Switzerland may be neutral but it is certainly not flavourless. The fusion of German, French and Italian ingredients has formed a robust national culture, and the country's alpine landscapes have enough zing to reinvigorate the most jaded traveller.

Goethe summed up Switzerland succinctly as a combination of 'the colossal and the well-ordered'. You can be sure that your trains and letters will be on time. The tidy, just-so precision of Swiss towns is tempered by the lofty splendour of the landscapes that surround them.

Switzerland conjures up a fair swag of clich¨¦s: irresistible chocolates, kitsch clocks, yodelling Heidis, humourless bankers, international bureaucracies and an orderly, anally-retentive and rather bland national persona. But Harry Lime was wrong on more than one account when, in The Third Man, he said 500 years of Swiss democracy and peace had produced nothing more than the cuckoo clock. For a start, the Germans invented this monstrous timepiece; secondly, the Swiss, who are a brainy lot, have won more Nobel Prizes and registered more patents per capita than any other nation on earth.

If Mountains had a Home, it would be Switzerland! With 48 peaks soaring over 4000 meters high, Switzerland enjoys top position in the European high summit league. Hasn't alpine tourism been invented in Switzerland? Country of the mountains - Switzerland. You can visit Switzerland any time throughout the year. Summer lasts roughly from June to September, and offers the most pleasant climate for outdoor pursuits. Unfortunately, you won't be the only tourist during this period, so prices can be high, accommodation hard to find and the mainstream sights crowded. You'll find much better deals and fewer crowds in the shoulder seasons of April-May and late-September-October

Attractions of Switzerland

Chillon
Chillon Castle receives more visitors than any other historical building in Switzerland. Occupying a stunning position right on Lake Geneva, the fortress caught the public imagination when Lord Byron wrote about the fate of Bonivard, a follower of the Reformation who was chained to the fifth pillar in the dungeons for four years in the 16th century. Byron etched his own name on the third pillar. The castle, still in excellent condition, dates from the 11th century and has been much modified and enlarged since then. It's worth spending an afternoon viewing the tower, courtyards, dungeons and numerous rooms containing weapons, utensils, frescos and tupperware. The castle is located within walking distance of Montreux, the centrepiece of the Swiss Riviera.

Geneva
Geneva is Switzerland's third-largest city, but surely the most international: a third of the population is from elsewhere. The city is crowded with museums, has a rich cultural calendar, a plethora of mouth-watering cuisines and is ideally placed for excursions into the Swiss and French Alps.

Geneva is a great place to get stuck on a rainy day; it's packed with museums, many with a horological bent. Outside, the towering Jet d'Eau and the pleasant gardens tempt feet in the direction of the lake. There's also plenty of classic Swiss kitsch to combat the high-brow culture.

Jungfrau Region
Some of Switzerland's most magnificent views are found around the peaks of the Jungfrau, M?nch and Eiger, their rugged flanks made even more awe-inspiring by the greens, and golds of nearby hills and valleys. The best rail trip (it's the highest railway in Europe) cuts through both the Eiger and the M?nch before terminating at the tip of the majestic Jungfraujoch.

Lake Thun
For some great castle touring head to the Lake Thun area in central Switzerland, just south of Bern. In the town of Thun itself, you'll find the 12th-century Schloss Thun on the hill. It contains a good historical museum and there are fine views from the turrets of the Romanesque tower. One of the best castles around the lake is the 13th-century Schloss Oberhofen, which was once held by the Habsburgs; it has a good collection of grand furniture, portraits and weapons, and even boasts a Turkish smoking room. The gardens were landscaped in the 19th century and are a fine place for a stroll. Schloss Hunegg, at nearby Hilterfingen, was built in the 1860s and renovated in 1900. It's a fascinating mix of neo-Renaissance and art nouveau styles and has a funky split-level bathroom complete with a nickel-plated bathtub. If you're a castle buff, you can squeeze in a visit to all three fortifications in a day-trip by boat.

Lucerne
Lucerne is ideally situated in the historic and scenic heart of what many believe to be the 'true' Switzerland - picture mountains, lakes, cowbells, alpine villages and meadows full of edelweiss. The charming town straddles the Reuss River on the western edge of Lake Lucerne and makes an excellent base for excursions.

On the north bank of the Reuss, the picturesque old-town centre offers 15th-century buildings with painted facades, towers, a 17th-century Renaissance town hall and a couple of postcard-perfect covered bridges. North-east of the city centre is the poignant Lion Monument, which was carved out of natural rock in 1820 and is dedicated to the Swiss soldiers who died in the French Revolution. Next to it is the fascinating Gletschergarten (Glacier Garden) where giant glacial potholes prove that 20 million years ago Lucerne was a subtropical palm beach.

The Transport Museum contains trains, planes and automobiles and includes the Swissorama, a 20-minute, 360¡ã film that whizzes you around the sights of Switzerland as if you were travelling by air, sea, road and foot. If you need some fresh air and exercise to work off all those yummy chocolates you've been scoffing, pedalboats, row boats and kayaks can be hired on the Reuss River and on Lake Lucerne. If you need some fresh vegies to combat the calories, there are oh-so-picturesque fruit and vegetable markets along the river quays.

Zermatt
This swanky skiing and mountaineering resort bathes in the reflected glory of one of the most famous peaks in the Alps, the 4478m Matterhorn. Skiers come here to enjoy virtually year-round skiing and there are 230km (142mi) of runs in the area, catering mainly to intermediate and experienced skiers. The more sedentary come simply to enjoy the awe-inspiring views. For some magical vistas of the Matterhorn and surrounding peaks, take the popular cog-wheel railway to Gornergrat. It's easy to get around Zermatt on foot (the town is car-free) and it's well worth exploring the Hinter Dorf area, which is crammed with traditional tumble-down wooden Valais homes. A walk in the cemetery is a sobering experience for would-be mountaineers. The names of those who attempted the Matterhorn and Mt Rosa and did not live to tell the tale are inscribed on stone monuments.

Zurich
Z¨¹rich is the new Berlin. No hesitation, no competition. This formerly staid banking capital has experienced such a creative explosion in recent years, and such a mushrooming of trendy bars, restaurants and shops, it resembles Berlin's salad days of the mid-eighties and early nineties.

The city straddles the Limmat River as it leaves Lake Z¨¹rich. The pedestrian streets of the old town contain most of the major sights, including winding alleyways, 16th and 17th century houses, guildhalls and courtyards, and rather a lot of fountains (1030 if you're taking notes).

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