Customer Reviews:
 Perfect for forst time travellers August 28, 2008
I bought this guide as a last minute thought before heading to Zurich for the first time. And I'm very glad I did as the book was so helpful...it definately pointed out all the best places to visit whilst within the city. As it was from 2006 I was worried that the prices would be totaly wrong but I was pleasantly surprised as they were only out by 1 or 2 francs. I would recommend this book to anyone travelling to Switzerland particularly if, like my friend and I, they were a first time traveller
 dissappointing and misleading October 7, 2007
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
I am a big fan of Rough Guides but this is the worst one I've come across. I can only assume that the author works for the Swiss travel services given his bias towards using public transport, not only for travel but also for shopping and eating! The railway station cafes were no better than UK ones and the shops open no later than others in town. His negative comments about driving are totally misplaced, car parking was easy (and no more expensive than the UK) and the roads were excellent, while petrol was cheap. In fact in most small villages there was free parking and even in the cities we didn't encounter any queuing. Having spoken to a friend who visits Switzerland regularly he couldn't understand the books comments at all.
The general information about the history and geography of Switzerland was adequate. While this is by no means a bad book it just isn't up to Rough Guide's normal standards.
as efficient as the Swiss railways... August 8, 2007
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I know the guide-book-buying public are often split into those who like Rough Guides and those who like Lonely Planet, and ne'er the twain shall meet, so I may be preaching to the converted, but never mind...
This is, of course, another excellent example of a Rough Guide - detailed, well-researched & useful, with lovely photos to whet your appetite, but also full of those interesting little snippets that make you interested in a country or town. For instance, who knew that we Brits consume a measly 9kg of chocolate each per year, whereas the Swiss munch through over 11kg? (but is this surprising, given the quality of their chocolate?? 11kg sounds quite low...!) Or that in Valais, the much-less-violent-than-it-sounds cow fight is still extremely popular? I love dipping into books like this, as well as using them for more practical purposes. I lived in Switzerland for a year and feel pretty confident that I know my way around the transport system and know a fair amount about all the famous sights, but on a recent trip, this book was still invaluable to me, as shown by the sun tan lotion-ed fingerprints on the well-thumbed pages & all the leaflets and timetables bookmarking different sections for quick access, from the cafes of Lausanne, the turrets of the Chateau de Chillon and the paddle steamers of Lake Geneva to the Sherlock Holmes museum in Meiringen, hiking in the Hasliberg and taking the train through the Eiger to the Jungfraujoch. I love Switzerland, and I think the author must have quite a soft spot for it too, as he doesn't fall into the usual stereotypes of the Swiss being just a bit too tidy and neat and efficient, and therefore boring, for their own good. He makes it sound like a fun place to be. And how right he is...
My only (slightly biased) gripe is that if Lausanne really is "simply Switzerland's sexiest city",(which it is ;-D) then why did they choose a random photo of any old building to illustrate it in the Things Not to Miss section?! Not enough to knock a star off though. If you want to find your way round Switzerland and learn some pretty interesting stuff in the process, then look no further than this book.
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