Switzerland: country facts, travel advice and health

SBB timetable app: free national timetable for trains, buses and most public transport.PostBus app: free, with the same timetables as SBB plus extra PostBus features.swisstopo: free hiking maps of the country's footpaths.SBB FreeSurf: gets you online on long-distance trains, but only with some Swiss mobile plans.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Cards or cash

Mostly cashMostly cards

Step 3 of 5: Cash and cards are both widely used, so it helps to carry some of each.Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Money in Switzerland

Swiss Franc · Fr. · CHF

Spend CHF 300 or more in one purchase and the VAT can be reclaimed when leaving the country.

Department store cafeterias such as Coop, Migros or Manor are a cheaper way to eat out.

Shop at Coop late in the day, when salads and sandwiches go for half price.

Skip bottled water: tap water is safe to drink nearly everywhere.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Collect Swiss Franc in CointryOur sister app for coin and banknote collectors · cointry.appOpen

Public holidays in the next 12 months

Tue, 8 Dec 2026 · Immaculate Conception Mariä Empfängnis

Fri, 25 Dec 2026 · Christmas Day Weihnachten

Sat, 26 Dec 2026 · St. Stephen's Day Stephanstag

Thu, 31 Dec 2026 · Restoration Day Restauration de la République

Fri, 1 Jan 2027 · New Year's Day Neujahr

Sat, 2 Jan 2027 · St. Berchtold's Day Berchtoldstag

Wed, 6 Jan 2027 · Epiphany Heilige Drei Könige

Mon, 1 Mar 2027 · Republic Day Jahrestag der Ausrufung der Republik

Fri, 19 Mar 2027 · Saint Joseph's Day Josefstag

Fri, 26 Mar 2027 · Good Friday Karfreitag

Mon, 29 Mar 2027 · Easter Monday Ostermontag

Sun, 4 Apr 2027 · Näfels procession Näfelser Fahrt

Sat, 1 May 2027 · Labour Day Tag der Arbeit

Thu, 6 May 2027 · Ascension Day Auffahrt

Mon, 17 May 2027 · Whit Monday Pfingstmontag

Thu, 27 May 2027 · Corpus Christi Fronleichnam

Tue, 29 Jun 2027 · Saint Peter and Saint Paul Peter und Paul

Sun, 1 Aug 2027 · Swiss National Day Bundesfeier

Sun, 15 Aug 2027 · Assumption of the Virgin Mary Maria Himmelfahrt

Thu, 9 Sept 2027 · Geneva Prayday Jeûne genevois

Sun, 19 Sept 2027 · Federal Day of Thanksgiving Eidgenössischer Dank-, Buss- und Bettag

Mon, 20 Sept 2027 · Federal Fast Monday Bettagsmontag

Mon, 1 Nov 2027 · All Saints' Day Allerheiligen

Source: Nager.Date · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

02Free

Safety today

Germany, the US and the UK publish their travel advice openly. Here is what those that cover Switzerland say, side by side, checked daily.

German Foreign Office says

No travel warning

Calm ●

Caution

Serious

Don’t go

Source: Auswärtiges Amt
Updated 13 Oct 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

U.S. Department of State says

Exercise normal precautions

Calm ●

Caution

Serious

Don’t go

Level 1 of 4

Source: travel.state.gov
Updated 13 Aug 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

UK Foreign Office says

No advice against travel

Source: GOV.UK
Updated 11 Aug 2026 · Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

Countrywise is a summary. The official page is authoritative.

03Free

Health

Make sure routine vaccines are up to date. Some ski and hiking areas are high enough for altitude sickness.

Vaccinations

Make sure your routine vaccines are current before you travel.

Altitude

Some ski and hiking areas are high enough for altitude sickness to be a risk.

Talk to a travel clinic 4–8 weeks before you go.

Source: CDC
Checked 24 Oct 2026Official page

Summarised from the CDC’s Travelers’ Health pages. Using them does not mean the CDC endorses Countrywise.

04Travel layer

In the app: the travel layer

The travel layer

Read a country like someone who’s been there.

What’s different from home, and what’s the lawMust-see places, free entry and World Heritage sites20 words to remember, with pronunciationStrange and surprising factsThe anthem and national symbolsSaved for offline use

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Must-see · 1Bern

De facto capital with an intact old town of covered arcades

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

Strange & surprising · #1

No single leader: the seven-member Federal Council acts together as head of state and of government.

Source: Wikivoyage · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

National anthem: Swiss Psalm. The lyrics, translated, and the story are in the app. Source: Wikidata · Checked 24 Oct 2026 ↗

13 World Heritage sites in Switzerland, each with a photo and its story, in the app. Source: UNESCO World Heritage List

05Free

Deep facts

Economy
GDP	≈ $1 trillionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Per person	≈ $114,769Source: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Top exports	gold, packaged medicine, vaccines, nitrogen compounds, base metal watches (2023)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Population
Population	9.1 millionSource: World Bank · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Median age	44.4 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2025 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Life expectancy	83.9 yearsSource: The World Factbook (archive) · 2024 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Religions	Roman Catholic 34.4%, Protestant 22.5%, other Christian 5.7%, Muslim 5.4%, other 1.5%, none 29.4%, unspecified 1.1% (2020 est.)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · 2020 figures · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Geography
Area	41,277 km²Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Climate	temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy, rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with occasional showersSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Terrain	mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakesSource: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Government
Type of government	federal republic (formally a confederation)Source: The World Factbook (archive) · as of 2025/26 · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Calling code	+41Source: libphonenumber · Checked 23 Oct 2026 ↗

About the data

Written from the sources we link, and checked against them before each release. Countrywise summarises public sources. We are not an official source. For safety and entry rules, always follow the official page we link to.

From your foreign ministry when it publishes its advice openly (Germany, the US, the UK). Otherwise we show those three side by side. Checked daily, with the date next to every entry.

CDC · 24 Oct 2026 ↗GOV.UK · 24 Oct 2026 ↗IANA Time Zone Database · 23 Oct 2026 ↗libphonenumber · 23 Oct 2026 ↗Nager.Date · 23 Oct 2026 ↗The World Factbook (archive) · 23 Oct 2026 ↗Unicode CLDR · 23 Oct 2026 ↗Wikidata · 24 Oct 2026 ↗Wikivoyage · 24 Oct 2026 ↗World Bank · 23 Oct 2026 ↗

Flag artwork from flag-icons (MIT licence).