Gorgeous place, probably my favorite in the whole world. Switzerland is fucking insanely expensive though, so you have to go with lots of money if you want to spend more than a few days there. Fascinating multicultural mountain country for sure though.
why not just go to the other alp countries then? Not being confrontational, just never been to switzerland and would like to know if the multiplied cost wrt Italian, Austrian or French alps is worth it
Switzerland is absolutely worth a visit, but you should have a high budget to actually enjoy your time there since basically everything costs twice as much as it does in surrounding countries. Longer stays are best done in alpine austria (almost as beautiful), northern Italy, and southeastern France because you'll save a shitton more money and enjoy around 80% of the experience. I come from a fairly well-off family in the States, and even I felt like a pauper walking the streets of Lucerne and Lugano. The country has a unique history and melded culture that should be experienced at least once in a lifetime, just don't expect to stay for long unless you have money coming out your ass.
Pic is the kapellbrucke in Lucerne, a stellar place to take photos and walk around.
Hi from Switzerland! The Alps here are beautiful, expensive, and smug. People don’t like to admit it, but when it comes to winter sports, the adjacent Italian, French, and Austrian mountain areas are approximately as good for half the price, plus the food is better in Italy or France. But the Swiss Alps have the best infrastructure of any mountain region in the world, by a lot.
I just did a week in Zermatt for a snowboard trip. It was the most expensive place I have ever been in my entire life, and also one of the most beautiful. As others said, the food is definitely not as good as France and Italy. Nearly everyone we met was a tourist or a seasonal worker from some other country. The Matterhorn and the surrounding mountains are unreal. It was cold as shit the week we were there, but the snow was good. The ski trails were too difficult for my wife, but I had a good time. The town is pristine. Every spot in town looks like a postcard.
Would I recommend visiting? Yes...but only if you have plenty of money saved up for the trip. We never ate out once for less than $100. We spent $400 for 2 roundtrip train tickets from Geneva to Zermatt. Snowboard and boot rental were $100 per day, not including the lift ticket. We ran into tourists from South America who couldn't afford to get a beer in the bars because they were $12.
If I ever go back, it'll be in the summer. If I snowboard again in Europe, it'll be on the French or Italian side, or possibly in Slovenia.
in zermatt, did you (or is it even possible) cross into the italian side of the mountain? the resort on the other side is cervinia. ive been to both but was not motivated enough/skilled enough to bother looking into that aspect
I never crossed over into Italy when I was boarding, but it was open. It was insanely cold that week and I didn't want to risk getting stuck on the Italian side with my wife back in Zermatt. It was -17 C on the mountain all week.
Renting snowboarding gear outside of Zermatt and hauling it on the train would have been really inconvenient. We saw other people doing it and it looked terrible. Hauling that shit on the train would not have been worth the $100 we would have saved. The best thing about Zermatt is that you don't wait in line for snowboarding. We never waited for a single person to board a gondola or eat out anywhere. The photo looks crowded because that was where everyone stopped to take photos on the mountain. The run from the top was 14 miles. There were sections where I wouldn't see anyone else for 10 minutes.
The mountain infrastructure in Switzerland is incredible. Every peak has a giant gondola. Zermatt had a train and a gondola that takes you to the top. The train system wasn't as fast as Italy, but they were really nice and never very crowded. The train route from Geneva to Zermatt was amazing. The views are insane.
https://i.imgur.com/fScubD6.jpg
It's only expensive if you're a brainlet and make it so.
For example by staying in the literal number one Russian oligarch Disney vacation village:
Or eating out.
You can find AirBnBs/hostels/hotels for the same price as any other first world country, prices for staple foods in supermarkets are marginally higher.
Their national rail pass is relatively expensive but you get top tier service that'll take you to the foot of mountains in bumfuck nowhere and discounts on a lot of interesting things in return.
I can't speak for winter sports because I couldn't care less about them, but for mountaineering Switzerland is definitely the most attractive country in Europe.
Sure. You could save money and not eat out, or stay in a smaller place, but why go to Switzerland then? If you're in a budget, go to the Alps in France or Italy. We had a huge Airbnb in the middle of Zermatt that was the entire third floor of a building. It was $200 a night. not cheap, but way better than the tony hotel rooms in town that were same price or more. We did stay in a hotel for 2 nights in Geneva. Switzerland has the smallest hotel rooms I've ever seen. I also think it's fair to mention that a fondue meal for 2 in Switzerland at a decent restaurant is going to run you $150. Or that bars charge $18+ for a mixed drink. I bought a couple $25 Mai Tais at the Grand Hotel that were worth every penny.
