Nature

Sparse, Alpine and rocky, yet welcoming, too. Spread out beneath the visitor's feet, Ursern looks surprisingly peaceful, especially when you have just emerged from the hairpin bends of the Schöllenen-Schlucht ravine.

Over thousands of years, ice and melt water of the Aletsch Glacier have carved fascinating forms and formations in the rock: the Massa Gorge.

A petting zoo and large playground make the Dählhölzli an ideal family outing destination.

The salt mine in Bex is the only open working mine in Switzerland. There is a trail taking visitors through this immense underground labyrinth: the route passes the most spectacular and characteristic results of the different mining techniques used since the first tunnel was dug in 1684.

On board comfortable vedette boats, you will see the splendid setting of Lake Brenets and the superb 27 metre-high Saut-du-Doubs waterfall.

The Giessbach Falls are among Switzerland"s loveliest waterfalls. The huge masses of water plunging down over 14 levels of rock into the lake of Brienz is a magnificent natural spectacle.

Monte Generoso is the mountain with the finest panorama in Canton Ticino. After a 40-minute train ride through beautiful unspoiled natural surroundings, you reach the mountain station "Vetta" at an altitude of 1,704 m, where a magnificent panorama opens up onto the lake and the Alps.

The hidden underground mills at Col-des-Roches were established 400 years ago and are unique in Europe, a testament to man's ingenuity and courage.

A breathtakingly beautiful natural rock cirque. Creux-du-Van is a paradise for ibex, birds of prey, marmots, deer, and of course for nature lovers.

The botanical garden "Alpinum Schatzalp" boasts 10,000 plants (800 different species) and a garden, where medicinal herbs are grown. At the Pavillon near the entrance, visitors will find useful information on the Alpinum as well as the Alpine flora.

The area consists of twenty-eight hectares of plants, trees and flowers. Rock gardens lie between streams and waterfalls, revealing mountain flora from all over the world while greenhouses shelter tropical plants from the five continents.

This delightful park lies in the middle of the massive boulder-strewn wilderness of Goldau and is home to much wildlife. Deer, mufflons, billy goats and chamois are living in a free zone while bears, wolves, lynxes, marmots, wild pigs, foxes, wild cats, owls and racoons are within a safe compound.

A natural jewel. Thanks to their subtropical climate, the Brissago Islands are home to a paradisiacal flora.

The Blausee Nature Park is the bijoux of the Bernese Alps. This deep blue lake with its crystal clear water is located in a dreaming, approximately 20 hectare nature park.

Between April and the end of October, charming wine-growing villages fringing the lake beckon invitingly to visitors. St. Peter's Isle, situated in the middle of Lac de Bienne, or Lake Biel , is but a stone's throw away from the wine-growing villages of Tüscherz, Wingreis, Twann, Ligerz, La Neuveville, Erlach und Lüscherz.

The oldest zoological park in Switzerland was founded in 1869. On 80 hectares, visitors can observe 16 native and formerly native animals like deer, bear, lynx, wolf, wildcat, marmot, hares, elk, wild boar, and the Przewalski horse.

People were fascinated by the 300 m high Staubbach Falls as early as the Middle Ages. The milky-white waters thundering down over dark green rocks have inspired painters, poets and travel writers over the centuries.

Most of the local wildlife is represented in a park with a surface area of 35,000 square metres: ibex, mouflons, deer, chamois, roe deer, wild boar, eagle owls, marmots, foxes, wild cats, lynx and black bears are all at home here.

From the subtropical palm-dotted beach to the glaciers of the Ice Age!
The Glacier Garden is an outstanding natural monument with gigantic glacial potholes and erratic blocks from the Ice Age 15,000 to 20,000 years ago, and with fossilized shells and palm leaves dating back 20 million years.

The attraction of the Maggia valley lies in the variety of its landscape and villages. The valley ascends 3,000 meters from the valley floor to the highest point (Basodino) and covers one fifth of the whole of the Ticino.

The beauty of the mighty waterfall - height of drop 100 m - and the scenic charms of the surroundings have been described since tourism began.

Over thousands of years the tumbling waters of the young Aare gradually eroded a passage by rushing and gurgling their way ever deeper into the rock until the present gorge with its niches, grottoes and hollows was formed.

Near Schaffhausen the Rhine River offers visitors the glorious spectacle of the largest waterfall in Europe. At a width of 150 m and a height of 23 m, an average of 700 m3 of water rushes over the cliffs each second.

Here you and your children can enjoy stroking and feeding elephants, rhinoceroses, zebras and many other animals. Elephant and pony rides, a trip on the nostalgic horse-drawn tram, a whale to climb, a pirate ship and an original steam engine make a visit to the zoo into an exciting adventure.

The Réclère Grottos were discovered in 1886 and immediately made such an impression on the first visitors that the caves were being used as a tourist attraction from 1890!

With a length of 23 km, the Aletsch is the longest glacier in the Alps. It is surrounded by the Aletsch Forest, which, at an altitude of 2,2000 meters is one of the highest stone pine forests in Europe.

Visit the world's largest ice pavilion at an altitude of 3,500 meters on the Mittelallalin.

Saignelégier has a hiking trail which combines all the characteristic elements of the Franches-Montagnes all year round. This unmissable walk leads you to Lake Gruyere.

Sempach, the seat of the Swiss Ornithological Institute has a garden with various biotopes, aviaries, an exhibition and a slide show. The water birds in the pond of the Vogelwarte Garden and the foster birds in the aviaries are fascinating to watch.

The Grande Dixence dam is the largest hydroelectric construction in the Alps. It is one of the most important tourist attractions in Sion.

One of the most important renenwable energy centres in Europe can be found in the Bernese Jura: the wind power station on Mount Crosin and the solar power station on Mount Soleil.

The Via Mala Gorge, 5 km from Thusis, is the largest gorge in the canton of Graubünden, in parts only a few meters wide, with rocks up to 300 m high forming its walls.

The Asphalt mines in Travers call to mind the fantastic adventures in Jules Verne's novel "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth".

The Trient river, which rose from the glacier of the same name, gouged the 200 metre-deep gorge in the rocks. A bridge built in 1934 connects the 187 metre-high walls on either side of the river, and a path has been constructed along the river itself, turning the area into a real paradise for climbers and botanists.

Switzerland's "Grand Canyon" is easily accessible, for the roads from Bonaduz via Versam and from Valendas to Ilanz offer many splendid views of the gorge.

On an area of land measuring 40 hectares, Pro Natura is a centre enabling visitors to explore the Grande Caricaie, the largest marsh in Switzerland. Champ-Pittet is home to an immense number of plants and animals. Signposted "nature trails" through the area allow visitors to observe this wildlife.

The Matterhorn (4,478m), the "Horu" as the locals call it fondly, is the most impressive and famous peak in Switzerland and the Alps.

With its 169 km2 the Swiss National Park is the largest nature reserve in Switzerland and is the only national park.

Zürich Zoo - with 320 species of animals from all over the word - is situated in a beautiful, natural parkland, where impressive encounters await the visitors.

The Zoo in Basel counts among the richest in traditions and most beautiful zoological gardens in Europe: a green oasis for 6000 animals. Nearly 600 species live in a magnificent landscape garden in the heart of the city - an special experience for each visitor,

The Papiliorama is a fascinating exotic world, where various diurnal species fly around a tropical forest environment in total freedom. Nocturama lets visitors observe nocturnal wildife that has been brought here from the forests of Southern and Central America.