The Swiss speak four different languages, French, German, Italian, or, in the extreme southeast, Romansch. Most Swiss also speak English. The hostels are of a high standard and feature a high proportion of double rooms as well as small dorms. Meals, where available, are around Sfr10. Many new hostels have opened in the last few years to supplement the official ones.
Naturfreunde hotels are an alternative to youth hostels and are similarly priced.
Places to see As for where to go, the country's breathtaking concentration of mountainous scenery has drawn travellers since the beginning of the nineteenth century, and these days it's not always easy to avoid the crowds. The advantage is that the country is so small you can cross it by train in as little as five hours, and you can see a fair bit from one central base. Of the northern German-speaking cities, Zurich provides a wealth of sightseeing and nightlife possibilities as well as a base for venturing south towards the Alps. The most visited Alpine area is perhaps the central Bernese Oberland , which has the highest concentration of picturesque peaks and mountainside villages, although the loftiest Alps are those of the Valais in the southwest, where the small but crowded resort of Zermatt provides access to the country's most distinctive peak, the Matterhorn . The isolated mountain valleys of Graub nden , in the eastern corner of the country, provide the setting for winter resorts like St Moritz and Davos .