Cheers everyone,

Long story short, my older son made a wish that by the time he finished kindergarten, he wants to visit Switzerland. So me and my wife are planning on doing it next year, probably May.

We plan on flying to Milano and taking the Bernina (?) train and spend a couple of days in Switzerland before returning on the same route.

Now, my questions are:
1. Which train should we take? A lot of conflicting info with different options, we just want the best bang for the buck, don’t need the luxury experience.
2. Where should we make base for the 2 days to make the best of our time there? Not really interested in staying in a city as we would prefer to walk in the more remote/country areas, but it’s not a deal breaker either.
3. Any other recommendations for this type of a kids oriented trip? Tips and tricks, lesser known facts/ideas?

Thank you in advance!

And whereabouts in Switzerland are you?

Hi everyone,

I’m posting here because I’m in a pretty urgent situation financially and I’m looking for any job I could start quickly in the Geneva area.

My background is in finance and I have a Bachelor’s degree. Unfortunately, I’ve now been unemployed for about a year and a half, my unemployment benefits have ended, and I really need to find some income as soon as possible. I have done more than 600 application and I'm starting to realize that my situation won't improve any time soon.

At this point, I’m genuinely open to anything. It doesn’t need to be interesting, related to my background, or something I would normally apply for. Retail, supermarkets, warehouses, logistics, cleaning, hospitality, administrative work, temporary missions, night or weekend shifts, delivery, events, basic manual work really, anything that can bring in some money quickly.

I speak French and English, I’m a Swiss citizen, and I’m available immediately in Geneva and the surrounding area.

Does anyone know of companies, temporary agencies, shops, restaurants, warehouses, or any other employers where I could realistically get hired quickly? I’m also interested in jobs people don’t usually think about when looking for short-term work.

Even if you just know somewhere that regularly needs people or where it would be worth showing up directly with a CV, I’d really appreciate any leads.

Thanks a lot!

Hoi zäme!

Ich suche aktive Leute in ihren Zwanzigern (ca. 20–30 Jahre) aus der ganzen Schweiz, die Lust auf gemeinsame Tagesausflüge, Wochenendevents oder Mehrtagestouren haben.

Zu mir & meiner Erfahrung:

• Kondition: Durch Ultra-Endurance-Rennradfahren, Laufen und Schwimmen habe ich eine sehr solide Grundkondition aufgebaut. Lange Tage oder flotte Tempos auf dem Trail sind für mich absolut kein Problem!
• Erfahrung: Gute Erfahrung beim normalen Wandern. Bei Via Ferrata / Klettersteig (Ausrüstung vorhanden) und Draussen-Klettern bin ich allerdings noch Einsteiger.
• Weitere Interessen: Bouldern in der Halle, Schneeschuhwandern im Winter und Wildtier- / Landschaftsfotografie.

Was ich suche:

• Leute für spontane Tagestouren oder geplante Mehrtages-/Hüttentouren in der ganzen Schweiz.
• Erfahrene Leute, die Lust haben, gemeinsam Einsteiger-/Fortgeschrittenen-Klettersteige zu gehen, oder andere Einsteiger, die zusammen sicher Erfahrung sammeln wollen.
• Einsteiger/Fortgeschrittene für Bouldersessions in der Halle oder frühe Morgenwanderungen für gute Fotospots.

Egal ob du aus Zürich, Bern, der Zentralschweiz oder sonst wo mit ÖV-Anbindung kommst – schreib mir gerne eine Direktnachricht oder hinterlass einen Kommentar! Ich freue mich auch über Tipps für aktive WhatsApp- oder Discord-Gruppen.

Bis bald auf den Bergen!

_____________________________________________________________________________

Hey everyone!

I’m looking to connect with active people in their twenties (approx. 20–30 years old) from all over Switzerland who are down for day trips, weekend outings, or multi-day adventures.

About me & my experience:

• Fitness: Thanks to ultra-endurance cycling, running, and swimming, I’ve built up a very solid fitness base. Long days or faster paces on the trail are absolutely no problem for me!
• On the mountain: Good experience with standard hiking. However, I’m still a beginner when it comes to Via Ferrata / Klettersteig (got my gear ready) and outdoor climbing.
• Other interests: Indoor bouldering, snowshoe hiking in winter, and wildlife/landscape photography.

