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🇨🇭Things to Do in Switzerland
From the Matterhorn to the Glacier Express - the essential sights, and how to keep your own record of them.
Travel guide - last updated September 2026
Switzerland's trains reach places most countries would need a rental car and a mountain guide for - glacier stations, car-free alpine villages, panoramic routes that are attractions in their own right. It's compact enough that a base in one region still leaves the rest within a day trip. Here are 10 places worth building a trip around.
Top attractions
The sights most first-time visitors build an itinerary around.
Matterhorn & Zermatt
Switzerland's most photographed peak, above the car-free village of Zermatt. Take the Gornergrat railway up for the classic postcard view of the mountain rather than trying to see it from the valley floor.
📍 Zermatt
🚉 Nearest station: Zermatt, the end of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn from Visp - the village is car-free, so everyone arrives by train, and the Gornergrat railway climbs from the same square to the Matterhorn viewpoint.
Glacier Express
A scenic train between Zermatt and St. Moritz, crossing 291 bridges and 91 tunnels over roughly eight hours. Reserve a seat well ahead in summer - it's one of the most popular scenic rail routes in Europe.
📍 Zermatt to St. Moritz
🚉 The train is the attraction: it runs between Zermatt and St Moritz in about eight hours, and seats must be reserved separately even if you hold a Swiss Travel Pass.
Jungfraujoch
Marketed as the 'Top of Europe,' the highest railway station on the continent at 3,454 meters, with year-round snow and an ice palace carved into the glacier below.
📍 Bernese Alps
🚉 From Interlaken Ost take the Bernese Oberland railway to Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald, then the Eiger Express and cog railway up to Jungfraujoch, Europe's highest railway station at 3,454m.
Lake Geneva & Montreux
A lakeside stretch anchored by Montreux's jazz festival (July) and the medieval Chillon Castle, built directly on the water's edge.
📍 Montreux, Lake Geneva
🚉 Nearest station: Montreux, on the main line between Geneva and Lausanne, with the lakeside promenade and the boats to Chateau de Chillon directly below the platforms.
Interlaken
The gateway town between two lakes for the Jungfrau region, and Switzerland's adventure-sports hub - paragliding and canyoning are both easy to book same-day.
📍 Interlaken
🚉 Interlaken Ost is the junction station for the Jungfrau region; Interlaken West is closer to the town centre, and the two are four minutes apart by train.
Lucerne
A compact old town centered on the wooden Chapel Bridge, with Mount Pilatus reachable by the world's steepest cogwheel railway just outside the city.
📍 Lucerne
🚉 Nearest station: Luzern, whose terminus sits on the lake beside the Chapel Bridge - boats to Rigi and Pilatus leave from the pier immediately outside.
Gruyères & Swiss Chocolate
A medieval hill town that gives its name to Gruyère cheese, with a working cheese dairy and a Cailler chocolate factory both open for tours nearby.
📍 Gruyères
🚉 Nearest station: Gruyeres, a branch line from Bulle, with a 10-minute uphill walk to the walled village; the Cailler chocolate factory has its own stop at Broc-Fabrique.
Swiss National Park
The country's oldest protected wilderness, in the Engadin region near St. Moritz - marked hiking trails and a real chance of spotting ibex or golden eagles.
📍 Engadin, near St. Moritz
🚉 Zernez is the gateway station, on the Rhaetian Railway between Chur and St Moritz, with the park visitor centre by the station and PostBus services to the trailheads.
Zurich
Switzerland's largest city, with a walkable Old Town along the Limmat river and Lake Zurich a short walk beyond it for swimming in summer.
📍 Zurich
🚉 Nearest station: Zurich Hauptbahnhof, the busiest in the country, with trams to the old town from the front doors and a 10-minute walk to the Bahnhofstrasse and the lake.
St. Moritz & Verbier
Two of the Alps' best-known ski resorts, St. Moritz for its glamour and Verbier for its off-piste terrain - both operate as hiking and mountain-biking bases in summer too.
📍 St. Moritz & Verbier
🚉 St Moritz has its own station on the Rhaetian Railway's Albula line, a UNESCO route in itself; Verbier has no railway - take the train to Le Chable and the cable car up.
Mark Switzerland, get the stamp
In MyPassportStory, every country you mark - visited, lived in, or still on the list - becomes a stamp like these in your own travel passport. Add the cities you stopped in, draw the route between them, and turn the whole trip into a shareable passport-style image.
Open MyPassportStoryPlanning questions
How many days do you need in Switzerland?
A week covers one or two mountain regions properly - Zermatt or Interlaken, plus a city like Lucerne or Zurich. Ten days lets you connect two regions by the scenic rail routes without rushing.
What's the best time to visit Switzerland?
June-September has the best hiking weather and the most mountain trails clear of snow. Ski season runs roughly December through April; Jungfraujoch and the Glacier Express both run year-round.
Is Switzerland good for a first-time visit?
Yes, though it's on the expensive end for a first European trip - the trade-off is a rail network that reaches mountain scenery most countries would require a car and much more effort for.
Do I need a visa to visit Switzerland?
Switzerland is part of the Schengen Area (though not the EU), so citizens of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and many other countries can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa arranged in advance. Check the official visa information for your nationality: sem.admin.ch.
What are some things to do in Switzerland on a tight budget?
A Swiss Travel Pass bundles train travel with free entry to many museums, which pays off quickly given how expensive individual train tickets and admissions otherwise are. Walking old towns and lakefronts, and hiking marked trails, both cost nothing.
Can I rent a car in Switzerland, and what licence do I need?
You can, though Swiss trains reach almost everything here and Zermatt is car-free entirely. EU and EEA licences are valid as issued; other visitors may drive on a home licence for up to 12 months, and should carry an International Driving Permit if the licence is not in English, French, German or Italian. Minimum age is generally 20 to 25 depending on the class of car. Motorways require a vignette sticker, which rental cars already carry - check it is there before you leave the lot, as the fine is steep. The federal roads office publishes the rules at astra.admin.ch; cars come from Europcar, Hertz and Sixt.