Surrounded by France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria and Italy, Switzerland takes up an area of 41,295 square kilometers and is home to some 7 million people. More than 60 percent of the country is mountainous and the Alps, Europe’s highest mountains, occupy the central and southern parts of the country. With its many Alpine passes, Switzerland has sat at the mountain crossroads of Europe for thousands of years. The inheritance of several different cultures can be seen in ancient Roman roads and amphitheaters; in monasteries and chapels built for pilgrims; and in Renaissance and Baroque art. The nation was founded over 700 years ago, with a vow of mutual aid among three "forest" cantons. Now, 26 politically sovereign cantons make up the modern federative state called Switzerland. Dozens of major military battles were fought on Swiss soil. The Austrian Habsburgs and Charles the Bold, among others, were driven out by the Swiss. The Reformation and Counter Reformation established the division of faiths and forever left an imprint on the regions.The Alps make Switzerland a truly three-dimensional country. From the air or from the valleys, they are spectacular. There's Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and the Matterhorn near Zermatt, the Eiger overlooking Grindlewald, the Jungfrau, the Weisshorn and the Wildspitze to name just a few peaks. Swiss glaciers and streams feed the Rhine, Danube, Rhone and Po rivers. Famous passes through the mountain walls include the Simplon, St. Gotthard, Great St. Bernard and Brenner.

Cultural life in Switzerland is rich and varied like its countryside. It feeds on the fertile friction between the four official languages and cultures - German, French, Italian and Romansh. Switzerland also features an astonishing mix of traditional and contemporary elements and manages to keep a happy balance between preserving its cultural heritage and allowing new impulses to bring about change. Witness, for instance, the large variety of museums - about 930 different ones in all - that range from the internationally renowned institution to the regional or local showplace. Numerous paintings of great value can be admired in municipal museums, as well as in luxurious residencies of private collectors.

Popular events, some serious, some merry, take place all year round. Secular and religious celebrations punctuate the calendar in a colorful succession. Festivals of every kind fill the year. From August 1, Swiss Independence Day, and a time for speeches, lantern-lit processions, fireworks and bonfires high in the Alps to Sechseläuten, Zurich spring festival during which "old man winter" is consumed by hot flames or Carnival, celebrated all over Switzerland with colorful parades, masks and costumes. There are International festivals of film and music organized through the year - indoors or under the open sky, as well as celebrations of old traditions, like stone and flag throwing, Hornussen, a unique Swiss sport, cow fights for the spring return of cows to alpine pastures, marked by feasts, dancing and blowing of three-meter-long alphorns and, of course, yodeling contests.

The Swiss seem to be born innkeepers. They come by their food consciousness naturally, living in a land full of regional specialties, flavored by German, French and Italian influences. To the north, you may enjoy the Bernese sauerkraut dinner of bacon, sausage, ham, potatoes, green beans and rosti (the nonpareil rendition of hashed potatoes). In the neighboring French-influenced area, the renowned Emmental, Gruyere and Vacherin cheeses melt together, with a spiking of kirsch, to become fondue, dipped out of the pot on cubes of bread. The Valais is the region of raclette cheese in its wheel, the surface melted, scraped off and eaten with potatoes and tart cornichons. In the Grisons, a specialty is bundnerfleisch, paper-thin sliced beef, dried in the mountain sun and air. On the Italian side, you'll find risotto and salami. Swiss wines are best when new and when ordered in.