Switzerland will surprise you

How much you probably don't know about Switzerland will surprise you. Switzerland is truly an international country with four very distinct regions speaking four different languages, each carved out from the shreds of the Thirty Years War of the 17th Century and maintained ever since. The west is Francophone, including the prominent cities of Geneva (Genève) and Lausanne on Lake Geneva, but also including resort towns like Montreaux and Neuchâtel. The south is Italian, almost indistinct in culture and flavor from Italy herself. The north and center are Germanic, and include the capital of Bern (Bären), Lucerne (Luzern), and Zurich. Finally, the east near Austria and Liechtenstein is the province of Graubünden whose citizens speak Romantsch, a Germanic language with a lot of Italian and Latin influence. Each language is represented on their (incredibly gaudy) money, and each sector has its street signs in different languages.
Switzerland is dominated by small towns, many sitting on gorgeous Alpine lakes amidst beautiful mountainous backdrops. The townfolk are very friendly and the atmosphere inviting. Many of these towns have retained their oldest structures (city walls and towers), helped by the fact that Switzerland has not been attacked in a good long time.Switzerland's reputation as a very regulated society dates back to the post-Thirty Years War period when Calvinism, a strongly pious form of Protestantianism, became the dominant religion of the country. The Swiss enacted prohibitions on alcohol consumption, other vices, working on Sundays, etc. The effects of these laws are still felt -- visitors will find Switzerland to be mostly locked up on Sundays, and the prices of beer and wine will seem extremely high. The Swiss are more formal and sophisticated people than most I've seen, and are prone to dress up more formally whenever they go out.