Destination #8: Switzerland

Switzerland has a highly successful market economy based on international trade and banking. Its standards of living, worker productivity, quality of education, and health care are higher than any other European country.  Switzerland has a worldwide reputation for the high quality of its export manufactures, which include machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments, and diverse high-tech products. Synonymous with international banking, Zurich has a financial and cultural importance that belies its modest size. The largest city in Switzerland, Zurich promotes itself as 'Downtown Switzerland'. The historic center is compact enough to be explored on foot.          

  

Zurich is located on Switzerland's central plain, with the elevation rising towards the south and the Alps. Positioned at the northern tip of the Zürichsee (Lake Zurich), the city's fine lakeside promenades and expensive houses are prominent and can be spotted along both shores.

Zurich's most familiar sights are, without a doubt, the Fraumünster and Grossmünster churches, which solemnly face each other across the River Limmat. The Old Town spans this river, and some of the most interesting lanes and buildings are clustered along its banks. Ultimately However, tourists are primaroly drawn to Switzerland's Alpine climate and landscapes, in particular for skiing and mountaineering.

With it's spectacular scenery a popular trip is along the Glacier Express, while not exactly an express train in the sense of a high-speed train, but rather in that it provides a one-seat ride for a long duration of travel (Fun Fact...it has the distiction of being the slowest express train in the world.

The overall beauty of the scenery, and the world-class facilities offered to travallers by the general extensions of mountain railways, make the northern side of the Swiss Alps, the Bernese Oberland, one of the portions of the Alps most visited by tourists and experienced mountaineers.