107 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Switzerland - Atlas Obscura

Unusual
Attractions
in Switzerland

Gruyères, Switzerland

H.R. Giger Museum

The bizarre visions of H.R. Giger, tucked away in a Swiss medieval city.

Bern, Switzerland

The Child Eater of Bern

A nearly 500 year old sculpture depicts a man eating a sack of babies, and no one is sure why.

Ennetbürgen, Switzerland

Hammetschwand Elevator

The tallest outdoor elevator in Europe rockets passengers on a dizzyingly precarious ride to the top of a mountain.

Gadmen, Switzerland

Trift Bridge

This amazing pedestrian suspension bridge in the Swiss Alps would give Indiana Jones nightmares.

Beatenberg, Switzerland

St. Beatus Cave

Caves famous for the dragon-slaying saint who lived there.

Boudry, Switzerland

Saut de Brot

This lovely little bridge hidden in a Switzerland gorge is essentially a fairytale.

Neuheim, Switzerland

Hell Grottoes

These spooky and unusual stone formations create an underworldly landscape.

Wasserauen, Switzerland

Berggasthaus Aescher Wildkirchli

This 170-year-old Swiss guesthouse built into the side of a mountain is best accessed by a cable car.

See All 107 Things to Do in Switzerland See All 107 Places

Unique
Food & Drink
in Switzerland

Poire Williams

Before they're filled with brandy, these bottles get attached to trees so pears can grow inside.

Ruby Chocolate

The sweet is naturally a bubblegum shade of pink.

Redlove Apple

Apples are red, blueberries are blue / But these pommes d’amour are red inside, too.

Flämmli

After a long day of skiing, you deserve caffeine, fire, and alcohol—at the same time.

See all 7 things to eat in Switzerland See all 7 things to eat in Switzerland

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Stories
About Switzerland

Visitors stand next to the Rhône glacier in August 2018.

Swaddling Glaciers in Blankets Isn’t the Oddest Idea for Extending Their Lives

As glaciers and ice sheets keep dwindling, scientists are proposing everything they can think of.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

August 23, 2019

This zigzag cat ladder allows the feline to make a pit stop on the second floor.

The Swiss City That’s Full of Cat Ladders

A photographer captured Bern's eclectic and charming feline structures.

Guests enjoy a Bénichon meal at an event photographed by the region's tourism board.

The Swiss Festival That Starts When the Cows Come Home

Six courses, eight hours, and foods you won’t find anywhere else.

by Molly Harris

December 11, 2018

A bottle of absinthe tucked away in the woods.

The Absinthe Enthusiasts Hiding Bottles in the Swiss Woods

In the Val-de-Travers valley, people never stopped distilling the spirit.

by Camille von Kaenel

November 8, 2018

Only at very high altitudes, such as in the Monte Rosa area (southern Valais), did some of the large amounts of winter snow survive the summer.

European Glaciers Have Been Coming and Going for Thousands of Years, But Now They’re Just Going

2018 was a terrible year for Swiss glaciers.

November 6, 2018

The author taking notes approximately 10,000 feet above sea level.

7 Hours in the Air With Some Record-Breaking Swiss Balloonists

Up, up, and away over the Alps.

by Kristen Cosby

October 12, 2018

The papyrus before conservation.

A 2,000-Year-Old Mystery Papyrus Reveals Its Secrets

For centuries, no one could read it.

by Sarah Laskow

A bison rests on the pasture.

How North American Bison Ended Up in the Swiss Alps

The mammals in Geneva’s outskirts are now iconic in the country.

by Lina Zeldovich