Most popular car hire locations in Switzerland
Switzerland Mini Guide
Switzerland is located in the centre of Europe and is completely landlocked with no sea ports. Switzerland is most notable for the Swiss Alps, an immensely popular winter sports destination. The interior of Switzerland consist of lakes, open plains and gentle hills.
Switzerland is divided into eleven separate regions. The largest tourist region is around Lake Geneva, popular with short break visitors. More adventurous visitors to Switzerland enjoy the hiking trails around the lakes which make up the Jura Mountains and Fribourg. The centre region of Switzerland and one which makes up the heartland of Bernese traditional influence is the Bernese Lowlands. The Bernese Highlands are dominated by the enigmatic Bernese Alps. The centre of Switzerland is the Swiss homeland. Basel is an industrial zone which also contains a large area of open countryside.
The region of Zurich and the town of the same name form a major sector of the tourist market. The Northeastern region of Switzerland is generally flat and rural. Valais is one of the largest skiing and winter sports regions in Europe. The mountainous region of Graubunden is popular with adventure tourists, and is populated by charming tourist friendly cities. Ticino is a region inhabited by Italian speaking folks, a recently popular are with foreign visitors.
Swiss cities are widely different, many of them suit short or weekend break visitors. Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland, a major financial centre and also noted for its booming nightlife industry. For people interested in the arts and culture then Geneva is a wonderful destination.
The Swiss culture capital, Geneva is a town with a long and rich heritage. Berne is the actual capital of Switzerland, a truly cosmopolitan city, with a quaint old town. A plethora of excellent restaurants, bars and clubs make a night in Berne a night to remember.
Switzerland Factfile
- Switzerland is a landlocked country and has borders with Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein
- The Swiss eat more chocolate than any other nation in the world
- The unofficial motto of Switzerland is "Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno" (Latin) which means 'One for all, all for one'
- Popular dishes in Switzerland include raclette, fondue and rosti which usually tend to revolve around cheese.
- The currency in Switzerland is the Swiss Franc (CHF)
- It's illegal to wash you car on a Sunday in Switzerland - See Strange Driving Laws
When is the best time to book car hire in Switzerland
As a winter and summer holiday destination, car hire in Switzerland is popular all year round, however the peak times are between December and March for the winter sports season and from June to August for the summer season. Prices for car hire in Switzerland generally remain constant without not set high and low season. For this reason, you should ideally aim to book your hire car anywhere between 4 and 12 weeks before travel.
Booking car hire more than 3 months in advance might limit the availability of car from all rental agents, whereas with less than 4 weeks notice you might run into low availability and price hikes.