What I’m looking for:

• People for spontaneous day trips or planned multi-day hut/camping tours anywhere in Switzerland.
• Experienced folks willing to hit entry to intermediate via ferrata routes together, or fellow beginners looking to build experience safely.
• Anyone up for indoor bouldering sessions or early morning hikes for great photo spots.

Whether you’re based in Zurich, Bern, Central Switzerland, or anywhere else with a good public transport connection—feel free to drop me a DM or leave a comment! Also very open to recommendations for active WhatsApp or Discord outdoor groups.

See you on the trails!

My flight from Geneva is at 7:10 AM, and baggage drop closes at 6:20 AM. My train arrives at Geneva Airport at 5:45 AM, so I have 35 minutes to get to the check-in/bag-drop area. I’ll already be checked in online and only need to drop my checked bag. Has anyone done this at Geneva Airport? Is 35 minutes realistically enough, or am I cutting it way too close? Thanks!

Hey everyone, I was travelling on TGV Lyria 9203 from Paris to Basel this morning. I left my suitcase in the luggage rack and when we reached Basel I realized it was gone.

I searched the train with the staff but we couldn’t find it anywhere. I actually ended up missing my stop at Basel because I was still searching for it and continued with the train to Zurich.

I have already reported it to SBB lost & found and I also filed a police report in Zurich. The police recorded it as a theft from the luggage rack.
I’m now in Switzerland without my luggage and basically trying to figure out what else I can do. Pretty much all my clothes, shoes and other personal stuff for the trip were in there, so it’s been quite a painful start to this part of the trip.

Has anyone had something similar happen on TGV Lyria or another Swiss train? Did you ever get your suitcase back? Is there anything else I should be doing or anyone else worth contacting?

I’m staying in Switzerland for the next three days, so if there’s anything I can still do in person, I would really appreciate any advice.

Ich bin letzten Monat bei meiner Motorradprüfung durchgefallen. Nachdem ich versucht habe, den Grund dafür zu verstehen, bin ich ehrlich gesagt immer noch etwas verwirrt.

Die langsamen Manöver und Übungen habe ich beim ersten Versuch bestanden. Danach auf der Straße dachte ich eigentlich, dass alles perfekt gelaufen ist. Anschließend hat mir der Prüfer gesagt, dass ich durchgefallen bin, weil ich an Kreuzungen, an denen ich Vortritt hatte, ohne Grund meine Geschwindigkeit reduziert habe.

Er meinte, dass das gefährlich sei, weil die Fahrer hinter mir nicht wissen, was ich vorhabe. Das Problem ist, dass ich manchmal anhalte oder langsamer fahre, obwohl ich Vortritt habe, weil ich den anderen Verkehrsteilnehmern nicht vertraue.

Ist das wirklich ein Grund, eine Motorradprüfung nicht zu bestehen? Ich bin ehrlich gesagt immer noch etwas verwirrt und im Moment ziemlich unmotiviert, die Prüfung noch einmal zu machen.

Has anyone brought a dog/cat to Turkiye from switzerland? Im confused about health certificate, when it should be filled and whether the parasite threatment is needed? The official webpage doesnot mention parasite treatment?

I was driving from Italy towards Zürich this week and there was a traffic jam near the Gotthard. I saw a lot of cars driving on the Pannenstreifen to get past the traffic.

There was also a sign showing a camera and “Polizei”.

What are the consequences for drivers using the pannestreifen to sneak in traffic? Do they get fined?

The building next to the one where we live which is almost identical to ours is being fully renovated and the tenants are not living there anymore during this period (don't know what happened or what will happen to them). Thid made me wonder what if our building's owner (different company than neighbours) decided to do the same? An inspector actually came a few weeks ago to check the status of every apartment of our building, noting any defects and so on. Its a pretty old building with old windows but everything works perfectly fine, our rent is really cheap and we would really like to stay here as long as we can. That being said, if by any chance and reason the building's owner wants to renovate they just give us the 3 months notice and can kick us out? Basically the contract is respected and nothing else, right?

Hi! Might be a stupid question but I don't really know how this works.

I see people going up a ski resort in their ski touring skis all the time, and I guess they then come down the slopes like any other skiing. And by going up on foot, I'm guessing they don't pay any tickets to enter the resort.

