ABOUT SWITZERLAND

Switzerland conjures up a fair swag of clichés: irresistible chocolates, kitsch clocks, yodelling Heidis, humourless bankers, international bureaucracies and an orderly, anally-retentive and rather bland national persona. But Harry Lime was wrong on more than one account when, in The Third Man, he said 500 years of Swiss democracy and peace had produced nothing more than the cuckoo clock. For a start, the Germans invented this monstrous timepiece; secondly, the Swiss, who are a brainy lot, have won more Nobel Prizes and registered more patents per capita than any other nation on earth. Muesli, DDT and life insurance may not be the stuff of legend, but where would the rest of us swashbucklers be without a bit of Swiss nous behind us?

Full country name: Swiss Confederation
Area: 41,295 sq km (16,105 sq mi)
Population: 7.3 million
Capital city: Bern (pop 130,000)
People: 74% German, 20% French, 4% Italian & 1% Romansch
Language: German, French, Italian & Romansch
Religion: 49% Roman Catholic & 48% Protestant
Government: Federal republic
President: Kaspar Villiger

GDP: US$192 billion
GDP per head: US$26,400
Annual growth: 2%
Inflation: 2%
Major industries: Banking, insurance, pharmaceuticals, chemicals & precision instruments, tourism
Major trading partners: EU (esp. Germany, France, Italy, UK), US, Japan Switzerland
Member of EU: no

Facts for the Traveler

Visas: Citizens of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK and the USA do not require a visa. A maximum stay of three months applies though passports are rarely stamped
Health risks: Altitude sickness, hypothermia & sunburn
Time: GMT/UTC plus one hour
Electricity: 220 volts, 50Hz
Weights & measures: Metric
Tourism: 11 million visitors annually

When to Go :
You can visit Switzerland any time throughout the year. Summer lasts roughly from June to September, and offers the most pleasant climate for outdoor pursuits. Unfortunately, you won't be the only tourist during this period, so prices can be high, accommodation hard to find and the mainstream sights crowded. You'll find much better deals and fewer crowds in the shoulder seasons of April-May and late-September-October.

If you're keen on winter sports, resorts in the Alps begin operating in late-November, move into full swing around Christmas, and close down when the snow begins to melt in April.

Events : Fasnacht
February is carnival time, or Fasnacht, in many towns, but Basel really funks it up with elaborate parades beginning at a bleary 4 am. In the lower Valais, from March to October, cows battle it out in the Combat de Reines (cow fighting) to see which beast is most suited to lead the herd up to the summer pastures. The world-renowned Montreux Jazz Festival takes place in July. National Day (August 1) is celebrated with fireworks throughout the country, and Swiss wrestling in the Emmenthal area east of Bern. On the fourth Monday in November, Bern hosts its famous onion market (Zibelmarit), where traders take over the whole town centre and many a tear is shed.