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.

Ennetbürgen, Switzerland

Hammetschwand Elevator

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

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.

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.

Gadmen, Switzerland

Trift Bridge

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

Boudry, Switzerland

Saut de Brot

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

Beatenberg, Switzerland

St. Beatus Cave

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

Neuheim, Switzerland

Höllgrotten Caves

These spooky and unusual stone formations create an underworldly landscape.

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Unique Food & Drink in Switzerland

Poire Williams

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

Redlove Apple

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

Ruby Chocolate

The sweet is naturally a bubblegum shade of pink.

Flämmli

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

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The Child Eater of Bern	3 June 19, 2019	1714	June 19, 2019
Unique Places to Eat in Switzerland	2 September 9, 2019	600	September 9, 2019
Unique Places to Stay in Switzerland	2 September 9, 2019	348	September 9, 2019

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Stories About Switzerland

The cord and unfinished longbow found on Ötzi, who was killed in Europe's Ötztal Alps over five millennia ago.

Drawing a Bead on a Mummy’s Ancient Arsenal

Ötzi’s 5,300-year-old hunting kit could offer clues about how life was lived in Copper Age Europe.

by Isaac Schultz

December 31, 2019

This wheel of cheese was likely a lot larger 149 years ago, but has shriveled due to moisture loss.

The Valley of the Cheese of the Dead

In this remote Swiss town, residents spent a lifetime aging a wheel for their own funeral.

by Molly McDonough

October 24, 2019

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