The 50 most beautiful places

The Verenaschlucht, a gorge just to the north of Solothurn is a highly atmospheric place. In addition to visiting the St. Verena hermitage, it’s well worth continuing along one of the oldest Ways of the Cross north of the Alps to reach Kreuzen.

The St. Urban monastery complex blends harmoniously with the largely manmade landscape in this part of Canton Lucerne. Alongside the magnificent church, the conventual wings with their spacious quadrangles also make an imposing sight. From the second half of the 19th century, in 1873 to be precise, until 2023 (150 years), part of the monastery served as a clinic for people with mental illness. Today, the monastery is used for cultural events, the arts and as an office building. The monastery church also serves as a place of worship for the parish of St Urban.

Now a farm, the Löwenburg estate occupies a large forest clearing overlooking the River Lützel where the Canton of Jura borders France. It was formerly a fortified monastic complex. Following exemplary restoration, it now spirits visitors back to the time of its construction in the sixteenth century.

The Lorzenweid industrial ensemble stands by the River Lorze near Cham. As a complete factory estate dating from the late-nineteenth-century “Gründerzeit” – with factory building, workers' housing, owner's villa and preserved hydrotechnical equipment – it is an important witness to the industrialisation of Canton Zug.

The tiny hamlet of Schlatt occupies a spectacular location high above the Sittertal valley. Set amid the Appenzell landscape with its characteristic scattering of farms, it is a classic "core settlement" featuring a tightly packed arrangement of church, presbytery and schoolhouse.

The world-famous Le Lignon housing development on the outskirts of Geneva is essentially a town within a town. On account of its outstanding urban, architectural and engineering features, it stands as a pioneering achievement and the most ambitious construction project of its time in Switzerland. Today, the settlement accommodates some 6,500 residents.

Aumüli is located in the Knonaueramt region of Canton Zurich on a delightful section of the River Reppisch. This imposing historic building provides insights into the traditional miller's trade.

Since time immemorial, the Simplon Pass has been one of the main Alpine thoroughfares linking northern and southern Europe. Well preserved sections of the old Stockalper trail and impressive structures from various epochs bear witness to its eventful past.

A one-of-a-kind structure in Switzerland, Birsfelden hydroelectric power station sits proudly over the Rhine. The elegant machine hall is fully glazed along its length, enabling one to "glimpse the landscape through the building". Both the quotation and the engineering masterpiece stem from the celebrated Swiss architect Hans Hofmann.

In terms of area, Gottlieben ranks among Switzerland's smallest communes. But with its pretty half-timbered buildings overlooking the Rhine, its splendid "Drachenburg" inn and its neo-Gothic castle, the picturesque village has plenty to offer. Gottlieben’s favourable location once made it an important trading place.

The striking features of Neunkirch in Canton Schaffhausen's Klettgau region are its unique, rectangular medieval layout and the rustic charm of its backstreets. Centuries-long repression by the city of Schaffhausen meant that Neunkirch remained nothing more than a large farming village, albeit with the look of a town.

The hamlet of Kehrsiten lies directly by Lake Lucerne at the foot of the Bürgenstock. Once a farming community and with a magnificent stock of fruit trees, Kehrsiten is now a popular day-trip destination and stopping point on the journey up the Bürgenstock.

The picturesque hamlet of Taveyanne lies in the Vaud Alps above Gryon at the heart of a nature reserve. It comprises around 30 shingle-roofed Alpine huts on the open pastureland and which are now used as second homes.

The Halen estate lies in a forest clearing near Bern. The 1950s terraced house concept was a contemporary response to the then widespread unstructured development of rental apartment blocks. The Atelier 5 architects drew their inspiration from Le Corbusier and from Bern's historic core with its rows of houses and continuous covered walkways.

Bad Schinznach is a well-known thermal spa that blends harmoniously into the landscape along the River Aare. Its soothing waters have been enjoyed for centuries. The Baroque buildings that date back to its founding, along with the classicist round building and the idyllic parkland, give bathers the taste of a bygone age.

Kurhaus Tarasp was one of the Engadine's first grand hotels. In the nineteenth century, the spa guests included kings and tsars. The mineral-rich springs and drinking cures were world-famous. The intact ensemble complete with spa park is a delight.

Ziegelbrücke, a transport hub at the edge of the Linthebene plane in eastern Switzerland, is dominated by the Spinnerei Jenny spinning mill buildings on the Glarus side of the Linthkanal and by the rail facilities on the St. Gallen side. The village is also well-known as a rail interchange point.

