While tick-borne diseases creep higher into the Swiss Alps, calls for tourist warnings are dismissed by tourism authorities, reports SRF. Ticks are on the move and are now found even above 2,000 metres, a threshold once believed to be tick-free. With the entire country, barring Ticino, now designated a risk zone for tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), […]
Swiss narcissus season approaches
That small window where the hillsides turn white with narcissus (often referred to in English as a white daffodil) is upon us again. One of the best places to see these stunning flowers is at Les Pleiades above Vevey. The region takes the flower very seriously. There is an association for the preservation of the […]
Swiss court deems floating caravan seaworthy
This week, Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court ruled that the Sealander, a floating caravan, is allowed on Swiss waters, reported SRF. The German-designed Sealander, a rolling-floating caravan, ran aground recently in Switzerland. A business in the town of Root in the canton of Luzern had been renting Sealanders for outings on Switzerland’s lakes for a number […]
New gondola connects Switzerland and Italy
On 1 July 2023, a new gondola connecting Switzerland and Italy was opened. The new high altitude cable car, which connects the Kleiner Matterhorn (3,821m) with the Testa Grigia (3,458m) spans the border between two nations. The lift cabins have glass floors allowing occupants a birds eye view over the Theodul glacier. In winter it […]
Half of Swiss population unlikely to travel abroad this summer
A survey by Tour Club Switzerland (TCS) published this week shows 50% of the population currently have little (23%) or very little (27%) desire to travel beyond Switzerland’s borders. While Switzerland’s population is now travelling far more than during the Covid-19 pandemic, travel remains below pre-pandemic levels. But the population is still going on holiday. […]
Swiss Rail behind on billions of francs of rail maintenance
This week, Olivier Français, a member of the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house, pointed out the long-running underinvestment in Switzerland’s rail infrastructure. According to the engineer and politician, billions have been cut from maintenance and investment budgets, reported RTS. Michel Béguelin, a former transport commissioner, told RTS he remembers plans from the Federal Council […]
SWISS repays Covid government guaranteed loans early
On 9 June 2022, Switzerland’s government announced that SWISS had repaid the loans the Confederation had guaranteed at the end of May 2022, ending the arrangement with no loss of public funds. After the Covid-19 pandemic severely impacted the aviation industry, Switzerland’s Federal Council decided in spring 2020 to provide support in the form of […]
All entry restrictions into Switzerland to go on 2 May 2022
On 21 April 2022, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) announced that all entry restrictions into Switzerland related to the Covid-19 pandemic will disappear from 2 May 2022. All travellers from abroad will be able to travel subject to normal visa requirements from 2 May 2022. Currently, most countries outside the Schengen zone remain on […]
Work started this week on second Gotthard road tunnel
On 29 September 2021, work began on the tunnel with a symbolic blast after being delayed since last spring because of the pandemic, reported RTS. The Gotthard road tunnel, which passes through the Alps between Göschenen (UR) et Airolo (TI), is one the most important and congested in Europe. The decision to build a second […]
Mountain biking in the Jura
SPRING-SUMMER-AUTUMN The Alps have their attraction, but some of the best mountain biking is just outside Geneva. For most of us, Sunday mornings are meant for kicking back and relaxing. For me, it means waking up and hitting the trails as early as possible. That’s when they’re the best. Empty. Unridden. Pumped up with caffeine, […]
