The Crown Of Switzerland

Advantages: Londoners perspective: beautiful, clean, orderly and different
Disadvantages: Londoners perspective: Expensive (yes even for me!)and a little small and quiet

...I have been to Geneva three times now because I have a friend who lives there. Otherwise I?m not sure it would have crossed my mind to visit. It?s certainly not one of those places on everyone?s must see list. Geneva is in Switzerland but is actually surrounded by France. It is a very unique city - a mix of European and British / American influences with people of all different nationalities settled there. And although the primary language is French most speak at least Basic English. Transport Getting to Geneva could not be simpler. Most budget airlines fly there, for example Easyjet have around three flights a day from London Gatwick. The flight only takes an hour and a half and as long as you don?t travel during the peak skiing season prices are really cheap (for example £10!). The airport is not far from the city centre...

Tricia24 11.11.2003 · Read review
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Review of Geneva (Switzerland)

Enchanting Switzerland

Advantages: A haven of scenic beauty
Disadvantages: nothing worth mentioning though language can be problem for english speaking tourists.

...Lake Geneva, Lugano, and Neuchtel offer sailing, water-skiing and canoing. Rowing can be done on Lake Zurich. hiking is a national passion in Switzerland, and hikers are very well catered for. Approximately 50,000km of trails lead through all kinds of terrain in this spectacularly beautiful country.We went to rhein falls on the first day.It is a photographer's delight.We had luggage with us and there was no place to put it. So we had to drag it with us all the way up and down the stairs.While coming back to the platform we found out that the place where people were depositing their belongings for a ride in boat was very near to platform. Advice: If you have luggage with you then go down to the left from platform,its hardly 50 meters.The person who takes care for the luggage charges 1 frank per suitcase. SHOPPING: Chocolates :Swiss...

ananya123 20.08.2007 (17.09.2007) · Read review
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Review of General: Switzerland

Take a step off the tourist trail in Switzerland

Advantages: Beautiful medieval city, relatively cheap, lots to do, excellent transport links
Disadvantages: none

...If you were asked to name some Swiss cities which ones would spring to mind? Bern? Geneva? Zurich?Lausanne? Chances are that you won't mention Fribourg and possibly have never heard of it, which was certainly the case for me before I moved here last year. A recent visitor described it as a 'hidden gem' and 'where the Swiss go on holiday' and that is very true, you find very few foreign visitors and lots of Swiss nationals visiting Fribourg. So why is this and what does Fribourg have to offer? ****Location and getting there***** The city of Fribourg (pronounced free-bour) / Freiberg (pronounced fry-berg) is in Western Switzerland and is situated in the canton of the same name. It is about 35km southwest of Bern and is located on the main train line between Geneva and Zurich. You can fly into Bern (40 minutes by train), Geneva (90...

historywitch 25.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of Fribourg, Switzerland

Supreme Switzerland!

Advantages: stunning
Disadvantages: pricey

...Switzerland is the ultimate holiday destination in Europe for those who want to see stunning scenery, wildlife and experience a unique culture. Switzerland is a great place for visitors for many reasons. For me, the ultra-efficient transport system allows accessibility to anywhere in the country. Transfers to resort are by train rather than coach as the system is so reliable and efficient. Zurich and Geneva both have train stations in there airports and English speaking assistance is always available. I've visited Switzerland on three separate occassions - Lake Maggiore/Zermatt, Interlaken and Saas Fee. I've also visited a number of places in each region, made accessible by the trains. I'll try and give some tips about each area and the best places to go... MAGGIORE On this holiday, we were staying in Italy but went into...

tallyrand8 29.03.2007 · Read review
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Review of General: Switzerland

Switzerland - my former home

Advantages: Beautiful country
Disadvantages: Quite expensive and very cold in winter

...The last eighteen years Switzerland was my home, so I should be an expert on this theme. Let’s see what I can tell you about this beautiful country. Weather: Spring/Summer: Switzerland is a few degrees Centigrade cooler than England, except the region next to Italy – Tessin. In all other counties it is between 12 and 24 degrees during this seasons, in Tessin it is between 14 and 28 degrees. Autumn/Winter: This seasons are quite cool, especially in the skiing-regions (Davos, Arosa, Verbier, Nendaz are some of the biggest – and dearest). Temperatures vary from minus 10 up to 10 degrees Centigrade. Languages: Switzerland may be very small, but it has four (!) official languages. So it should be no problem to speak English to everyone, as well as German and French. The fourth language is dying, so you want really find people...

