- Important points
- Choosing wings
- Hotel or apartment
- Transport subtleties
- Nightingales are not fed with fables
- Useful details
- Perfect travel to Switzerland
On any Swiss airline flight, in addition to traditional drinks and impeccable service, passengers are offered chocolate - a signature product of a small mountainous country lost among the snow-capped Alpine peaks. The program of a trip to Switzerland also invariably includes cheese tasting and an acquaintance with the stained glass windows of the immortal Chagall in Zurich's Fraumünster Cathedral, skiing on the impeccable ski slopes and walking along the cozy streets of old Geneva, relaxing on the lakes and buying a real Victorinox penknife.
Important points
- To travel to Switzerland, Russian citizens need a Schengen visa. The standard package of documents will have to attach proof of financial solvency in the amount of at least 100 Swiss francs for each day of the proposed tour.
- VAT refunds are made upon leaving the country. To receive paid for goods 7, 5%, you will need a specially issued check for each purchase, the value of which is not less than 400 Swiss francs.
- When renting a car, do not forget about high fines for traffic violations. For example, you will have to pay 55 euros for not wearing a seat belt, and 90 euros for talking on a mobile phone while driving without using a hand free device.
- Be sure to purchase solid health insurance before traveling to ski resorts in Switzerland. The services of any doctor in the country are very expensive.
Choosing wings
The fastest way to deliver travelers from Russia to Switzerland is Aeroflot and Swiss International Air Lines. Travel time for a direct flight is about 3.5 hours. With transfers in European capitals, it takes a little longer:
- The cheapest tickets from Moscow to Zurich are offered by KLM and Air France. With connections in Amsterdam or Paris, you can get to Zurich for 180 euros.
- A ticket to Zurich in economy class on Swiss airlines will cost about 220 euros.
- Swiss planes will take passengers from Moscow to Geneva in 4 hours and 190 euros.
Regular railway communication between Russia and Switzerland is open from the Belorussky railway station of the capital. But ticket prices start at 300 euros one way, and you will have to spend 36 hours on the way.
Hotel or apartment
Hotels in Switzerland are an example of comfort, neatness and coziness. Their only drawback is the inhumane prices for accommodation. For example, a standard room in a three-star hotel in Zurich will cost at least 250 euros, and even free Wi-Fi, the availability of a fitness center and restaurants with varied cuisine does not really change things.
For travelers who are not accustomed to wasting money, the best accommodation option in Switzerland is an apartment. For example, a night in the attic of a typical Zurich apartment will cost 75 euros. It offers - wireless internet, a private bathroom, a good location in the city center and the ability to accommodate pets.
For a bed in a dormitory room in a Geneva hostel, you will have to pay from 60 euros per day. The price includes breakfast, access to shared bathroom, free parking and internet.
Typically, when calculating, you will be asked to pay a city tax for each night in the amount of 1.65 Swiss francs.
Transport subtleties
Public transport in Switzerland is represented by trains, buses and metro, and its main difference is the perfect adherence to the schedule and convenient timetable, "tailored" to the needs of passengers. Transport tickets are sold at train stations, ticket machines or at the driver's entrance.
The travel system in the country is very diverse, but the Swiss Travel System ticket is most suitable for foreign tourists. It is sold at most train stations and railway stations. Such a travel card is optimal for a single tourist who decides to move between cities for a long time, or for a short trip for two to several cities. In other cases, renting a car may be a more profitable option.
Fans of sports and a healthy lifestyle will significantly save on moving around the cities if they rent a bike. In Geneva and Zurich, a two-wheeled friend will cost you absolutely free. You will have to leave only a couple of tens of euros as a deposit, which will be returned to you after you return the iron horse to the parking lot.
Nightingales are not fed with fables
Swiss cuisine has successfully absorbed the best gastronomic traditions of neighboring countries - Germany, France and Italy. Even the most fastidious traveler will find suitable dishes here and will be able to enjoy every breakfast or lunch to the fullest.
The cheapest option for a snack is street stalls and stalls that sell popular sausages in batter, pizza, shawarma and sandwiches. Each dish costs between 4 and 6 euros and will do just fine as a quick snack.
Food courts are located in shopping centers and supermarkets - sites where restaurants with most of the world's popular cuisines are concentrated. The average bill for a lunch at a restaurant with Mediterranean, Chinese, Japanese or Middle Eastern dishes at a food court will be about 14 euros.
In local inexpensive cafes, a portion of grilled chicken and green salad will cost you 25 euros, and in a restaurant with a higher rank, even for a modest dinner consisting of a hot salad and a glass of wine or beer, you will have to fork out 35-50 euros.
The classic Swiss fondue dish can be enjoyed in almost any authentic establishment. The portion is usually quite impressive, and its cost starts from 20 euros. In every canton and even village, fondue is prepared according to its own recipes, and therefore it is worth tasting it, inquiring about the ingredients of the dish.
Useful details
- It will be possible to have a "budget" lunch while traveling in Switzerland in the daytime, when most restaurants offer a "menu of the day", which is similar to a set lunch familiar to a Russian tourist. The price of the issue is from 12 to 25 euros. The chain canteens Flunch are also popular, where a portion of meat with unlimited side dishes and vegetables plus a soft drink will cost 7-10 euros.
- The cost of a liter of gasoline in Switzerland is about 1.30 euros.
- The Toll Roads Tax is a vignette that must be purchased and affixed to the windshield of the vehicle. Its cost for 14 months for a passenger car is approximately 35 euros, and the fine for absence is 200 euros.
Perfect travel to Switzerland
The climate of the Alpine Republic does not differ in particular extremes and weather changes. It is warm enough here in summer, while winters are mild and humid. The weather in the west is influenced by the proximity of the Atlantic, in the mountains it is traditionally colder than on the plains, and in the south of the country you can enjoy Mediterranean weather - hot summers and warm dry winters.
The best time to travel to the ski resorts of Switzerland is from November to March. During this period, snow cover is established and the slopes are ready for ski starts.
It is better to postpone trips to the cities of Switzerland, excursions to castles and museums until spring, when precipitation is minimal, the air temperature rises to a comfortable + 18 ° C in mid-April, and the winds are warming.
Rest on the lakes becomes especially comfortable by the middle of summer, when the water warms up to + 22 ° C, and in the air the thermometers are stable at + 26 ° C.