It's only expensive if you're a brainlet and make it so.
For example by staying in the literal number one Russian oligarch Disney vacation village:
Or eating out.
You can find AirBnBs/hostels/hotels for the same price as any other first world country, prices for staple foods in supermarkets are marginally higher.
Their national rail pass is relatively expensive but you get top tier service that'll take you to the foot of mountains in bumfuck nowhere and discounts on a lot of interesting things in return.
I can't speak for winter sports because I couldn't care less about them, but for mountaineering Switzerland is definitely the most attractive country in Europe.
Yea Zermatt is expensive. You could go for less when better oeganized. Like renting stuff outside of Zermatt. Or sleeping outside of town. But it is an experience non the less.
For sleeping cheaper there is an option from an anecdote I heared:
There was an english family wanting to cheap out their vacation. So they booked a week in a hut at top of the whole ski resort. Which lays at 3600m. It costs around 80€ per night for half pension because it is on the italian side. Then 80€ for a day of sking. Anyway they all turned pretty sick for the whole week because they couldn't handle the height.
I slept there once but was fit enough the next day to do sports.
in zermatt, did you (or is it even possible) cross into the italian side of the mountain? the resort on the other side is cervinia. ive been to both but was not motivated enough/skilled enough to bother looking into that aspect
Yea that's a good possibility, but need to research ticket connectivity if you want to cross.
how can I go and work in switzerland? the whole bureaucracy and quota shit is driving me insane, my great grandpa lost his swiss citizenship due to forgetting to pay taxes or some shit, now I can't even go back there to work, fml... Can I just land here and go asking for waiter jobs or cleaning jobs and the like?
>Can I just land here and go asking for waiter jobs or cleaning jobs and the like?
If you have an EU or EFTA passport, literally yes. Don’t forget to buy health insurance. Otherwise, no, you’re out of luck. I mean, you can still ask, but you aren’t getting anything.
>If you have an EU or EFTA passport
Nope, i'm very lucky >Otherwise, no, you’re out of luck. I mean, you can still ask, but you aren’t getting anything.
How's the country full of yugos but I can't go back to my forefathers' land? That's bullshit, I even speak german too 🙁 >mfw can't even do farm work in switzerland
I'm gonna kms
Gorgeous place, probably my favorite in the whole world. Switzerland is fucking insanely expensive though, so you have to go with lots of money if you want to spend more than a few days there. Fascinating multicultural mountain country for sure though.
why not just go to the other alp countries then? Not being confrontational, just never been to switzerland and would like to know if the multiplied cost wrt Italian, Austrian or French alps is worth it
Switzerland is absolutely worth a visit, but you should have a high budget to actually enjoy your time there since basically everything costs twice as much as it does in surrounding countries. Longer stays are best done in alpine austria (almost as beautiful), northern Italy, and southeastern France because you'll save a shitton more money and enjoy around 80% of the experience. I come from a fairly well-off family in the States, and even I felt like a pauper walking the streets of Lucerne and Lugano. The country has a unique history and melded culture that should be experienced at least once in a lifetime, just don't expect to stay for long unless you have money coming out your ass.
Pic is the kapellbrucke in Lucerne, a stellar place to take photos and walk around.
Hi from Switzerland! The Alps here are beautiful, expensive, and smug. People don’t like to admit it, but when it comes to winter sports, the adjacent Italian, French, and Austrian mountain areas are approximately as good for half the price, plus the food is better in Italy or France. But the Swiss Alps have the best infrastructure of any mountain region in the world, by a lot.
>food is better in Italy or France
I will smack you with my caquelon.
Nobody discerning can deny that the Swiss are reasonably good at cheese. But it’s a nation of farmers, not gourmets.
>posts a photo of fondue
retard
>But the Swiss Alps have the best infrastructure of any mountain region in the world, by a lot.
not a good thing, by the way
They are in Switzerland
This is what happens when you fight a stranger in the alps
no blacks
I just did a week in Zermatt for a snowboard trip. It was the most expensive place I have ever been in my entire life, and also one of the most beautiful. As others said, the food is definitely not as good as France and Italy. Nearly everyone we met was a tourist or a seasonal worker from some other country. The Matterhorn and the surrounding mountains are unreal. It was cold as shit the week we were there, but the snow was good. The ski trails were too difficult for my wife, but I had a good time. The town is pristine. Every spot in town looks like a postcard.
