19 Things That Shocked Me About Switzerland

Switzerland: the land of pristine lakes, majestic mountains, and chocolate so good it’ll ruin all other chocolate for you! But beyond the postcard-perfect views and punctual trains lies a country that has some quirks that I didn’t know until I visited. I spent two weeks in Switzerland during summer and another week in winter. I absolutely love Switzerland and if you’re planning a trip to Switzerland of your own, here are some things that might shock or surprise you about this country.

1. Switzerland has palm trees

Straight up, this messes with my mind. When you think Switzerland, do you think palm trees? Probably not, but they’re there! You’ll see them a lot in the Montreux area, but I also saw them in Breinz, which is in the Bernese Oberland area.

2. Infrastructure along hikes

One thing that disappointed me in Switzerland — when you’re hiking in the alps, you’re never too far away from a cable car station or a mountain restaurant/hut. While that is nice, knowing you can cut a hike short by hitching a ride down on the gondolas, or grab snacks / hit up the bathroom, you don’t feel like you’re in the true wilderness when you see cable car lines and restaurants pop up in the middle of a trail. Versus when you’re hiking in, say, Grand Teton National Park, you won’t see any built structures there – it’s just you and nature.

3. Yes, you can drink out of (almost) any fountain

I was so apprehensive about this but I gave it a whirl and filled my water bottle from a fountain faucet – and the water was amazing!

4. Children (well, anyone really) can play in some of these fountains:

I saw this in a few cities — there are signs up letting you know which fountains children can swim in!

5. Switzerland doesn’t have to break the bank

…but it most definitely can: Yes, it is one of the most expensive countries in the world, but you can cut out so much of this expense by avoiding restaurants, and it’s not that difficult to do.

Read more: My tips for visiting Switzerland on a budget!

6. Coop (the grocery store) has great pre-made food

You can eat for cheap by getting your food at the grocery store and if you don’t have a kitchen in your lodging (which sometimes we didn’t), the pre-cooked meals from Coop are great! Migros and Denner are two other grocery store chains in Switzerland, but my fav is Coop.

7. Hiking trails are very well-marked, but the distances listed on signs are by time, not by kilometers.

For example, the sign will read “30 minutes” to X lake, rather than 3km.

8. Smoking on hiking trails

Look, there are a lot of smokers in Europe, and while Switzerland (in my experience) is nowhere near what you’ll find in Germany, you’ll still encounter it — even on hiking trails. Yep, people will smoke while on a hike.

9. Amazing Public Transportation

Everything runs on time. EVERYTHING. If the train schedule says it’ll arrive at 8:32AM, it arrives at 8:32AM, so you better be ready to board! Rarely, if ever, are trains or buses late.

10. Short train connections aren’t an issue

Because these trains are always on time, if you see that you have 6 minutes to make your train connection, you can definitely make that connection. This isn’t the Deustche Bahn in Germany!

11. In second class, trains are busy and crowded

From my research prior to my trip, I was lead to believe that buying first class train wasn’t necessary and that second class is just fine. While, sure, the seats are nice and just fine, but those second class cars are crazy crowded — and often times, they’re loud. I’ve now been to Switzerland twice (summer and winter), and first class gives you a much, much better experience. It’s quiet, the seats are larger (great for my 6-foot + tall husband) and you always have space for your luggage.

If you have a second class Swiss travel pass, I highly encourage you to book an upgrade to first for days when you’re traveling with luggage! It makes things so much easier!

12. No one reserves train seats

While they do this in other countries, in Switzerland, reserving train seats isn’t a thing. You can do it, but it’s a waste of money. I never saw one seat on the train that was reserved.

13. Cowbells!

It’s not a myth, you will hear cowbells while you’re hiking and it’s the coolest thing ever! I’ll admit though, I was a little stunned by it the first time I heard them when hiking Stoos Ridge. My first thought was, “Who is clanging on all the pots and pans up here??!”

14. Playgrounds are next-level

I enjoyed them way too much as a childless adult. They’re a ton of fun!

15. Stores Closed on Sundays

This is common in Europe and Switzerland is no exception. Try to do some hiking on a Sunday and you won’t feel the impact of a Sunday so much. If you need to shop, stores in train stations are typically open on Sundays.

16. Don’t Count on Free WiFi

I suggest getting an eSim – we went with Holafly. Free Wifi typically requires 2FA, and won’t work with your American phone number, or you’ll need to pull out your credit card, which I just wasn’t comfortable doing.

17. Even hotels with AC are hot

We stayed at a lot of Marriotts in Switzerland that had A/C but the A/C is very weak. We brought a USB fan.

18. Even in the winter, the rooms are hot

Bring that fan!

19. Switzerland has four languages and the vibes of the areas in which these languages are spoken are very different

Though, we only visited German-speaking Switzerland and French-speaking Switzerland, German Switzerland seemed quite different than French Switzerland

Have you visited Switzerland? Anything you’d like to add? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!