Discover the charm of Switzerland

Switzerland has produced many notable figures across different fields, from pioneering philosophers to legendary psychologists. The following three luminaries offer a glimpse into the remarkable contributions that Swiss scholars have made to history and culture since the eighteenth century.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
This Geneva-born philosopher was one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment. Rousseau’s inquiries on freedom and the ideal state of nature were published in The Social Contract and A Discourse on Inequality. He advocated radical child-rearing ideas in Emile; or, On Education, which flipped the paradigm of the teacher as an authority figure in favor of child-centered learning. Rousseau espoused freer expressions of emotion—an idea that inspired the Romantic movement. He is famed as the philosopher of the French Revolution.

Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1784–1817)
If you have ever experienced the splendor of Petra or the Temple of Ramses at Abu Simbel, you have Johann Ludwig Burckhardt to thank for it. The Swiss explorer rediscovered these marvels after they had been abandoned for centuries.

Burckhardt was born in Lausanne, and though his first language was German, he signed his letters “Jean Louis” or “John Lewis.” His identity became even more fluid when he accepted an assignment to journey from Cairo to Timbuktu. To prepare, he studied Arabic at Cambridge, wore Arabic-style clothes and traveled to Syria to immerse himself in Muslim culture. During his two years there, he posed as Ibrahim Ibn Abdallah, a persona he thought would grant him cultural access and safety as he trekked through Jordan to Cairo. After several mishaps, with the aid of a local Bedouin guide he located Petra near Wadi Musa.

When Burckhardt reached Cairo he explored the Nile but was met with hostility in Nubia and had to detour. This fortuitously led him to Abu Simbel. Burckhardt was unable to excavate the temple entrance, but his friend Giovanni Belzoni returned to Abu Simbel in 1817 and pried it open. Burckhardt never made it to Timbuktu, but his notes and manuscripts inspired the journeys of other explorers for generations to come.

Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961)
Jung was the founder of analytic psychology. He was deeply influenced by Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis, and the two collaborated for five years, but ultimately had a falling out over their theoretical differences. Jung’s concepts of introverted and extroverted personalities, archetypes and the collective unconscious helped shape modern psychology, psychiatry, art, literature and religion.

Few things are as comforting as a piping-hot bowl of fondue. This deceptively simple dish of cubed bread dipped into a container of warm melted cheese is best enjoyed in the company of loved ones, accompanied by a glass of white wine or cup of herbal tea. Declared the national dish of Switzerland by the Schweizerische Käseunion (Swiss Cheese Union) during the 1930s, this quintessential favorite has grown from a humble rural meal to a worldwide indulgence.

The origins of fondue can be traced to 18th-century Switzerland, when families in Alpine farm villages invented the dish in order to use up their old bread, excess cheese and deteriorating wine. Dipping the hard, stale bread into the cheese made it soft and delicious once more, while heating the wine along with the cheese enhanced the flavors and made both highly palatable. From these unassuming roots grew a beloved winter tradition that quickly spread across the region and beyond, with the first known written fondue recipes appearing in cookbooks published in France and Belgium.

Fondue is traditionally served in a wide, shallow earthenware pot called a caquelon. Skewers are used to dip small pieces of bread into the cheese mixture—though for only a few seconds, since any longer will cause the bread to disintegrate. One Swiss tradition involves assigning a “punishment” for accidentally dropping one’s bread into the cheese, such as buying a round of drinks or completing a dare. The dark, cheesy crust that forms on the bottom of the caquelon is called the religieuse, which is customarily scraped up at the end of the meal and shared among the diners.

The types of cheese used for fondue can vary greatly by region. Though the combination known as moitié-moitié (half-half) fondue, made up of half Gruyère and half Vacherin Fribourgeois cheese, is popular throughout Switzerland, various cantons boast their own favored iterations. In Valais, for example, Gruyère is often mixed with raclette, whereas those in Bern prefer to blend their Gruyère with Emmental (what most Americans call “Swiss cheese”). In the country’s eastern cantons, including Zürich, Appenzeller cheese is the complement of choice for the Gruyère. While various toppings and accompaniments abound, a classic fondue is sure to include white wine, garlic and a splash of kirsch.

No matter how it is prepared, you are sure to enjoy the delicious, homey flavors of this classically Swiss combination.

Basel occupies a mere 9.21 square miles, yet within that area there are more than three dozen museums. This is to say nothing of Basel's many galleries and non-permanent exhibitions.

Among the city’s most renowned institutions is the Basel Kunstmuseum, Europe’s first art collection to be made accessible to the public (in 1661) and the largest art museum in Switzerland. Highlights include the world’s largest assemblage of paintings by members of the Holbein family and a thorough collection of works by Old Masters, which documents the development of painting in the Upper Rhine. Recent bequests have bolstered the museum’s modernist collection to such an extent that a second site, accessible by tunnel, was constructed across the street from the original building.

The Fondation Beyeler is home to an astounding collection of 19th- and 20th-century works by artists such as Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Joan Miró, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Max Ernst and many others. It was the formerly private collection of art dealers Hildy and Ernst Beyeler.

Aside from museums, the city also hosts the renowned Art Basel, an annual international art fair that serves as a showcase for contemporary art across all media. Its popularity and success have resulted in the launches of partner Art Basel fairs in Miami and Hong Kong.

Boasting some of the most dramatic terrain in Europe, Saxon Switzerland is part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in Germany. It features some 1,000 peaks, rugged sandstone cliff formations, castles and fortresses.

A mountain climber’s paradise

Popular with climbers around the world, this rocky region southeast of Dresden was shaped by wind, water and geologic shifting. Perhaps the most striking formation is the Bastei (“bastion”). Its soaring towers of rock once formed part of a defensive ring around Neurathen Castle, which was carved out of the rock. From the top of the Bastei, you can take in sweeping panoramas that include views of the Elbe River below.

What's in a name?

The area is called Saxon Switzerland because it is located in Saxony—a landlocked state on the eastern edge of Germany that borders Bavaria, Poland and the Czech Republic—and because its mountainous terrain resembles parts of Switzerland. It is said that upon their arrival at the Dresden Academy of Art, two Swiss artists observed a range of mountains to the east and remarked that they reminded them of their home in the Jura Mountains in Switzerland. The name “Saxon Switzerland” was popularized by the German author Wilhelm Leberecht Götzinger, who wrote extensive travelogues about his walks in the region.