The Best Cities to Visit in Switzerland

Switzerland is an amazing country, for everyone. You’ve got the mountains, the lakes and of course the vibrant cities all in-between.

With so many beautiful places to choose from, one of the most common travel questions is simple: what is the best city to visit in Switzerland?

The answer depends on what you’re looking for. Switzerland’s cities are incredibly diverse and not one is the same.

Zurich feels modern and creative, Bern brings medieval calm, Basel is a cultural capital, Lugano has a warm Mediterranean feel, and Thun sits right between turquoise lakes and mountain peaks.

This guide gives you the five best cities to visit in Switzerland.

The 5 Best Cities to Visit in Switzerland

1. Zurich

Zurich is the city I fell in love with when I first came to Switzerland with my girlfriend in 2019.

It’s the city that gives you a little bit of everything: a walkable old town, calm lake views, world-class museums, clean design, and a food scene that keeps getting better every year.

It’s super photogenic. (Check out my street photography route about Zurich here!), the church towers, the Limmat river, and the soft afternoon light along Lake Zurich always deliver beautiful moments.

What to See in Zurich:

• Old Town (Altstadt)
• Lindenhof viewpoint
• Lake Zurich promenade
• Polybahn & ETH Terrace
• Kunsthaus Zürich
• Museum für Gestaltung Zürich
• Zurich West & Markthalle im Viadukt
• Uetliberg viewpoint

Zurich works for one-day itineraries, weekend trips, and longer stays.

2. Bern

Bern is the unofficial capital of Switzerland. The country doesn’t really have a capital; but the government is seated in Bern.

But it doesn’t feel like that.

It’s calm, warm, and timeless. The entire Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built on a bend of the Aare river with stone arcades, fountains, and red roofs that look beautiful from every angle.

One of the first things we visited in Bern was the Rosengarten (viewpoint).

Bern is perfect for slow travel. Like walking, photographing small details, sitting at cafés, and taking in the old-town charm.

But also: free swimming.

You can take a dive in the Aare river, like many people are doing in the summer. Not just for fun, also for commuting to work.

Or you go to the free swimming pool called: Freibad Weyermannshaus. It’s literally perfect on a hot day. We went there in 2024 for the first time and stayed there on our days in-between hikes.

(Read more about Bern here)

3. Basel

Basel is not just the first city you see when you enter Switzerland (at least when you’re coming by train from the Netherlands/Germany); it’s also Switzerland’s cultural powerhouse.

Home to some of the country’s best museums, bold architecture, and a creative edge that feels modern and international. If you love design, galleries, or exploring neighborhoods, Basel is where you’ll find some of Switzerland’s most interesting urban energy.

Basel is the best Swiss city for museum lovers and travelers who want a mix of historic and modern visual culture.

4. Lugano

If you love Switzerland and Italy, Lugano is the perfect crossover you didn’t know you ever needed.

Lugano feels like stepping into another world: warm air, palm trees, Italian cafés, colorful facades, and a lake that looks completely different from the northern part of Switzerland. It’s the most “holiday-feeling” city on this list.

You notice the Italian influence everywhere.

The language, the cafés, the rhythm of the streets, and the way people linger outside with a coffee or a glass of wine.

The city sits right on Lake Lugano, surrounded by mountains that look almost tropical in summer.

Check out my article about Lugano here to find out more!

A couple of things you can do in Lugano:

• Walk the Lake Lugano Promenade
• Ride Up Monte Brè or Monte San Salvatore
• Take a Boat Trip Across the Lake

If you want a Switzerland that feels like a blend of Italian charm and Swiss order, Lugano is the best city to visit.

5. Thun

I think Thun is one of Switzerland’s most underrated cities. It’s a postcard kind of town in the center of the country. Right in between the mountains and the lakes of Bernese Oberland.

Thun blends everything people imagine when they think of Switzerland: turquoise water, snow-capped mountains, medieval towers, wooden bridges, and the calm lakeside.

It’s smaller and quieter than Zurich or Bern, but that’s what makes it so good.

Thun has a relaxed atmosphere that makes you slow down instantly and just want to chill. That’s exactly what we did when we visited Thun for the first time in 2024.

We came back from our Eiger hike and had decided that we wanted to take a dive in the lake of Thun.

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But there’s so much more to do in Thun:

• Thun Castle (Schloss Thun)
• The Wooden Bridges of Thun (Beautiful)
• Schadau Park & Schadau Castle
• Boat Trips to Interlaken and Spiez (included in your Interrail)

Considering Lausanne or Montreux?

Another part of Switzerland worth considering is Lake Geneva.

Lausanne gives you a proper city experience with an Old Town, cathedral, metro and the lakeside at Ouchy, while Montreux feels smaller and more focused on the lake, mountains and nearby Château de Chillon.

I’ve stayed in and explored both, and they work particularly well if you’re travelling Switzerland without a car.

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Which City in Switzerland Is Best?

The answer to the question “Which city in Switzerland is best?” obviously is: there is none.

There are so many Swiss cities that are so perfect, each offering a completely different version of the country.

That’s what makes traveling here so special. You can go from Zurich’s modern energy to Bern’s medieval calm, from Basel’s cultural pulse to Lugano’s Mediterranean warmth, and finally to Thun’s lakes-and-mountains perfection, all within a few hours by train.

The best way to travel Switzerland? Pick the city that matches your style. Or just pick all of them!