The Rough Guide to Switzerland, 1st Edition (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

by Matthew Teller (Author) "Flying is by far the easiest, cheapest and most convenient way to get from Britain to Switzerland..." (more)
Key Phrases: hostels with dormitories, pass holders travel, anything between sixty, New Zealand, World War, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Including complete coverage of all regions, including Lichtenstein, this guide to Switzerland presents unbiased reviews of accommodation, restaurants and nightlife across all budgets, as well as lively account of Switzerland's world-class museums and galleries.

About the Author
Matthew Teller is an experienced and accomplished travel writer. He is also the author of the Rough Guide to Jordan. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides; 1 edition (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1858285380
• ISBN-13: 978-1858285382
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,747,666 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you can only get one guide on CH - this is it, August 16, 2002

By	Chia-heng Yao "milesyao" (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Doing my due diligence on this year's trip to Switzerland, I checked all the relevent guidebooks in local bookstores. Finally settled on this book over the similar Lonely Planet one. This one wins out for all the bonus info it manages to squeeze into its numerous sidebars. I am especially impressed by its mini-history of counterculture in Bern and Zurich - throws a monkey wrench into the usual Swiss stereotypes. It labors to do justice to the many less-well-known charms of Switzerland, and to a large degree seems to succeed (e.g. a full section on CERN - birthplace of the web), while still remaining compact and useful (as opposited to Michelin)

However, there are still a few shortcomings:
* No coverage of the major scenic trains of the Swiss Railway (Golden Pass, Glacier Express, William Tell Express, etc.) A major omission, since they are well-known, excellent experience in themselves, and make for a great backbone to hang your entire visit.
* More generally, not enough help for new visitors to pick and choose all these sights and put together a sensible itinery, e.g. scenic routes, top-10 experiences, and sample 7-day or 14-day itineries (although very few guidebooks do this). In particular, the book should help me take advantage of the best rail system in the world to maximize my stay. Swiss Rail deserves a section all its own.
* Not enough web addresses are supplied for hotels, attractions etc. where usually only phone #s are given. URLs are much more useful than phone #s for trip-planning (esp. hotels).
* A general problem for Swiss guidebooks, but still annoying: On Lake Leman and Maggiore, coverage stops at the border, as if the other French and Italian halves don't exist. C'mon - borders are for politicians. When I am at Lake Maggiore, I want to know what's there around the _whole_ lake, and how to enjoy them all. Just give me the info and I'll deal with the technicalities. In the case of Lake Leman, the French side on the south may well be on another planet - cuz it's too small for the French guides to cover!
* In Jungfrau region, it overlooks the small town of Gimmelwald - currently the exclusive scoop of the Rick Steves book

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for a Swiss trip.. I would combine with one other, April 10, 2004

By	10za "10za" (Alpharetta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Switzerland 2 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

What I like best about the Rough Guides is that they give critical reviews. They will point out the tourist traps and will give negative reviews. I find that Frommer's and Fodor's rarely point out the negatives to a particular hotel or site. The rough guide is very critical and is a great balance to these other guides. I would balance your trip to Switzerland with a Fodors (or Frommers) book because the maps are often better and there are more higher end hotels listed.

This book will help you decide where is best to spend your vacation in Switzerland. There are clear critical descriptions of all the regions and great general info on getting around in Switzerland.

If you aren't interested in "roughing" it and staying in lower priced hotels.. the guides are still very useful in rating attractions, and areas in which to stay... but you will need another book to look at more moderate and luxury hotels.

I would definitely read this book before going to Switzerland.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great, August 9, 2004

By	T. Hooper "thdizzy" (Osaka, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Switzerland 2 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

This guidebook covers Switzerland from a British point of view. The Rough Guide series is not known for it's in depth coverage. The entries in this guide tend to be brief--only giving a mention and a list of business hours and transportation info. For those who are looking for more in depth coverage, this obituaries style of writing may leave you looking for something else. If you cut out the phone numbers, lists of business hours, and transportation information, then the page count would be cut in half. Also, for a book that spends so much time talking about transportation, it's a little frustrating that there aren't more maps to illustrate the directions. If you're looking for a comprehensive guidebook for Switzerland, I would get another guidebook.