Travel to Europe

Rick Steves' Switzerland 2007 (Rick Steves)

Format: Paperback
Author: Rick Steves
ReleaseDate: 11 January, 2007
Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing
Rating:

Excellent Travel Resource
Excellent suggestions for sightseeing, dining, and accomodations are covered. As typical, Rick Steves hits the finer points of travelling abroad. One minor exclusion was the lack of information on visiting Vaduz, Liechtenstein while in Switzerland. .

Some additional sites and comments
This city is packed with sights on a small space: Monolithic late baroque/early classical cathedral built by Vatican architect Gaetano Pisoni, very ornate early baroque Jesuit church, baroque Vauban type city fortification, medieval city gates, clock tower older than in Bern, colorfull renaissance fountains, Europe's second biggest collection of medieval armours and an interesting art museum with paintings from Hodler (Wilhelm Tell), Cuno Amiet and Frank Buchser who portrayed famous Americans such as John August Sutter (art museum Solothurn), General Lee, General Sherman, President Andrew Johnson (art museum Bern and Basel). The book does not mention the city of Solothurn just 20 miles north of Bern. Close to the city at the end of a gorge is a very authentic hermitage (Einsidelei). In fall the chairlift up to the Weissenstein offers stunning views of the Alps.
The book otherwise gives a fair picture of Switzerland omitting some other places of interest (that I admit require more special interest) such as Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds with their watch museums, the monastery cities of Einsiedeln and Sankt Gallen. North of Zurich are a couple sights too, Kyburg castle, Chartreuse of Ittingen, the Rhine fall (biggest water fall in Europe and very impressive because you can walk up to it as close as to a Yosemite waterfall). In the children zoo in Rapperswil you can pet and feed rhinos, giraffes and ride elephants. Close to Basel is another roman city 'Augusta Raurica' that demonstrates roman live north of the Alps. Hidden in the village of Seewen south of Basel is the Automatic Music Instrument Museum. Self playing Grand Pianos and entire Orchestrons from the 19th century play music recorded 100 years ago. I do not totally share the authors preference of the Berner Oberland over Zermatt or the Wallis / Valais in general. Hiking beneath the Matterhorn or hiking up to the Hoernli hut (2 hrs from Schwarzsee station)from where the Matterhorn climb starts is as impressive or even more exciting than hiking beneath the Eiger north face in the Berner Oberland. Also keep in mind that if you hike anywhere in the Wallis and especially in places like Zermatt or Saas Fee you are surrounded by a multitude of peaks reaching over 4000m, whereas in the Berner Oberland you are often on prealpine terrain facing the Alps only to the south and looking at prealpine lower mountains to the north. The south Alps frequently have better weather too. For kids the Briger Bad (hot spring river pool near Brig) is fun (closed in winter), other hot spring pools are in Leukerbad.
In bigger cities in Switzerland stay in chain hotels close to downtown shopping areas, if you have money and like it old choose Romantik hotels. .

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Related products:
click image or link for details on these Europe travel books.

	Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2006 (Rick Steves)
	Rick Steves' Italy 2007 (Rick Steves)
	Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2007 (Rick Steves)
	Switzerland (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
	Frommer's Switzerland (Frommer's Complete)