Some Interesting Facts About Switzerland

Public Holidays

Date 2005               Occasion
January 1                  New Year's Day
January 2                 Berchtold's Day
March 25                  Good Friday
March 27                   Easter
March 28                  Easter Monday
May 5                        Ascension
August 1                    Confederation Day or National Day
December 25             Christmas Day
December 26             St Stephen's Day

Weekend: Saturday, Sunday

Electricity

Due to the vigorous energy contained in its waterfalls and other water bodies, Switzerland manages to generate enough electricity to fulfill its needs and you should come by no problems in this area.

Post & Communications

Air mail abroad (class A mail) i.e. letters and postcards would cost you about 1.80 SF to the US, for example. So if home is a little too far away, you might want to bank on those fictitious postcards "getting lost in the mail…"

As far as international calls from Switzerland go, the best idea is to buy a good calling card – it’s a good deal cheaper than calling from the hotel suite, and usable from most public calling booths. Calling international gets cheaper between 3 and 7 pm, and 8 and 10 am on weekends.

Tipping

Like everything else in Swiss high life, tipping is completely in tandem with those (in?)famous high standards. Although restaurants include service charges of 15% along with bills, an additional bonus of about 1 to 2 SF per person is almost always expected. Doormen and hotel porters usually should be given 2SF per service. Airport attendants mean 5SF less in your pocket per baggage piece !

As a general rule, tip in cash as far as possible.