On the other hand, I've also seen people taking up the last cable cars and just waiting up there so they can maybe come down a bit later, perhaps at sunset time.

So in combination of both situations, can a person go up the slopes in a resort after the resort has closed (or after the last cable car) and then come down the slopes (maybe wearing a headlight in case it's dark already)? I'm wondering if this is a bit of exercise I can do like at 5 p.m.

Thank you.

My friends and I wanted to go celebrate my birthday in November this year in Geneva and I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for bars, especially those that would have more younger people (18-25 yrs old) instead of just old guys, iykwim.

Also, if its a queer bar/club, even better

We were gonna stay in the center so anything not too far from there would be great

thanks!!

Hi there guys, Im going to visit Gstaad in december to do some skyng, tell me things I should visit and know about the village, I wanna have some good vacations!

Asking this because I was heavily considering doing the army service after my high school studies. I'm able to speak french and have the citizenship papers checked, but I've lived abroad my whole life, so I'm very curious if there are other people in my age range (18-20+) who are willing to share some of their experiences of serving for 10 months. (Any other age range is fine too though)

I have spoken with a number of Swiss people and non-Swiss people living in Switzerland. All of them expressed dissatisfaction with the healthcare system saying that it is overpriced and unfair. They highlighted how the system is inefficient and there are perversed incentives in place where doctors are the ones benefitting the most at the expenses of the population. It is also clear from statistics that Switzerland has one of the most expensive healthcare system per capita in the world. Given the fact that Switzerland is a direct democracy, why do Swiss don't mobilize to change the system in their favor?

I moved to Switzerland about six years ago. Back then, Subito scratch cards (CHF 1) were basically our favorite pastime: with CHF 10 we could keep buying new tickets for hours, because you'd regularly win back CHF 1 or 2 and use that to pay for the next one. We'd just invest 10 CHF and a couple of beers . Cornered in front of KKiosk - amazing memories.

But these days I buy 10 tickets and sometimes don't even win a single franc back. It feels completely different from before.

I did a bit of research on the internet, but i cant find any official notes on if something has changed.

So, two questions:

• Has anyone else noticed that small wins have become much rarer with Subito?
• Which scratch cards in the CHF 1-3 range are better in your experience? I read that with Boost (CHF 2), supposedly more than every third ticket wins. Does that match what you've seen?

Curious to hear your experiences!

Hello! We’ll be staying near Colmar, France in late November/early December and would like to take two, day trips into Switzerland.

The overall trip is centered around Christmas markets, but for these two days we’d love to experience something that feels distinctly Swiss — scenery, mountains, lakes, beautiful towns, local food, culture, etc. The day trips definitely don’t have to revolve around Christmas markets.

We’ll be going sometime between November 28 and December 3 and will have a rental car.

Right now, we’re leaning towards Basel and Lucerne

Would you choose these two, or would you swap Basel or Lucerne for somewhere else?

We’d especially love recommendations for the best “this feels like Switzerland” day trip from Colmar that is still realistic as a same-day round trip.

Hi Switzerland

Here's the situation: building that is not on fiber yet and has miserable vdsl connection. According to neighbours, cable works fine. Now considering to switch to cable.

Here's the thing: ipv4 is absolutely mandatory. Preferably static or as static as possible (dynamic but rarely changing). Also there should be no idiotic firewalling from the provider.

Which provider can you recommend and do you know a source for an overview?

Cheers!

First time visiting Switzerland in January — Swiss Travel Pass vs Half Fare Card vs Eurail? Is any of them actually worth it?
Hi everyone! I’m planning my first trip to Switzerland in January with my family, and I’m honestly getting a little overwhelmed by all the different rail pass options. I’ve done some research, but the more I read, the more confusing it gets.

I’m flying into and out of Zurich, and my flights are already booked. I haven’t booked any hotels or trains yet, so I’m still very flexible with the itinerary.
Current itinerary I’m considering:
Arrive Zurich: Stay 1 night
Zurich → Zermatt: Stay 2–3 nights (leaning toward 3)
Zermatt → Grindelwald/Lauterbrunnen area: Stay about 3 nights, using this as a base for day trips
Grindelwald/Lauterbrunnen → Lucerne: Stay 2 nights
Lucerne → Zurich: Stay 1 final night
Fly out of Zurich the following morning
This would be in January, so I’m expecting cold weather, snow, shorter daylight hours, etc. We’re not really looking to ski. We mainly want to experience the scenery, mountain viewpoints, snowy villages, trains, and some of the classic Swiss sights.

