Switzerland

Jungfraujoch: Worth the trip to Europe's highest railway station for the ice caves and the glacier view, though the undiscounted ticket is genuinely expensive.

Mount Pilatus: Where to go for a steep ride on the cogwheel railway and a panorama over Lake Lucerne. Come back down by cable car for the full loop.

The Matterhorn: The famous pyramid is the reason people come to Zermatt. The best view is from the Gornergrat platform, reached by the old rack railway.

Rhine Falls: An easy day trip from Zurich to the most powerful waterfall in Europe, where you can take a boat out to the rock in the middle of the torrent.

Chillon Castle: Where to go for history and romance on the shore of Lake Geneva. It looks like an illustration lifted from a book of chivalric romances.

Jet d'Eau: Geneva's signature fountain throws water a hundred metres into the air. Best appreciated during a walk along the lakefront promenade.

Panoramic trains: The Bernina Express over the passes and viaducts is one of the most beautiful railway journeys anywhere, and worth planning a day around.

Currency: The Swiss franc is the national currency, and paying in euros in shops loses you money on the exchange rate every time.

Cards: Visa and Mastercard are accepted essentially everywhere, and paying by phone is the fastest way to settle a bill. American Express is taken at hotels and larger restaurants but less reliably elsewhere.

Cash: Carrying wads of francs isn't wise, but keep a hundred on you for mountain huts and small village kiosks, some of which still take nothing else.

Exchange: Change dollars at a post office or a bank rather than the airport, where the rate and commission are worst. A Wise or Revolut card avoids the problem altogether.

Costs: Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in the world, and everything from a coffee to a cable car reflects that. Budget generously or plan to self-cater.

Item	Price (USD)
Cafe lunch	30
Restaurant dinner	55
Portion of fondue	40
Coffee in the centre	6
Beer in a bar	8
Takeaway sandwich	13
Hostel night	60
Three-star hotel	200
Tram ticket	5
Three-day rail pass	290
Mountain ascent	100
Castle ticket	17
Bar of chocolate	5
Supermarket meal deal	12

The SBB system: Everything from trains to funiculars runs as one interlocking machine, on a shared timetable and a single through ticket. It's the best public transport network on earth and it is worth using.

Swiss Travel Pass: The right answer if you want freedom of movement and no queuing at ticket desks. It covers trains, boats, buses and many mountain railways.

Half Fare Card: If your journeys are occasional, this card costs about 120 francs and halves every fare for a month. Do the arithmetic before you buy the full pass.

Panoramic trains: The famous expresses like the Glacier Express run through the most spectacular country, but a window seat carries a supplement.

Guest cards: Many hotels issue guests a card making local trams and buses free within the town. Ask at check-in, because they don't always volunteer it.

Supersaver tickets: Look for the black percentage icon in the app. Those fares are tied to a specific departure but cost considerably less.

Boats: The ships on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz aren't just excursions, they're proper transport and they're included in your pass.

Flying in: Zurich and Geneva have direct flights from most European hubs plus New York, Chicago, Dubai and Doha, and both airports sit minutes from the city centre by train.

Guesthouses: Small chalets on the edge of town give you real alpine character without paying a premium for a central address.

Hostels: The Swiss Youth Hostels network is spotless and the breakfasts are better than at plenty of hotels. Book early in the mountains.

Self-catering: Look for places with kitchen access. Cooking from supermarket ingredients cuts your budget here more than any other single decision.

Tasch instead of Zermatt: Staying in the neighbouring village saves a great deal on the room while keeping you connected to the Matterhorn lifts by shuttle train.

Tourist tax: Expect a few francs per night added to the room rate. It usually entitles you to free local transport, so ask for the card.

Book early: Popular spots like Grindelwald sell out six months ahead in season, so independent planning needs to start a long way out.

Typically Swiss Hotel: This label means timber, warmth and local farm produce on the breakfast table, and it's a reliable marker of quality.

Cheese fondue: The signature dish, best eaten at an old restaurant, though portions are enormous and designed for two people minimum.

Rosti: Grated potato fried into a cake with various toppings is the most dependable way to eat well for a sensible price.

Restaurant costs: An ordinary lunch runs to 30 or 40 francs, which is why many travellers switch to sandwiches and hot counters at supermarkets.

Free water: Don't buy plastic bottles. Every public fountain runs clean alpine water that you can drink for nothing.

Chocolate: Go into a Laderach shop for the nut slabs, which are a completely different thing from supermarket bars and make the best gift home.