Would I recommend visiting? Yes...but only if you have plenty of money saved up for the trip. We never ate out once for less than $100. We spent $400 for 2 roundtrip train tickets from Geneva to Zermatt. Snowboard and boot rental were $100 per day, not including the lift ticket. We ran into tourists from South America who couldn't afford to get a beer in the bars because they were $12.
If I ever go back, it'll be in the summer. If I snowboard again in Europe, it'll be on the French or Italian side, or possibly in Slovenia.
in zermatt, did you (or is it even possible) cross into the italian side of the mountain? the resort on the other side is cervinia. ive been to both but was not motivated enough/skilled enough to bother looking into that aspect
I never crossed over into Italy when I was boarding, but it was open. It was insanely cold that week and I didn't want to risk getting stuck on the Italian side with my wife back in Zermatt. It was -17 C on the mountain all week.
Renting snowboarding gear outside of Zermatt and hauling it on the train would have been really inconvenient. We saw other people doing it and it looked terrible. Hauling that shit on the train would not have been worth the $100 we would have saved. The best thing about Zermatt is that you don't wait in line for snowboarding. We never waited for a single person to board a gondola or eat out anywhere. The photo looks crowded because that was where everyone stopped to take photos on the mountain. The run from the top was 14 miles. There were sections where I wouldn't see anyone else for 10 minutes.
The mountain infrastructure in Switzerland is incredible. Every peak has a giant gondola. Zermatt had a train and a gondola that takes you to the top. The train system wasn't as fast as Italy, but they were really nice and never very crowded. The train route from Geneva to Zermatt was amazing. The views are insane.
Sure. You could save money and not eat out, or stay in a smaller place, but why go to Switzerland then? If you're in a budget, go to the Alps in France or Italy. We had a huge Airbnb in the middle of Zermatt that was the entire third floor of a building. It was $200 a night. not cheap, but way better than the tony hotel rooms in town that were same price or more. We did stay in a hotel for 2 nights in Geneva. Switzerland has the smallest hotel rooms I've ever seen. I also think it's fair to mention that a fondue meal for 2 in Switzerland at a decent restaurant is going to run you $150. Or that bars charge $18+ for a mixed drink. I bought a couple $25 Mai Tais at the Grand Hotel that were worth every penny.
It's only expensive if you're a brainlet and make it so.
For example by staying in the literal number one Russian oligarch Disney vacation village:
Or eating out.
You can find AirBnBs/hostels/hotels for the same price as any other first world country, prices for staple foods in supermarkets are marginally higher.
Their national rail pass is relatively expensive but you get top tier service that'll take you to the foot of mountains in bumfuck nowhere and discounts on a lot of interesting things in return.
I can't speak for winter sports because I couldn't care less about them, but for mountaineering Switzerland is definitely the most attractive country in Europe.
>staying in the literal number one Russian oligarch Disney vacation village
That’s St. Moritz.
Yea Zermatt is expensive. You could go for less when better oeganized. Like renting stuff outside of Zermatt. Or sleeping outside of town. But it is an experience non the less.
For sleeping cheaper there is an option from an anecdote I heared:
There was an english family wanting to cheap out their vacation. So they booked a week in a hut at top of the whole ski resort. Which lays at 3600m. It costs around 80€ per night for half pension because it is on the italian side. Then 80€ for a day of sking. Anyway they all turned pretty sick for the whole week because they couldn't handle the height.
I slept there once but was fit enough the next day to do sports.
Yea that's a good possibility, but need to research ticket connectivity if you want to cross.
What exactly am I looking at? Some walk-up grocery store? Free food...?
>Some walk-up grocery store
About this. It's quite common. And you just drop your money in the bin. Yea some might steal from it.
They are quite common, lots of farmer do this in a wide varaiety. You can even find vending machines in Zürich selling cheese.
>What exactly am I looking at?
A diverse place without "diversity".
how can I go and work in switzerland? the whole bureaucracy and quota shit is driving me insane, my great grandpa lost his swiss citizenship due to forgetting to pay taxes or some shit, now I can't even go back there to work, fml... Can I just land here and go asking for waiter jobs or cleaning jobs and the like?
>Can I just land here and go asking for waiter jobs or cleaning jobs and the like?
If you have an EU or EFTA passport, literally yes. Don’t forget to buy health insurance. Otherwise, no, you’re out of luck. I mean, you can still ask, but you aren’t getting anything.
>If you have an EU or EFTA passport
Nope, i'm very lucky
>Otherwise, no, you’re out of luck. I mean, you can still ask, but you aren’t getting anything.
How's the country full of yugos but I can't go back to my forefathers' land? That's bullshit, I even speak german too 🙁
>mfw can't even do farm work in switzerland
I'm gonna kms