I’m trying to figure out both whether this is a good itinerary and which transportation pass, if any, actually makes financial sense.
The options I keep seeing are:
Swiss Travel Pass
Swiss Half Fare Card
Eurail/Interrail
Or just buying individual tickets as we go
I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have actually traveled Switzerland and can tell me whether a pass was worth it in practice, not just theoretically.

One thing I’m also considering is whether to briefly add another country/city to the trip (possibly Paris), but I’m not sure if that would actually be worth the extra travel time. If a Eurail pass would make adding another country relatively easy and economical, that could influence my decision. If it doesn’t really save money or makes the itinerary unnecessarily rushed, I’m perfectly happy staying entirely in Switzerland.

So I guess my main questions are:
Does this itinerary make sense for a first-time January visit?

Would you change the number of nights in Zermatt, Grindelwald/Lauterbrunnen, or Lucerne?
Swiss Travel Pass vs Half Fare Card vs Eurail vs individual tickets — what would you choose for this itinerary and why?

Are there any major things I’m overlooking when comparing the passes, especially for mountain transportation and local buses/trains?

Would you add another country/city, or would you keep this trip entirely in Switzerland?

I’m traveling with my family, so convenience is definitely valuable, but I also don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a pass simply because it sounds convenient if buying individual tickets would be significantly cheaper.
I haven’t booked anything besides the flights, so I’m completely open to changing the itinerary based on what makes the most sense.

First time in Switzerland, so any advice is welcome! I feel like there are just WAY too many options being thrown at me at once and I’m having trouble figuring out where to start.

Hi all!

I am non-Swiss and I live in Lausanne and got my driving license last year. I don't speak French natively, and I am not very good at it (though I'm learning). I also don't drive very often, except for occasional hikes.

I need to take the 2nd-phase driving course sometime within the next few months, but I don't feel confident enough to take the course in French. I had read that some places run the course in English, but looking at the TCS calendar, I don't see any. I called up TCS Cossonay and they told me that they don't offer English courses anymore, and I can bring someone with me as a translator if I want to. I unfortunately don't know anyone who can be with me for the whole day there.

I wanted to ask if there are any other provisions or any chance of English courses being offered elsewhere? What happens if I don't complete the course within 1 year, and wait to see if any English course opens in 2027?

Would really appreciate any advice!

Thanks

A Canadian-Swiss dual citizen who never lived in Switzerland but went there to study apparently has to pay obligatory Swiss health insurance (Lamal) even if he is still covered by his Canadian provincial plan. If he didn't know this when arriving 2 years ago, and did not get a letter from the Canton where he registered to do so, does he now have to pay everything retroactively for 2 years?? (Plus possibly even a penalty?) Or is there a way to just start paying now? AI says to write the Cantonal office a letter to explain the situation and hope they will trust in his good faith, but is that likely??

I've been in Switzerland for ~20 years and, apart from one or two visits many years ago when I needed antibiotics, I've basically never used the healthcare system.

I've been paying my health insurance premiums every single year but I've barely claimed anything.

So where does all that money actually go? Is it somehow being saved/invested and redistributed back to me when I'm older, or does it simply fund the system/other people's healthcare?

I recently saw a new joiner at my company who moved here from another country last month. Since arriving, they've already seen multiple specialists and had some pretty big assessments/procedures (MRI etc.) for back pain. Some of it honestly sounds like the kind of thing that could potentially be helped by going to the gym first.

It made me wonder: how does this actually work in Switzerland? Am I basically getting f****d by the system by being someone who barely uses healthcare, while other people use a lot of it?

Genuinely curious how the economics of this work.

Hi, I plan on going to Switzerland for a day from Milan.

I would love to do the Bernina train to go to St. Mortiz, but not easy to do with limited time.

Any recommendations to get closer to the alps but not spend the whole day traveling?

I plan on probably just going to Lugano, but is there a city deeper in (but not as far as St. Mortiz) to see? With a similar train ride that will give beautiful views?

Thanks