Top 10 CITIES Switzerland: Most beautiful Swiss Places – The Highlights [Travel Guide]

switzerland wonderland a small country full of surprises and vibrant cities whether down in the valley by the river or at the lake there are many cities that charm with their beautiful atmosphere although being a rather small country switzerland cities are very diverse in terms of architecture and culture having traveled through plenty of alluring cities during the past years i'm proud to present you my top 10 list of the most beautiful cities of switzerland hello everyone welcome back to my channel my name is jmo i'm a swiss traveler mostly posting videos about switzerland southeast asia and the world now let's start hopping with number 10 and that would be Sion. this is a town that many of you might not have heard of it's the capital of the very touristic canton of Valais. the moment i entered the old city of Sion i noticed how vibrant this place is. in general there's a quite happy atmosphere present in here and this city sort of provides italian vibes although it lays in switzerland's french-speaking part. this is what i felt made Sion very unique. during the warm months it's quite happening there are many street performers many people hanging out at the cafes and restaurants and all together this inhales so much life into this place. talking about the restaurants upon my first visit i noticed Sion being a very interesting hub for foodie enthusiasts. local delicacies include beef from the Eran kettles, any dish including local tomatoes that are known for their quite unique taste and then the restaurant Au Choix Blanc that serves the best oysters ever had. do not forget to visit Sion's castle up on the hill. they're considered the landmark of the old town and now let's continue with number nine that's this city here and that would be wonderful Lugano. we're heading to the Rio de Janeiro of switzerland through Lugano. Lugano is built along the bay of the Gerasio and has been attracting numerous tourists due to its wonderful surrounding. Lugano's old city is very beautiful with many houses and enchanting alleys. it's a very vibrant city full of shops and restaurants basically all what tourists and locals would need. there's even a very nice christmas market that is held on a yearly basis. surprisingly for a major city Lugano's market remains rather traditional at least regarding the booths. interesting places would be this viewpoint with the church and the funicular in the background, popular instagram spot, then the Gesa San Lorenzo with its beautiful interior full of mosaics and the Parco Gianni. at the park you most likely will come across the skate which is one of the most photographed subjects in Lugano. the city of Lugano is easy to reach by car then i personally prefer arriving here by train. it's very convenient as you directly may access the funicular that takes you down to the old city. after having visited this city for numerous times i also would like to share my favorite activities to do in and around Lugano. a must visit is either to go up to the Monte Bre or to Monte San Salvatore. from these two peaks you'll get a fantastic view down to Lugano. Monte San Salvatore offers you a great panorama over the lake and the surrounding. just nearby you may also visit the villages of Morgote in Gandria. more about those in my top 10 villages videos. then there's also the Swiss Miniatur in Melide. that one shows you all of switzerland on a small scale which includes the major landmarks. the best however is the love to the details as they're showcasing you all modes of transportation, replicas of the major boats on the lakes, trains and even cable cars up to the mountains. Lugano is a great city. big plus points are its warm climate, mediterranean vibe, city life and the cultural proximity to italy. well the only thing that i'm not too fond of are these many 1970 buildings. should have been enjoying watching this video so far then i kindly invite you to subscribe to my channel and now let's continue with number eight. we're changing to northwest switzerland to basel. we're now heading to northwest switzerland to one of the most cultural cities. basel has a beautiful mix of old and modern and managed to well preserve its traditions. i thought i would find the most beautiful parts of basel at the Balthuser or Münster square but then noticed that basel's beauty is found in the many alleys. those really take your time exploring this area. there are a couple of great shops to visit and for any tourists i would highly recommend you to take a look at johann nanno. they basically have everything you may be looking for. very beautiful is also the river promenade at klein basel on the northern shore of the rhein. from there you will see the many beautiful houses proudly overseeing the river. my favorite points of interest are the Spalentor, basel's old gate and landmark, the prominent red city hall with its beautiful paintings and the Münster massive sandstone cathedral. basel is very modern and is switzerland's main hub for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Novartis and Roche being prominent to mention here. although basel is very modern i've always been fascinated by its strong adherence to its traditions. during autumn they have a fair that is really cool to visit. there will be many attractions around the Münsterplatz, Balthuser Platz and Petersplatz. switzerland's most beautiful christmas market is also held in basel. you'll find many handmade products and plenty of beautifully decorated stalls. the Vogelgriff is celebrated annually by the people of klein basel during mid-january and is certainly a very unique festival in switzerland. now the very highlight i shall say is the Morgenstreich which is the beginning of switzerland's largest carnival starting sharply at 4 a.m. number seven is the federal city of switzerland and that would be Bern. we're now heading to the federal city to Bern. in this top 10 cities list Bern