Whether you usually pirouette on figure skates, or shave ice on hockey skates — or use the “third skate” (your butt), Canton Zürich has great rinks to put glide in your stride. Check out the list below, and if you have another favorite ice skating spot in Zürich Canton to recommend, let us know! Holiday […]
20 ice skating rinks around Lake Geneva. Get your skates on!
Ice skating season is here so get your skates on! There are ice-skating rinks all over Geneva, Vaud and neighbouring Fribourg. Entrance prices vary and all rinks have skates that you can hire. The links below will take you to the relevant websites for prices, locations and opening and closing times. The ice skating season […]
Geneva’s Escalade festival promises to repulse Savoyard attacks from 6 Dec 2019
By Bill Harby Muskets blasting, swords flashing, drum and fife corps parading through the medieval streets, plus hot spiced wine and little cauldrons made of chocolate – welcome to this year’s “Escalade”. Geneva citizens know the story of how, on the night of Dec. 11th, 1602, a sharp-eyed cook now immortalised as Mère Royaume, spied […]
Woman set to lose Swiss citizenship
Last month Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) stripped a dual national of his Swiss nationality. Now it has started the process of removing Swiss nationality from a woman who is also a citizen of France and Tunisia, according to Le Matin. SEM recently announced in the Federal Gazette that it had started the process of […]
Swiss clocks go back one hour this Sunday
Early on Sunday 27 October 2019 Swiss clocks turn back one hour. Officially they are adjusted at 3am. This means you can stay in bed longer and it will be lighter when you get up. On the down side, it will be darker in the evenings. The rest of Europe will adjust its clocks at […]
Weak winter sunlight explains Swiss vitamin D deficiency
A study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) shows that Switzerland’s weak winter sunlight doesn’t provide a level of vitamin D anywhere close to the minimum recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). While sun exposure increases the risk of skin cancer it also produces vitamin D, a substance essential for bone health […]
Swiss fact: it is illegal to drive with your lights off during the day
In Switzerland, it is compulsory to drive with lights on during the day. The law came into force on 1 January 2014, as part of a package of rules to reduce accidents, known as Via Sicura. The lights rule is set out in article 41 of the Swiss federal road transport act and also applies […]
Switzerland in autumn: 5 stunning photos from Instagram
Switzerland is beautiful any time of the year. But in autumn is at its most colourful. If you can’t escape the office to see it for yourself then here are five amazing autumn photographs, with their locations – just in case you can, selected from Instagram. 1. Lötschental, Valais, Switzerland A photo posted by Andre […]
Five gorgeous Swiss parks for contemplating autumn splendor
By Bill Harby Whether you prefer thickets of grand old trees, a formal English garden, or a pocket park, these five urban green spaces offer colourful ways to rustle through autumn leaves. Geneva: Park La Grange One minute you’re in bustling Geneva with buses and trams and people everywhere, then, a few steps later, you’re […]
Climate change could cause a billion francs of infrastructure damage a year in Switzerland
Climate change could soon cost Switzerland up to a billion francs a year in damage to infrastructure, according to an estimate by Switzerland’s Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC). Between now and 2050, higher temperatures and irregular rainfall could reduce the amount of electricity produced by Switzerland’s hydroelectric infrastructure by several […]