The Central Plateau is the most densely populated Swiss region. Fribourg is its most western city. Here half the people speak French. Bienne, at the foot of the Jura Mountains, is also bi-lingual. The cities of Berne, Zurich, Solothurn and Lucerne are in the larger German-speaking part. Geographically speaking, Eastern Switzerland up to Lake Constance is also part of the Central Plateau, as is the whole area between the Alps and the Jura hills. The region also includes Schaffhausen, Winterthur and St. Gallen in the east, Basel in the north and Lucerne at the entrance to Central Switzerland. However, we have devoted a separate chapter to Eastern Switzerland and to Central Switzerland. Information about Basel and the region to the east can be found in the Jura and North-western Switzerland section. These regions have their own highlights.
Big and small cities, suburbs, villages and hamlets lie along the transport arteries in the Central Plateau. In between there are many green areas, hills, fields and forests. There is a scattering of houses and then you come again to a city, such as Berne.
Berne is the capital of Switzerland. The city is home to the “Bundeshaus“, which is both the seat of government and the parliament building. The medieval old city of Berne lies within a loop of the Aare. A stroll through its alleyways lined with arcades is an essential part of a visit to Switzerland.
Zurich, the biggest city in Switzerland, also belongs to the region. It is a big city with all that goes with that, but it has a Swiss dimension. The sophisticated Bahnhofstrasse is part of the former, and the winding alleys of the Niederdorf area on the other side of the Limmat is part of the latter. In this area, as well as in other parts of the city, there are the trendy meeting places and night life that are part of a big city. For young people and those young at heart from all over the world there is always something happening here.
In the Swiss Travel System the Central Plateau area is the heart of the InterCity network. The largest cities are linked every half hour and all the others are connected every hour. Suburban trains connect the big cities even more regularly with the suburbs, villages and smaller towns in their regions. As a visitor to Switzerland, you will often pass through the Central Plateau. And whenever you want to, the Swiss Travel System will take you into the mountains or into the countryside. For example, you can go to Lucerne, the gateway to Central Switzerland. Click here >
