From 2 April 2025, travelling to the United Kingdom will require a visa. EU and EFTA nationals, including Swiss passport holders, can now (from 5 March 2025) apply online for an U.K. Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). The ETA costs £10 and lasts for 2 years from the date of issue. Currently, only citizens of EU […]
Basel Fasnacht 2025 – no ordinary festival
A parade that starts at 4 in the morning? With piccolos? And drums? In winter? Really? Yes, and you’ll be enchanted by the whole thing. Every year in the city of Basel on the Monday after Ash Wednesday (this year, March 10th), the Morgestraich (“Morning sweep” in Basel dialect) marks the beginning of the three-day […]
Catching ski pass cheats – reactions, fines and worse
In the very early days of skiing, checking whether skiers had valid ski passes was hit and miss. However, today, with modern technology it has become easy. According to a report by SRF, the ski resort of Verbier catches an average of three to four people a day passing through the turnstiles with a ‘borrowed’ […]
Swiss Rail’s European ranking drops from 2nd to 11th after error corrected
In a ranking published in December 2024, Swiss Rail was ranked the second best railway company in Europe. This week, RTS reported that its ranking had dropped to 11th out of 27. Why? Oddly, in its app, Swiss Rail presents half price tickets as the default price, describing them as “tickets from” the half price […]
Swiss emergency rescue numbers rise sharply this Christmas
Over the three days of the Christmas period the Swiss Air Rescue Service Rega flew more than 150 rescue missions, an average of more than 50 a day, reported SRF. The number of air rescue flights over the 24th, 25th and 26th of December 2024 was 20% higher than over the same period in 2023. […]
Swiss ski accidents rise significantly among those over 40
Data published this week by the Swiss insurance company Suva, show a rise in the number of people over 40 involved in ski accidents. Every year, around 35,000 people are injured while skiing in Switzerland. Accidents are often due to poor physical condition, fatigue or over confidence. These injuries are costly. Suva estimates that around […]
Verbier misses emission busting opportunity
Holidays generate greenhouse gas and ski holidays are no exception. However, if no flying is involved, ski holidays can be relatively low carbon. The carbon consulting firm ecollective, includes a train-based ski trip to France (from the UK) among its list of lowest-carbon holidays. Transport fairly obviously accounts for most of the emissions associated with […]
Government recommends Swiss nationals leave Iran
This week, Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) recommended Swiss nationals leave Iran in a post on X. It also advised against travel to the country. According to the FDDA, the situation regarding the conflict in the Middle East is very volatile. The risk of escalation has continued to increase, the evolution of the […]
Swiss Rail plans weekend night trains between main centres
Swiss Rail is planning night trains connecting Switzerland’s main cities starting in 2026, according to CH Media and RTS. The rail company plans to link centres such as Zurich, Basel and Geneva at night during the weekends, according to reports. Intercity trains would run between Geneva and Zurich with a transfer hub in Olten in […]
Eurovision comes to Switzerland in 2025
Basel has been selected as the host city for the 2025 Eurovision song contest, announced the organisation on Friday. The promotional video for next year’s event is below. The next event will take place in mid-May next year. It is hoped the event will boost tourism in the city. The decision was announced 10am. Twenty […]