is the only one that was awarded with UNESCO world heritage status. the old city is very unique with its many arcades, clock towers and fountains. Bern's major points of interest are the federal square with its parliament called bundeshaus and the swiss national bank. then the Zietglocke tower with the painting of adam and eve being exiled from the paradise, the Berengraben, the pit with bears, the house of einstein, the city theater and the Münster. talking about the Münster, a center tower to enjoy a brilliant vista over the old city of Bern. during summer also consider going for a swim at the Are river. the safest would be just at the bath of the Marzili. Bern is also interesting when it comes to culture. the local specialty is Rösti which is one of the major original swiss dishes. it's available in different varieties. a very important cultural event to witness during the takes place on a monday morning starting from 6 a.m. it's beautifully decorated and also has some elements of carnival. and then during christmas season there will be the market called Sternenmerit. it's basically a street food festival in a christmasy atmosphere but then the lightings with the many stars that's actually really beautiful. at number six we're moving again to the french-speaking part of switzerland and that would be beautiful Neuchâtel. welcome to one of my favorite cities. Neuchâtel has been fascinating to me since my childhood days. probably they got much to do with its location by the lake, its unique climate and great vibes. Neuchâtel's beauty comes from its simplicity. less colorful than the other cities Neuchâtel consists mainly of limestone buildings. walk among the many alleys. there are even secret ones such as this one with the many graffitis. you probably will notice that Neuchâtel is full of these, something i really admire about this city as it's beautifully blending the old with the contemporary arts. the points of interest are this fountain with the clock tower, then the and then this shaky balcony just above the lake. my favorite spot however is the hill with the castle and the coligate church. as soon as you're getting there you'll enjoy a brilliant view over the old city of Neuchâtel. do also go for a quick visit at the abbey and the coligate church. Neuchâtel also frequently is hosting cultural events, the street food festival being just one we're now moving to the upper half this top 10 list of the most beautiful cities of switzerland number five is this city right behind me that's by the way my hometown and that would be Schaffhausen all the way up in the north of switzerland less is humble often underrated city of Schaffhausen although it's my hometown and i may be a bit biased you have to say some of the most beautiful cities in all of switzerland. Schaffhausen's old city has been perfectly preserved up to this day as it's remaining fully intact. because of that you'll need at least two hours to explore it. i however would better plan even for half a day as there are numerous cafes, restaurants and attractions. the city charms with its many shops, vibrant life, painted houses and its numerous aureal windows. because of the latter Schaffhausen loves to describe itself as the Stadt der Erker, the city of aureal windows. the nicest alleys would be the one at the Vordergasse, especially during christmas and then the lower city the Unterstadt. there's also this beautiful art deco shop where you can see the artists still hand painting porcelain and tiles. interesting places to visit are the minster, typical swiss protestant church, the abbey zu aller heiligen and then the museum, the schiffslände with its train bridge and of course the landmark the fortress called munoth. the latter is one of the major tourist attractions of schaffhausen and it's also serving as a center of culture. there's a yearly salsa party that's really fun to attend and then also the munoth ball with a traditional dance called gadril. the city hosts the yearly martini market on a wednesday and thursday during mid-november as well as a two days christmas market at the abbey. there are numerous hotels in schaffhausen and if i may suggest you a special one then it would be the park villa. that one is very close to the train station and it charms with its nostalgic atmosphere. things to do around the city of schaffhausen would be a visit to the old town of stein am rhein and europe's tallest river waterfall the rheinfalls. i'm pretty sure everyone knows number four it's the largest city here in switzerland and that would be zürich. often awarded as the world's most expensive city, zürich looks fairly humble compared to its competitors. nevertheless, zürich is the largest city of switzerland being the hub for banking, business and innovation. for many of you, zürich may be the first destination as you most likely are going to arrive to switzerland by plane or else by train. it's the easiest to be reached by train as the station is right in the middle of the center. knowing this city by heart since having done my material science studies at dth, i recommend you to visit the following points of interest. the limatke with the river and the many churches, the niederdörfli that is considered to be the best preserved part of zürich's old city, the colorful alley called augustinergasse, the frauminzel church with the windows of the world famous artist mark chagall, the bellevue is where you can get a wonderful view over the lake in the swiss alps and of course the bahnhofstrasse that is the shopping boulevard. my favorite viewpoints are at the lindenhof and the polyterrasse. the latter is kind of funny because i never really valued this view that i was getting on a daily basis when having done my studies at dth. i remember when i did my first tour to one of my best friends he had to explain me how unique it is to actually come up here by the polybahn and then especially how beautiful this vista is. zürich is very international, it's vibrant and fast-paced