Safety in Switzerland

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.

Switzerland is one of the safest countries in the world, and organised deception of tourists barely exists. What you lose here, you lose lawfully.

Pickpockets at stations. Zurich, Geneva and Basel are the only places where anything happens. Travelling groups work them, peaking at morning and evening rush hour.

ATMs. Decline the machine's currency conversion: the franc is expensive enough, and the rate costs up to ten percent.

Restaurants and "service". Service is included by law and separate tipping is not required — rounding up is enough. A bill with an added service line is worth checking.

Ski and equipment hire. Damage claims on return occur. Record the condition.

Jungfraujoch and Matterhorn excursions. The tickets are genuinely expensive, but street offers of something "cheaper" mean paying more. Buy from the railway.

The real shock in Switzerland is not fraud but prices: lunch, a train ride and a hotel night cost several times what they do next door.

Travelling without a ticket. Inspectors work regularly, penalties start at 100 francs, and your details go into a shared operators' database. A ticket is valid only for the stated zone and time.

The vignette. Motorway travel requires an annual sticker costing 40 francs — there is no alternative, as Switzerland has no short-term vignette. The fine for going without is 200 francs plus the price of the sticker.

Quiet hours. From 22:00 to 06:00 and all day Sunday. In residential buildings this is observed literally: some house rules prohibit even laundry and a loud shower late in the evening.

Rubbish. Collection is paid for through official municipal bags. A bag put out incorrectly is sometimes opened, and the documents inside identify the offender. Fines are substantial.

Speeding fines. In Switzerland these are calculated from the offender's income with no upper limit — record penalties have run to hundreds of thousands of francs. Foreigners face fixed tariffs, but they are still high, and there are a great many cameras.

Drones. Registration is compulsory, and flights near airports and over people are prohibited.

Knives. A folding knife is permitted; weapons and automatic knives are not.

Vaccinations. None mandatory, but tick-borne encephalitis is worth discussing: almost the whole country apart from the high Alps and Ticino is a risk area, and the Swiss are vaccinated in large numbers.

Water. Tap water is excellent, and city fountains are drinkable unless marked "kein Trinkwasser". Buying bottled makes no sense at all.

The mountains are the main risk. The Swiss Alps are superbly equipped, which creates a false sense of safety. The weather turns within an hour, T3-and-above trails demand experience, and in winter the avalanche risk beyond prepared pistes is real. Check the SLF forecast and the avalanche level before every outing.

Rescue is charged, and that is the key point. Helicopter evacuation in Switzerland costs 3,000 to 5,000 francs and is not covered by ordinary insurance. The practical answer is REGA membership (the Swiss air rescue service) or a policy that names mountain evacuation.

Healthcare. Among the most expensive in the world. A night in hospital easily passes a thousand francs and a consultation two hundred. Insurance is essential, with a high limit.

Emergency numbers: 144 ambulance, 1414 REGA, 112 unified.

Switzerland ranks in the world's top ten on the Corruption Perceptions Index. Bribery does not exist as a phenomenon.

Numbers. 117 police, 144 ambulance, 118 fire, 112 the European line.

Police are cantonal, and rules differ from canton to canton in places. Foreigners are treated correctly and formally.

Reporting theft. Reports are taken at any station and many cantons accept online filings. The certificate for your insurer is issued immediately.

Identity checks. Police may establish your identity. Carry a passport copy.

Traffic police. There are enormous numbers of cameras, some concealed. Fines arrive by post months later and are passed to the rental company.

Mountain rescue. REGA on 1414 is a separate number worth saving before you go into the mountains. The REGA app transmits your coordinates automatically, which decides everything in a mountain call-out.

What actually matters. You will not be robbed in Switzerland. You will be fined — for a ticket, a vignette, speed, rubbish — and billed in full for a rescue.