Switzerland's Mountain Inns

Walking Easy in the Swiss & Austrian Alps
Chet & Carolee LiptonThis US book covers day walks in Alpbach, Kitzbühel, Neustift, Seefeld, Wagrain, Zell Am Ziller, Bad Gastein, Zell am See, Kaprun, Wengen, Grindelwald, Mürren, Meiringen, Lenk, Adelboden, Lötschental, Lucerne, Saas-Fee, Engadine,  Zermatt, Arosa, Appenzellerland,
There is also a chapter on getting to and about Austria & Switzerland, what to take, and information about Austria & Switzerland.

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Kompass Maps
Switzerland

Switzerland

Tourist Information

In Switzerland, the main Swiss Tourist Board details are:

Switzerland Tourism
Tödistrasse 7
CH-8002 Zürich

Phone:   +41 44 288 11 11 
Fax:       +41 44 288 12 05

There are Tourist Information Offices in most resorts.

Travel to Switzerland

You can travel to Switzerland by Air, Road (Coach or Car) or Train.

Travel operators to Switzerland include: Inghams, Thomson,

Walking Holidays include: HF Holidays, Ramblers.

See Travel for details.

Swiss Kantons

These are the Swiss Kantons:

Kanton Zürich / Zurich	ZH	Kanton Schaffhausen	SH
Kanton Bern / Berne	BE	Kanton Appenzell Ausserrhoden / Outer-Rhodes	AR
Kanton Luzern / Lucerne	LU	Kanton Appenzell Innerrhoden / Inner-Rhodes	AI
Kanton Uri	UR	Kanton St. Gallen	SG
Kanton Schwyz	SZ	Kanton Graubünden	GR
Kanton Obwalden (Unterwalden)	OW	Kanton Aargau / Argovia	AG
Kanton Nidwalden (Unterwalden)	NW	Kanton Thurgau / Thurgovia	TG
Kanton Glarus	GL	Kanton Tessin / Ticino	TI
Kanton Zug	ZG	Kanton Waadt / Vaud	VD
Kanton Freiburg / Fribourg	FR	Kanton Wallis / Valais	VS
Kanton Solothurn	SO	Kanton Neuenburg / Neuchâtel	NE
Kanton Basel-Stadt / Town (Basel)	BS	Kanton Genf / Geneva	GE
Kanton Basel-Land / Country (Basel)	BL	Kanton Jura	JU

Airports (Flughafen)

There are several airports serving Switzerland:

Airport	Code	Airport	Code
Zürich Kloten	ZRH	Sion	SIR
Genf Cointrin	GVA	St. Gallen Altenrhein	ACH
Bern Belp	BRN	Lugano	LUG
Basel Mulhouse (EuroAirport)	MLH	Samedan	SMV

Rail Stations

The main train network is run by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). For train and bus timetables click here, SBB (English).

Buses

There are lots of bus companies in Switzerland. They co-operate to provide bus services which integrate with the trains. For Postbus timetables and other information, click here (English).

Cable Cars / Chair Lifts

Most resorts have one or more cable cars or chair lifts. They normally do not operate in Spring (April - early June) or Autumn (Mid September - October). See Resorts for details.

Schweizer Seilbahnen

Walking / Hiking in Switzerland

The walking / hiking in Switzerland varies from short walks round lakes to strenuous hikes above 2000m staying in mountain huts. See Resorts for details.

Maps of Switzerland

A good map of Switzerland is useful for finding you way round on the trains, buses or roads.

For walking / hiking maps there are several map companies that make suitable maps:

• Bundesamt fur Landestopographie
• Kümmerly+Frey
• Valser
• Kompass

They offer maps with scales of 1:25000 to 1:60000 depending on the resorts and surrounding areas.

Some maps have co-ordination systems marked (Long & Lat; UTM) or include booklets with GPS information.

For use with a PC / GPS receiver, Digital Maps allow you to plan your walks on your PC  and upload the track to your GPS receiver. You can also download track from your GPS receiver and view them in 3D on your PC.

See Resorts for details of maps suitable for the resort.

Switzerland Public Holidays

These are the main public holidays in Switzerland. Some may be regional days.

Holiday
New Year's Day - Neujahr	1 January
St. Berchtold’s Day - Berchtoldstag	2 January
Epiphany - Heilige drei Könige	6 January
St. Joseph - St. Josef	19 March
Easter Friday - Karfreitag	varies
Easter Day - Ostersonntag	varies
Easter Monday - Ostermontag	varies
Labour - May Day - Tag der Arbeit	1 May
Ascension Day - Christi Himmelfahrt	varies
Whit Sunday - Pfingstsonntag	varies
Whit Monday - Pfingstmontag	varies
Corpus Christi Day - Fronleichnam	varies
National Day - Nationalfeiertag Schweiz	1 August
Assumption Day - Mariä Himmelfahrt	15 August
All Saints' Day - Allerheiligen	1 November
Immaculate Conception - Mariä Empfängis	8 December
Christmas Day - Weihnachten	25 December
St. Stephen's Day - Stephanstag	26 December

Emergencies Phone Numbers

The official Swiss emergency numbers are:

• Police - 117
• Fire brigade - 118
• Car breakdown service - 140
• Helping Hand - 143
• Ambulance - 144
• Child Helping line - 147
• Helicopter-Rega - 1414
• Helicopter Air Glaciers - 1415
• European emergency number - 112

The Europe wide emergency number is 112.

Shops

In general, shops are open Monday - Friday 09:00 to 18:00. Food shops and supermarkets stay open on some weekdays until 19:30 and Saturdays until 17:00. In tourist areas some shops may also open in the evenings and Sundays.

Electricity

Two pin continental plugs are needed on electrical items. Following “European Voltage Harmonisation” in 1995, the nominal voltage is 230 volts at 50 Hz. (It used to 220 V but products marked 220V, 230V or 240V should work correctly). You may need a travel connector adapter.

If you have any 110V items that cannot be set to 230V, you will need a travel voltage converter.

NOTE: Most hotels do not allow travel kettles to be used in hotel rooms.

Bike Hire

Sports shops in resorts hire Mountain Bikes and City Bikes.

Excursions

Local coach companies offer a range of excursions.

Currency and Credit / Debit Cards

The currency used in Switzerland is the Swiss Franc. The euro is also widely used and accepted. Credit and debit cards are not as widely accepted as in the UK. Check that the shop or restaurant takes them before you buy.

Most resorts have Automated Teller Machines inside the bank branch or outside that will take Visa, Mastercard or Eurocard.

Bernese Oberland

Grindelwald

Mürren

Wengen

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A Fielding
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