Raclette: Melted cheese over potatoes, and it pairs best with a local white wine of a kind that almost never leaves the country.

Bakeries: In the morning you can pick up a fresh croissant or a filled savoury pastry, which makes a good cheap breakfast on the move.

Mountain weather: Conditions in the Alps change within minutes, so even a straightforward summer hike needs proper boots and a warm windproof layer.

Drinking water: Fill your bottle at any town fountain. The water is cleaner and better than anything sold in a shop.

Quiet hours: Noise after ten at night is genuinely forbidden, and on Sundays you shouldn't even play music loudly in an apartment building.

Emergency numbers: Dial 112 for anything serious. For mountain rescue, REGA operates helicopters and answers on 1414.

Driving fines: If you hire a car, stick to the speed limits obsessively, because cameras are everywhere and the penalties are enormous.

Theft: Crime levels are extremely low, though it's still sensible to watch your bags at the main stations in the big cities.

On the trail: Check your phone's charge before setting out and download a proper topographic map app. Signal in the valleys is patchy.

Four languages: The country divides into German, French and Italian-speaking regions plus Romansh, and the differences run well beyond language into how life is lived.

Punctuality: Trains arrive to the second, so turning up on the platform at the last moment is a reliable way to miss one.

Direct democracy: People vote on significant questions several times a year, which makes politics a normal topic of everyday conversation.

Sundays: Almost everything closes, silence becomes absolute and the towns feel abandoned until Monday morning.

Tipping: Service is already included in the total, so leaving extra isn't expected. Rounding the bill up is plenty.

Neutrality: It's a foundation of national identity and the reason the country has stayed an island of stability in the middle of a changing continent.

Swiss army knife: Buying a Victorinox is close to obligatory, but remember you can't carry it in hand luggage on the flight home.

Roaming: Switzerland is outside the EU roaming zone, so data here is expensive even for European visitors. Check your plan before you land.

Local SIMs: Swisscom or Sunrise give reliable coverage even in tunnels and high in the mountains, where hotel wi-fi runs out.

eSIM: The quickest way to get online without finding a shop. Download the app, pick a plan and you're connected on arrival.

Free wi-fi: SBB stations and trains have hotspots, though activating them often requires a code sent by SMS to a working number.

Go digital: Keep tickets and bookings on your phone, since paper versions are steadily being phased out here.

Power bank: Bring a compact one. Navigation in the mountains drains a battery fast and there are no sockets on the trail.

Language: English is spoken throughout the tourist areas, but in small villages in the German-speaking part an offline translator earns its keep.

English	Swiss German	Pronunciation
Hello (local)	Grüezi	GRUE-tsi
Thank you	Merci	mehr-SEE
Please	Bitte	BIT-teh
Yes / No	Ja / Nei	yah / nay
How much is it?	Was kostet das?	vas KOS-tet dahs
The bill, please	Die Rechnung, bitte	dee REKH-nung BIT-teh
Where's the station?	Wo ist der Bahnhof?	vo ist dair BAHN-hof
That's delicious!	S'isch guet!	shish GOOT
Cheers!	Proscht!	prosht
Goodbye	Uf Widerluege	oof VEE-der-loo-eg-eh
Sorry	Entschuldigung	ent-SHOOL-di-gung
Help	Hilfe	HIL-feh
Beer (small)	Stange	SHTAHN-geh
Coffee with milk	Schale	SHAH-leh
Great (slang)	Urguet	oor-GOOT
Shop	Lädeli	LED-eh-lee
Bread roll	Mütschli	MUETSH-lee
Cheese	Chäs	khehs
Mountain	Bärg	bairg
Good morning	Guete Morge	GOO-teh MOR-geh
Do you speak English?	Redet Sie Englisch?	RED-et zee ENG-lish
I don't understand	Ich verstah nöd	ikh fer-SHTAH nurd

SBB app: The single most useful tool for a traveller here, selling every ticket and telling you which platform your train leaves from.

Mountain weather: Use MeteoSwiss, which gives the most accurate forecasts by altitude, which matters enormously when planning an ascent.

Route planning: SchweizMobil is indispensable if you want to walk or cycle the country's marked panoramic routes.

Mountain rescue: Save 1414 in your phone. That's REGA, the professionals who will come for you if you're injured on a trail.

Connectivity: Buy a local SIM on arrival, because roaming here costs a fortune and will drain your balance within a day.

Cheap groceries: Denner and Aldi have the lowest food prices if you're cooking for yourself in a guesthouse.

Museums: Remember that a Swiss Travel Pass also gets you into around five hundred museums across the country for nothing.