Concentrated within a small area around Bruggen, now a district of the city of St. Gallen, is a unique landscape featuring almost 20 bridges dating from between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. Varying greatly in height, span and design, these include diverse structures – from ancient timber bridges in the valley bottom to tall steel and concrete bridges whose construction won international acclaim.

The mother church of the Canton of Obwalden, St. Peter und Paul, is not located in the cantonal capital of Sarnen but on a hillside in Kirchhofen commanding sweeping views. The church quarter with its monumental religious edifice offers a counterpoint to other parts of the village dominated by farms and small businesses.

The idyllic Brissago Islands lie off the western shore of the upper part of Lake Maggiore. The larger island delights visitors with its unique botanical gardens and splendid manor house. On the Isola Piccola are the ruins of the medieval church of Sant'Apollinare.

Nestling harmoniously in a site formed by a loop in the River Saane, the medieval Hauterive Abbey is among Switzerland's best-preserved monastic estates. The modest restraint of the church and the Baroque opulence of the monastic buildings offer an intriguing contrast.

The lenticular Ufenau is an idyllic and totally unspoilt island situated towards the eastern end of Lake Zurich. It was already a place of worship in Roman times. But since 1970 day trippers have been flocking here to enjoy its natural charm, historic buildings and culinary delights.

The Taubenlochschlucht, one of the most picturesque gorges in the Jura, is both a natural spectacle and a witness to industrial history. Fortified by castles, it had long been established as a trade route when industrialisation began. Along with the industrial buildings came roads, tunnels, railways and canals, together with a wide variety of bridges and walkways.

The village of Amsteg in Canton Uri owes its existence to its location on the Gotthard Pass route. First came the “Säumer”, the pack-animal drivers, who stopped here before negotiating the pass. Then a proper road was built, followed by the railway, a motorway and – the most recent milestone – the new Gotthard rail link.

From its majestic setting high above Lake Constance, the village of Heiden commands magnificent views. It was once known throughout Europe for its whey cures. Architecture aficionados will delight in the uniformity of the “Biedermeier” neoclassical buildings in the village core.

Situated at the entrance to the verdant Val-de-Ruz, colourful Valangin has retained a picturesque charm. Its landmark is a castle that crowns a rocky ledge overlooking the town.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Endingen one of two places in Switzerland where Jews were permitted to live. The eye-catching synagogue stands as the foremost architectural witness to the time when Jewish people settled here.

At the turn of the twentieth century, the gasworks in Schlieren was the biggest in Switzerland. The largely well-preserved ensemble comprises a number of impressive industrial buildings plus some attractive factory-owned housing – from the director's villa to the workers' quarters.

Originally built by the Walser people, the hamlet of Obermutten enjoys an enchanting location on a sunny saddle overlooking the Albulatal valley. The well-preserved settlement of timber buildings, which includes a rare example of a wooden church, perfectly illustrates the preference of its founders for isolated, elevated locations.

Steeped in legend, the pilgrimage site of St. Chrischona offers magnificent views of the Jura and Alps. It was an important place of pilgrimage as early as the Middle Ages and, since 1840, has been home to the Pilgermission St. Chrischona (“Pilgrim Mission”, now Chrischona International).

Trogen, one of the most impressive villages in Appenzellerland, enjoys an idyllic setting on the crest of a hill at the foot of the mountain of Gäbris. The village has become well-known for its Pestalozzi Children's Village, among other things.

The fine farming village and service centre of Erlenbach is nestled among the delightful Simmental landscape in the foothills of the Alps at the feet of the Stockhorn, from where you can enjoy an impressive view of 200 mountain peaks.

The only small town in the Bernese Oberland is overshadowed by internationally renowned Interlaken. But Unterseen beckons its guests with its impressive exterior, the pretty old town on the River Aare and the best views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.

Riehen in the canton of Basel-Stadt is a fashionable residential suburb situated on the border with Germany that boasts magnificent monumental buildings. It has successfully evaded further urbanisation. Riehen has achieved worldwide fame above all thanks to the Fondation Beyeler.

Beromünster is situated on a gentle hill between Lake Baldegger and Lake Sempacher. The little town is known today not only for its magnificent abbey district, but also for its former radio station – and for the first letterpress to be mentioned in Switzerland.

La Chaux-de-Fonds is not just known for its model chequerboard layout and watch industry, but is also the home of Le Corbusier and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.