Swiss Highlights
Painted illustration: dawn over a mountain lake, a red train on a viaduct, a lit village

Tourist regions

Switzerland's tourist regions

A grouping designed for trip planning, from alpine massifs to lakeshores.

An editorial grouping by Swiss Highlights, not an official administrative division.

The Kramgasse in Bern, lined with sandstone buildings with arcades: in the foreground the Zähringerbrunnen, a painted fountain topped with a bear in armour, and in the background the Zytglogge tower with its golden clock face and green spire.

Bernese Oberland

29 places shown

Late afternoon view of the old town of Avenches: in the foreground, two Roman columns standing in the grass, remnants of the Cigognier sanctuary; beyond the rooftops, the Tornallaz, a square tower with a pointed roof from the ancient wall, rises above the Vaud houses with light-colored facades and colorful shutters.

Lake Geneva and vineyards

23 places shown

The village of Albinen clustered on its grassy shoulder, its brown wooden houses huddled around the church's white bell tower, with sloping meadows and larches in front of it and, in the background, the long limestone wall that closes off the Dala valley in a bluish morning light.

Alpine Valais

29 places shown

An aerial view of the former abbey of Saint-Urbain: the baroque church with two towers topped by red onion domes stands at the center, surrounded by long white conventual buildings arranged around two courtyards, with the village and fields around it.

Central Switzerland

25 places shown

The Ascona lakefront seen from a jetty: a row of yellow, red, blue and pink houses lining the Piazza Motta, the bell tower of the Santi Pietro e Paolo church in the center, a palm tree on the left, and the mountains of Lake Maggiore in the background.

Ticino

10 places shown

Snow-covered street in Bergün lined with Engadine houses with snow-laden roofs; in the background, a snowy mountainside under a clear sky.

Engadine and Grisons

18 places shown

Hauterive Abbey seen from a wooded slope to the south: the long white conventual buildings with brown roofs and the church spire occupy the far end of a spring meadow valley, surrounded by forest, with the abbey's gardens and farm on the right.

Jura and Three-Lakes

19 places shown

The painted gable of the pharmacy house in Appenzell, seen from below: the roofline traces an inverted curve accented with blue scales on a white background, two rows of white panels each bear a painted plant motif, small-paned windows with round stained-glass insets occupy the space between them, and flower boxes close off the bottom of the frame.

Eastern Switzerland

19 places shown

The covered wooden bridge seen from the bank at a three-quarter angle: a long cladding of grey planks and a red tiled roof span the entire frame, carried by a stone pier planted in the middle of the Thur; the calm green water reflects the arch and the vegetation of the banks, and birds are perched in a row along the ridge of the roof.

Zurich and surroundings

6 places shown

Aarburg seen from the bank of the Aare: the white Reformed church with two black spires stands on its rocky spur, the fortress and its long buildings occupy the ridge above, and the town's houses line the riverbank under a blue winter sky.

Basel and the Rhine

16 places shown