Shanon 02.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of General: Switzerland

Switzerland at its best - the Berner Oberland

Advantages: the best scenery in the world
Disadvantages: among the most expensive viewpoints in the world, if not physically fit for prolonged hikes

...Definitely the best stop on my recently completed European tour, the Berner Oberland region can probably be labeled among the best that Switzerland has to offer. Having lived in the country for some nine years, I reserve the right to fully justify this (seemingly rash) elevation of the region to among Switzerland’s finest holiday destinations. We had originally planned to visit Interlaken, 1.5 hours from Bern by train. However, Interlaken is famous for its adventure activities, and was thus packed with tourists on the day we arrived there, July 12, 2001. Our desire for a more isolated destination, after having toured principal cities in France, Spain, and Italy, brought us instead to Lauterbrunnen, smaller and quieter than Interlaken, and only 20 minutes away by train. Another factor in Lauterbrunnen’s favor was its...

Marechal_Grouchy 21.08.2001 · Read review
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Review of General: Switzerland

Switzerland Brig Blatten and Belalp

Advantages: A relaxing time in wonderful surroundings - the scenery is breathtaking
Disadvantages: The cost!

...The historic little town of Brig, on the south bank of the Rhone, is the capital of the Valais Canton. Brig was an important staging point in Roman times and is today an important junction on the Lotschberg, Furka-Oberalp, Brig-Visp-Oberalp and Simplon railways. The imposing Stockalperpalast is the finest Baroque palace in Switzerland. It has been thoroughly renovated and restored and is dominated by three square gabled towers. The palace houses over 10,000 documents from the Upper Valais Historical Society and the Valais Institute. The pilgrim church of Unsere liebe Frau stands on the Glisacher to the west of Brig and contains the finest works of art in Switzerland. From Brig you can travel from 2240ft up to 4360ft to the typical Valais mountain village of Blatten. With a population of around 50 there is very little to do...

aberdarelad 29.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of General: Switzerland

Switzerland's Only Museum for Potheads

Advantages: If you like pots, it's the best place in Switzerland
Disadvantages: If you don't like pots and glass, this probably isn't for you

...Serendipity - it's a great word, isn't it? One online dictionary defines it as "The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident" and I'm a fan of such accidental discoveries. Our most recent was the Musee Ariana in Geneva. What's the chance that my husband and I, wandering around looking for the Red Cross museum and the United Nations building, will stumble across museum dedicated to two arts that we're passionate about? We love glass and we particularly love ceramics and as we walked from the bus stop to the Red Cross museum we just happened to see the signs for the Musee Ariana. As luck would have it this is the only museum in the whole of Switzerland that's devoted to ceramics and glass. And it's FREE! Truly the gods were smiling down on us that Sunday afternoon. For our friends who were with us, it was a bit less...

koshkha 03.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Ariana Museum, Geneva

Hello from Switzerland!

Advantages: ---
Disadvantages: ---

...Dear Readers, I´m quite familiar with Ciao.de as I have written 90 opinions there under the same nick during the last two years. For this reason, I became curious about ciao Uk and hope to get to know more people there. Living in Switzerland and teaching German to foreigners, I often come in touch with various cultures. A couple of years ago, I even studied in England. Believe it or not, it was the best time of my entire life and I felt at home there. °°° 1. What time is it? °°° It´s 11 o´clock on a sunny Sunday morning. °°° 2. Name as it appears on your birth certificate? °°° Patrick (like the Patron of Ireland). A good catholic name and I feel especially committed to Anglocatholicism...:-) °°° 3. Parent?s Names? °°° My mother´s name is Ruth, my father´s is Victor. °°° 4. Number of candles on my last birthday...

PadiZH 05.09.2004 (10.09.2004) · Read review
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Review of All About Me

Unsettling

Advantages: Cathedral, old town, plenty to keep you occupied
Disadvantages: I just didn't feel at home

..., or the factories on the French bank of the river, if such things take your fancy! What I didn’t particularly like was the way that the industrialised areas of Basel lie quite close to the city centre – your first view of Switzerland is not especially impressive, dominated as it is by the container station and sidings, and the chimneys of various chemical factories that huddle near the French border in the suburb of Kleinhüningen. This appears to be a deliberate ploy by the Swiss authorities, as the French part of the border is characterised by run-down buildings and factories, and it looks they have decided to combat like with like, with none-too-pleasant effects. Basel is favoured by excellent transport links, being extremely easy to reach by road and rail, and it is also served by the Euro-Airport Basel-Mulhouse, which is actually...

JVL 07.06.2001 (09.09.2001) · Read review
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Review of Basel (Switzerland)