but nevertheless it always managed to well balance between the modern and the traditional. it remains a major cultural center here in switzerland. this is very visible at the interiors of the gilders houses that are still considered to be the major cultural associations in the city. on a yearly basis they host this fascinating tradition called sechseleuten that takes place always on the third monday in april. don't miss out the many christmas markets around the town during december, especially the one at the main station, sechseleuten square or at the luminarium. we're now moving up to the podium of the top 10 cities here in switzerland. for that we have to change again to the french-speaking part. number three goes to fribourg. fribourg is a quite unique city as it's built on a hill, similarly to bern. however, the town extends down to the groove around the river sarin. start your exploration on the hill, walk through large alleys and then go for a quick visit to the san nicola cathedral. this is a very beautiful gothic church considered being the landmark of the city. definitely i can recommend you to ascend the cathedral's tower. it's quite a number of steps. however, once you arrive up there you'll be able to enjoy a brilliant vista over the old city. my favorite spot is down in the canyon as you'll be getting a pretty view up to the majestic houses that proudly oversee the lower part of the city. at this point, and especially after droning, i got to notice how many similarities the city is actually sharing with luxembourg. head up to the lorat chapel on the hill, just face off the city. in my opinion, from there you'll be getting the best vista over the old city of fribourg. try out the funicular to ascend back to the city center on the hill. by the way, very fascinating is the fact that it's operated with the pressure of used water. this since 1899. that's actually very sustainable. now, since you're in fribourg, you also need to know that it's one of the most culinaric regions of switzerland. try out their fondue a la moitié moitié, meringue or then berries with gruyere double cream. that's just delicious. number two is what people call the most beautiful baroque city of switzerland and that would be solothurn. this is quite a unique city with a different kind of identity. solothurn proudly calls itself the most beautiful baroque city of switzerland. when having strolled through the old city, i soon had to agree with that claim. the many baroque style houses are indeed very beautiful. and then of course the sanctozen cathedral, the masterpiece of the city. similar to most cathedrals in switzerland, you may ascend the church tower to enjoy a great view over solothurn. as you're standing up there, you might notice that this city actually shares some similarities with lithuania's capital vilnius. solothurn is not only strongly identifying itself with its baroque designs but also with the number 11. but sorry guys, there's no rank 11 on this top 10 list, but i guess ranking second does you well. everything in solothurn is based on the number 11. solothurn is switzerland's 11th canton that joined the confederation. there are 11 steps up to the cathedral, by the way three times because of the holy trinity. 11 fountains or then even a clock with only 11 hours. that's kind of weird but at the same time it's really cool. visit solothurn on a saturday to enjoy the vibrant wet market, go to see the major gates basel and bermtor and then also consider a visit to the museum at the zeughaus. that one has a large collection of medieval armors. there is also the weissenstein, the mountain just next to solothurn. when you're ascending up there, you'll be getting a fantastic vista over the old city and the entire region. before i'm going to reveal you the most beautiful city of switzerland, here are a few top honorable mentions. st. gallen, belinzona, lausanne and zug. and now the most beautiful city here in switzerland. i'm pretty sure you're not that surprised. number one goes to very beautiful lucerne. i know most of you aren't surprised to see lucerne ranking first, but i do have to say it's always a very special feeling for me whenever i arrive in here. the lake, the river heuss, many houses at the promenade and this beautiful wooden bridge called kappelbrücke. it just looks so great all together. lucerne is great during any time of the year, but surely it's the nicest during spring and summer. some of the major things to do in lucerne, walking on the kappelbrücke, by the way, also do pay attention to the many pictures below the roof. then also visit the lion monument. that's the saddest piece of rock you probably could find in the entire world. walk along the promenade, hike around the city wall or go to the museum called gletschergarten. at the latter you can learn more about the nature of the glaciers and the historic battles of switzerland. the highlight is the hall of mirrors in the basement called alhambra. regarding culture lucerne has really a lot to offer. big highlight is the light festival called lilu which is held on a yearly basis during the latter days of january. the city will be lit up and there are several light shows going on such as inside the jesuit church. the most famous event is the carnival of which the locals claim it being the best in all of switzerland. it starts with an early morning wake called tagwach which is initiated by the big bang at 5am followed by a beautiful confetti rain at the kappelplatz. during the following days there will be numerous parades and festivities going on. and if you haven't had enough of this beautiful city then also consider going for a cruise on the lake to proceed to the other villages nearby. or should you want to get a indeed switzerland is full of wonderful cities and if you want to know which ones are the top 10 most beautiful villages of switzerland then i invite you to watch this video. otherwise if you're more interested in southeast asia then let's meet over there