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Time
differences
Switzerland and France have no time
differences.
Telecommunications
Telephone :
To telephone Switzerland from
France : dial 00 41 + regional indicative +
n°
Zurich : 1
Berne : 31, 34
Geneva : 22
To telephone France from
Switzerland : dial 00 33 + n°
to find a number in France : dial 11523
Press/Newspapers
:
- « Basler Zeitung
», a daily founded in 1977 ;
- « Berner Zeitung », a daily founded in
1889 ;
- « Blick », a daily founded in 1959
;
- « Corriere del Ticino », a daily
founded in 1981 ;
- « L’hebdo », a weekly founded in
1981 ;
- « Illustré », a weekly founded
in 1921 ;
- « Journal de Genève - Gazette de
Lausanne », a daily founded in 1991 ;
- « Le matin », a daily founded in 1984
;
- « Neue Zurcher Zeitung », a daily
founded in 1780 ;
- « Le Nouveau Quotidien », a daily
founded in 1991 ;
- « Tages -Anzeiger », daily ;
- « 24 heures/Tribune de Genève
».
Radio/Television :
Radio France Internationale
can be picked up on : 101.8 MHz
Airports
Cornavin, Geneva airport.
Kloten is the Zurich airport
There is also an airport in Basle.
Hotels
& Restaurants
Look at the list of
hotels in Useful Addresses.
There are many restaurants in Switzerland and they
are usually really good, with a lot of foreign
restaurants offering specialities. Meals cost from
15 FS up.
Information
Driving : If you drive
to Switzerland you have to have your national
licence with you, your insurance card and your car
registration papers as well as a country sticker. A
road tax disk is obligatory, it costs 40 FS per
annum, you can buy it at the customs office, in
post offices and also in petrol
stations.
The speed limit in built up
areas is 50 kms per hour, 80 kms per hour out of
towns and 120 kms per hour on the
highways.
Parking : Be careful
where you park. If you are badly parked, even for
five minutes, you are sure to get a fine as people
phone the police to tell them when they see a car
parked where it shouldn't be!
Cleanliness : Don't
throw paper in the road, sanctions are
immediate.
Security : No problem.
You don't have to lock your car, even in
town.
Shopping : The shops
are open until 6.30pm from Monday to Friday. On
Saturdays they are only open until 4 or 5 pm.
There are some surprising
factors of life in Switzerland : it is a real
luxury to own your own property, everyone has a
nuclear shelter in their cellar, there are communal
laundry rooms in appartment blocks, you can't have
your own washing machine, there is a day fixed for
washing and it must be respected.
Your
suitcase
If you are going in
the summer months, from June to August, take light
clothing with a couple of sweaters or a jacket for
the evenings and a raincoat just in case.
In winter - from December to March, you need really
warm clothing, with boots, gloves etc.
Banks
Banks are open from Monday to Friday until 4pm.
They are closed all day on Saturday and
Sunday.
You can open a bank account
in Switzerland, current or savings, you will need
an identity card and a rent receipt (as proof of
your domiciliation).
All banks have exchange
bureaus, you will also find them in airports and
stations and even in most of the big
stores.
You can get Eurocheques
cashed in the stations (up to FS 300 per
cheque).
Main banks :
- Union de Banques
Suisses/Zurich,
- Société de Banque Suisse/Basle,
- Crédit Suisse/Zurich,
- Banque Cantonale de Zurich/Zurich,
- Banque Populaire Suisse/Berne,
- Banque Leu/Zurich,
- Banque Nationale de Paris (Suisse)/Basle,
- Société Générale
Alsacienne/Zurich,
- Crédit Lyonnais/Geneva.
Schools
and scholarity
French students can continue their studies in
Switzerland under the following conditions
:
- the studies must be a
continuation of previous studies
- the programme and the length of the course must
be defined
- the school must certify that the candidate is
enrolled
- the candidate must prove that he has adequate
financial means to pay for his stay during his
study period
Guides
'Geneva Agenda' is a
guide to concerts, shows, restaurants etc. which
you can buy at the Tourist Office in Geneva for 2
Frs.
Novels by well-known Swiss
writers :
La grande peur dans la montagne : Charles-Ferdinand
Ramuz edited by Grasset
L'Ogre : Jacques Chessex published by Grasset
(winner of the Goncourt prize)
Observations
Cost of living
:
Salaries are higher than in
the rest of Europe, but the cost of living is much
higher also. People living near the borders profit
by shopping or living in France and earning their
living in Switzerland, but inside the country that
is not possible.
Prices can be 50% higher for
equivalent products in France.
The price of petrol
:
- 1 Litre unleaded 95, 1.13
CHF ;
- 1 Litre unleaded 98, 1.17 CHF ;
- 1 Litre of super 1.22 CHF ;
- 1 Litre of diesel 1.17 CHF.
Taxation :
There are three different income taxes to pay in
Switzerland :
* the communal tax
* the cantonal tax
* the federal tax
Accomodation
:
Income tax and rents are high
in Geneva, a lot of people working there commute
from the Vaud canton where the prices are more
reasonable.
Rent of a room in Geneva
costs between 500 and 1000 Swiss Francs.
In the Jura you can find a
two-room appartment from 750 Swiss Francs. The
appartments are very nice but very difficult to
find as there are so few on the market.
Driving licence
:
A driving licence costs
between 200 and 400 CHF.
Shopping :
Food is much more expensive
than in France. A meal in a restaurant cost between
65 and 90 CHF for two people without wine
etc.
For clothing the choice is
either cheap or haute couture, there's not much in
between.
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