Southern Switzerland: Zermatt, Lugano, Locarno, Saas-Fee & Beyond

By Kimberly Rinker

Verbier, Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Lugano, Locarno, Ascona - these are some of the attractions here. This region contains the two southernmost cantons of Valais and Ticino. Though connected, both are vastly different in terms of geography, language and culture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hunter Publishing
• Release date: Jul 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781556500442

Book preview

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Introduction

Mention Switzerland and people typically think of the Alps, Heidi, cheese, yodeling, chocolate and St. Bernards. Yet, this relatively small country – 15,941 square miles (414,466 square km) of land and inland water – offers much more than you might expect. Nestled in the heart of Europe, the Swiss Confederation (the country's official title) is home to over seven million people who speak four national languages, including their indigenous tongue, Romansh. The Latin name for Switzerland is Confederatio Helvetica, from which the abbreviation CH comes. You'll notice the CH on many buildings, products, cars and on postal codes throughout Switzerland.

For the first-time traveler, Switzerland is a dream come true. The country – which celebrated its 700th anniversary in 1991 – is clean, the local people and those in the tourism industry are helpful and courteous, and the public transport systems are unmatched anywhere in the world. Local roads and highways (autobahns) are extremely easy for the neophyte visitor to navigate. The experienced explorer can return time and again to this small, mountainous country and always find a new peak to ascend, another pass to hike, an isolated lake to swim or fish in, and another small village to investigate.

In addition to the striking beauty of its Alpine scenery, Switzerland is Europe's center for international banking and manufacture of quality goods. And and is home to a variety of unique customs and traditions. Nearly 70% of the population speaks German, 19% speaks French and about 9% speaks Italian. The ancient, traditional Swiss language of Romansh is spoken by a very few.

Landlocked by Germany on the north, Austria and Liechtenstein on the east, Italy on the south and France on the West, Switzerland contains several glorious mountains that rise above 14,000 feet (4,300 m). The three major regions of the country are divided by a series of mountainous belts that run northeast to southwest. This trio of regions – the Jura, the Swiss Plateau, and the Alps – all follow this directional pattern, and are altered only in certain spots by the rivers that run between mountains. While the largest area of the country is in the Rhine Basin, a small area in the south is drained by the Ticino, and in the southwest by the Rhône.

Neutrality is another Swiss tradition, and one that is carried out through the country's 26 cantons, each of which contains a local governmental unit. As one of the most advanced industrialized nations in the world, Switzerland also has the distinction of being one of the oldest democracies. The federal government, with its headquarters in the capital of Bern, has a somewhat restricted jurisdiction and limited powers. A Federal Council heads the executive branch of the government, and a president and vice-president are chosen from among the Council's seven members. Both federal and cantonal court systems exist, and a Council of States is made up of 46 members – one or two members from each of the cantons. Election methods and office terms are decided by each canton individually.

Switzerland offers the traveler a wide array of climates and settings. One morning you might be on top of the Klein (small) Matterhorn, observing Alpine peaks in a snug down ski jacket in the mountainous canton of Valais. The next afternoon you could be sipping a glass of wine under a palm tree on the banks of Lake Lugano in your swimsuit. The following night would find you strolling across the Chapel Bridge in the Old Town of Lucerne, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, while the picturesque Alps loom up in the background.

From the high-speed trains that can whisk you from Bern to Paris in only four hours to Zermatt's famous Gornergrat Railway, no trip would be complete without at least one ride on the indefatigable Swiss Federal Rail system. A relaxing journey on one of Switzerland's many waterways gives a different perspective on the beautiful scenery, which seems never-ending.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy a trip that's sure to bring you lots of chocolate, cheese, stunning scenery and fresh, crisp mountain air – complemented by Swiss cuisine, efficiency, and a rich history.

What This Book Will Tell You

For over 20 years I have been living in and visiting Switzerland on a yearly basis. My job in this Alpine country has been as a writer, farm hand, and tour guide. Needless to say, I've gotten to experience Switzerland as the Swiss do, and have been able to visit the little out-of-the-way places few tourists ever visit. This book will help guide you to those places, as well as to the traditional hot spots.

If you want to experience the Alps at their finest, then the traditional towns of Zermatt, Davos, Interlaken and St. Moritz are for you. Besides spectacular mountain scenery and snow sports opportunities, these areas offer superb accommodations, fine eateries and a lively nightlife.

However, for those who want to shuffle along the path less traveled, we'll also take a walk to less-frequented areas such as Saas-Fee, Leukerbad, Vevey, Zofingen, and Langenthal. In these quaint places, you'll see more of the real Swiss – how they live, work, make a living, and how they celebrate.

Switzerland keeps evolving, and yet in some ways, it never changes. Yodeling, Emmentaler cheese, milking and watchmaking are still part of the culture after hundreds of years, enriched by all the modern conveniences, which are never far away.

History

Geography played a vital role in the history of the development of Switzerland. The brutal terrain provided a barrier of unity for the Swiss, and gave them independence from outside neighbors. Switzerland was once part of the mighty Roman Empire during the first century BC. A Celtic tribe known as the Helvetii was conquered by the Romans and continued to live under their protection, until the Germans invaded the area in the fifth century. The country eventually became part of the Holy Roman Empire again in the 11th century after a series of battles.

In 1291 the three cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden banded together and formed the Swiss Confederation – celebrating their independence from all other factions on August 1st of that year, which is still celebrated as the national independence day throughout Switzerland.

During the centuries that followed, more cantons were added to the young country. Lucerne joined in 1332, Zürich in 1351, Glarus and Zug in 1352 and Bern in 1353 as territorial expansion accelerated. However, at times small wars would break out between the cantons, as each one struggled for military control and power. Cantons Fribourg and Solothurn were admitted to Switzerland in 1481, Basel and Schaffhausen in 1501, and Appenzell in 1513.

As additional cantons were added, Switzerland's economy flourished. Silk goods, linens, wool and cottons experienced the greatest growth and, by the 18th century, Geneva had gained a reputation for clock production. Zürich became the center for literature and new ideas. Napoleon had a short stint of supervision over Switzerland in the late 1790s, which gave France the ability to recruit 14-15,000 men for his national army. After his demise, Switzerland was forced to develop a new constitution, which was christened the Pact of 1815, giving Swiss citizens freedom of religion, of movement, and freedom from occupation. The cantons of Valais, Neuchâtel and Geneva were officially established at this time as well.

Since the mid-1800s, Switzerland's history has remained fairly quiet, and the Swiss have remained unyielding in their commitment to neutrality, even as the European Union evolved and developed all around them. During both world wars, Switzerland was faced with hostile neighbors, and was able to maintain neutrality and become a center for international organizations, such as the Red Cross.

Modern Switzerland has not been unscathed by 20th-century wars, however. In the mid-1990s the Swiss government was accused of selling weapons to the Nazis, and many people who had family members perish in the Holocaust filed lawsuits against Swiss banks, accusing them of illegally keeping money and other assets deposited by victims both before and during World War II. In 1998 several Swiss banks agreed to a $1.25 billion settlement, but the government did not opt to participate in the settlement. To this day, the Swiss remain adamantly opposed to joining the European Union.

William Tell

Switzerland has had but one hero, William Tell, and he is a myth, wrote English author and humorist Max Beerbohm. Legend never really says if Tell was a man or a myth, but you can find a statue of him in