Switzerland | The Best Travel Destinations

Interlaken – SWITZERLAND

Interlaken – SWITZERLAND

Interlaken is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland, a well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland.

Interlaken is located between Lake Brienz to the east and Lake Thun to the west in the area called Bödeli. The town takes its name from its geographical position between the lakes (in Latin inter lacus). The Aare River flows through the town connecting the lakes.

Interlaken is located at 570 m (1,870 ft) above sea level.

Interlaken has an area of 4.3 km² (1.66 sq mi). Of this area, 1.05 km² (0.41 sq mi) or 24.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.97 km² (0.37 sq mi) or 22.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.03 km² (0.78 sq mi) or 47.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.3 km² (0.12 sq mi) or 7.0% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km² (2.5 acres) or 0.2% is unproductive land.

Continue reading Interlaken – SWITZERLAND

Château de Chillon – Chillon Castle – SWITZERLAND

Château de Chillon – Chillon Castle – SWITZERLAND

The Château de Chillon (Chillon Castle) is located on the shore of Lake Léman in the commune of Veytaux, at the eastern end of the lake, 3 km from Montreux, Switzerland. The castle consists of 100 independent buildings that were gradually connected to become the building as it stands now.

The oldest parts of the castle have not been definitively dated, but the first written record of the castle is in 1160 or 1005. From the mid 12th century, the castle was home to the Counts of Savoy, and it was greatly expanded in the 13th century by Pietro II. The Castle was never taken in a siege, but did change hands through treaties.

It was made popular by Lord Byron, who wrote the poem The Prisoner Of Chillon (1816) about François de Bonivard, a Genevois monk and politician who was imprisoned there from 1530 to 1536; Byron also carved his name on a pillar of the dungeon. The castle is one of the settings in Henry James’s novella Daisy Miller (1878).

Continue reading Château de Chillon – Chillon Castle – SWITZERLAND

The Sphinx Observatory – Jungfraujoch – SWITZERLAND

The Sphinx Observatory – Jungfraujoch – SWITZERLAND

The Sphinx Observatory is located in the Swiss Alps, in Jungfraujoch, Switzerland. At 11,715 ft (3,571 meters) above sea level The Sphinx Observatory is the highest-altitude built structure in Europe.