsiedeln abbey.

    Klosterkirche

    Central Switzerland

    Follow the crowds flowing towards this baroque edifice, the 18th-century handiwork of Caspar Moosbrugger. The interior dances with colourful frescoes,…

  • Ruins of the roman theatre of Aventicum in Avenches, Switzerland.

    Aventicum

    Fribourg, Drei-Seen-Land and The Jura

    This collection of Roman ruins – the foundations of former structures, buildings and fortifications just outside Avenches' medieval Old Town – is best…

  • The Munot medieval circular fortification in the center of Schaffhausen on the High Rhine in Switzerland.

    Munot

    Northeastern Switzerland

    Steps lead up through terraced vineyards to this fine specimen of a 16th-century fortress. The unusual circular battlements were built with forced labour…

  • Zurich, Switzerland, November 14, 2019: Art museum Kunsthaus.; Shutterstock ID 1583236660; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial ; full: POI Image Update

    Kunsthaus

    Zürich

    Zürich’s impressive fine-arts gallery boasts a rich collection of largely European art. It stretches from the Middle Ages through a mix of Old Masters to…

  • Interior of the Museum of Watchmaking.

    Musée de l’Horlogerie du Locle

    The Jura Mountains

    In Le Locle, 8km west of La Chaux-de-Fonds, grand 18th-century rooms filled with all manner of clocks make this museum tick. The manor house, Château des…

  • Montebello Castle in Bellinzona, Switzerland.

    Castello di Montebello

    Ticino

    On cloudless days, you can see Lake Maggiore from this 13th-century hilltop fortification. The fortress is one of Bellinzona’s most impressive with its…

  • AQUATIS Aquarium & Vivarium

    Lausanne

    Not just another aquarium, AQUATIS has caused quite a stir since opening in late 2017, giving Lausanne a striking new landmark with a spherical facade…

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