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All Switzerland

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Switzerland

130 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Switzerland

Updated May 23, 2023

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The birthplace of Dada.
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Geneva
The child eater
Bern
Basel
Sleepy Lion
Lucerne
Thinking about houses, 1950. by Wilson Scottie
Lausanne
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Attractions
Food & Drink
Map
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Stories

Unusual Attractions in Switzerland

View of the museum bar

Gruyères, Switzerland

H.R. Giger Museum

The bizarre visions of H.R. Giger, tucked away in a Swiss medieval city.
Berggasthaus Aescher Wildkirchli

Wasserauen, Switzerland

Berggasthaus Aescher Wildkirchli

This 170-year-old Swiss guesthouse built into the side of a mountain is best accessed by a cable car.
Hammetschwand Elevator

Ennetbürgen, Switzerland

Hammetschwand Elevator

The tallest outdoor elevator in Europe rockets passengers on a dizzyingly precarious ride to the top of a mountain.
Saut de Brot

Boudry, Switzerland

Saut de Brot

This lovely little bridge hidden in a Switzerland gorge is essentially a fairytale.
Beautiful Cave Entrance

Beatenberg, Switzerland

St. Beatus Cave

Caves famous for the dragon-slaying saint who lived there.
The child eater

Bern, Switzerland

The Child Eater of Bern

A nearly 500-year-old sculpture depicts a man eating a sack of babies, and no one is sure why.
Trift Bridge

Gadmen, Switzerland

Trift Bridge

This amazing pedestrian suspension bridge in the Swiss Alps would give Indiana Jones nightmares.

Neuheim, Switzerland

Höllgrotten Caves

These spooky and unusual stone formations create an underworldly landscape.
See All 130 Things To Do in Switzerland

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Switzerland

Piz Gloria, the revolving restaurant on the Schilthorn near Mürren in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland.

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Schilthorn Piz Gloria

A cablecar-station-turned-revolving restaurant with 360-degree views of the Swiss skyline.

Zurich, Switzerland

Oepfelchammer

A 200-year-old tavern challenges guests to finish a glass of wine while hanging from a ceiling beam.

Zurich, Switzerland

Haus Hiltl

Featuring a meatless buffet fit for kings, this family-owned Zurich eatery is considered the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the West.

Kaltbach, Switzerland

Kaltbach Cave

A 22-million-year-old sandstone cave is a natural habitat for award-winning cheese.
See all 6 Places to Eat in Switzerland
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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Explore Switzerland

Art 16
Museums And Collections 16
Architectural Oddities 10
Mountains 10
Statues 8
Literature 8
Bridges 7
Water 7
Animals 6
Science 6
Sculptures 6
Hotels 6
Unique Restaurants & Bars 4
Places To Stay 4

Switzerland Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. Avatar image for Vololona
    Vololona
    19
  2. Avatar image for ahvenas
    ahvenas
    11
  3. Avatar image for CoolCrab
    CoolCrab
    6
  4. Avatar image for treeswithknees
    treeswithknees
    4
  5. Avatar image for stanestane
    stanestane
    4

Places Edited

  1. M
    Martin
    17
  2. Avatar image for gzhtub
    gzhtub
    17
  3. Avatar image for ahvenas
    ahvenas
    16
  4. Avatar image for Collector of Experiences
    Collector of Experiences
    13
  5. Avatar image for Rachel
    Rachel
    12

Places Visited

  1. Avatar image for gzhtub
    gzhtub
    59
  2. Avatar image for Vololona
    Vololona
    56
  3. Avatar image for murielrobotka
    murielrobotka
    45
  4. Avatar image for ahvenas
    ahvenas
    41
  5. A
    akruhavets
    41

Recent Switzerland Activity

  • A

    ArywnnMoon

    wants to go to Aussichtsturm Hardwald

  • T

    tapter13

    wants to go to Statue of Frankenstein's Monster

  • V

    vlharr11

    has been to Naturhistorisches Museum

  • J

    jill48312

    wants to go to The Child Eater of Bern

  • S

    shelllambert7

    wants to go to St. Beatus Cave

Stories About Switzerland

This ancient dodecahedron found in Avenches, Switzerland, once the Roman city of Aventicum.

The Mysterious Dodecahedrons of the Roman Empire

The first of many of these puzzling objects was unearthed almost three centuries ago, and we still don't know what they were for.
by Frank Jacobs, Big Think
May 12, 2023
However long this snowman effigy, known as the Bӧӧgg, takes to burn will determine the remaining length of winter.

To Banish Winter in This Tiny Wisconsin Town, Burn a Swiss Snowman

The burning of the Bӧӧgg is like a fiery version of Groundhog’s Day, but with fireworks and sausages.
by Tea Krulos
May 2, 2023
Whey bathing at Berglialp in Switzerland.

The Return of Swiss Cheese Baths

Melting into a tub of whey has a long history in the Alps.
by Oriana Pauli
July 26, 2022
Mithraeum elements included a tauroctony, or depiction of Mithras sacrificing a bull.

An Ancient Roman Cult's Rituals Included Feasting, Fire, and Floor Cleaning

To uncover new clues about the secretive world of Mithraism, scientists considered evidence right at their feet.
by Nathaniel Scharping
May 13, 2022
Luge, in this case two-man, was first introduced to the Winter Olympics in 1964 in Innsbruck, Austria.

How in the World Did Luge Happen?

The secret of the slide, from ancient Germanic tribes to tony Alpine resorts.
by Dan Nosowitz
February 14, 2022
The cord and unfinished longbow found on Ötzi, who was killed in Europe's Ötztal Alps over five millennia ago.

Drawing a Bead on a Mummy’s Ancient Arsenal

Ötzi’s 5,300-year-old hunting kit could offer clues about how life was lived in Copper Age Europe.
by Isaac Schultz
December 31, 2019
One of Zufferey's engraved wheels of cheese.

The Valley of the Cheese of the Dead

In this remote Swiss town, residents spent a lifetime aging a wheel for their own funeral.
by Molly McDonough
October 24, 2019
Near Gletsch, signs mark the places where the glacier once reached, but no longer does.

Swaddling Glaciers in Blankets Isn’t the Oddest Idea for Extending Their Lives

As glaciers and ice sheets keep dwindling, scientists are proposing everything they can think of.
by Jessica Leigh Hester
August 23, 2019

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