Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Discount Cards
SENIOR CARDS
Senior citizens are not entitled to discounts on Swiss railways, but there are various dis-
counts available on museum admission, ski passes and some cable cars, so it's worth ask-
ing. The discounts often start for those as young as 62 (proof of age necessary), although
sometimes a higher limit is observed. The abbreviation for senior citizens is AHV in Ger-
man and AVS in French.
PRACTICALITIES
»
Newspapers
For German-language readers, there's Zürich's
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
(
www.nzz.ch
) and
Tages Anzei-
ger
(
www.tagesanzeiger.ch
)
; Geneva's
Le Temps
(
www.letemps.ch
) and
La Tribune de Genève
(
www.tdg.ch
) are
available in Suisse Romande; Lugano-based
Corriere del Ticino
(
www.cdt.ch
, in Italian) is in Italian. Free tabloid
20
Minuten
(
www.20min.ch
)
is available in German and French.
»
TV & Radio
Largely broken down along linguistic lines: German-language SF-DRS operates three TV and numer-
ous radio stations; French and Italian TV operators are TSR and RTSI, respectively, with RSR and RSI their radio
equivalents; and TvR and Radio Rumantsch (RR;
www.rtr.ch
)
are Switzerland's Romansch TV and radio stations.
WRS (FM 101.7;
www.worldradio.ch
) is a Geneva-based English-language station broadcasting music and news
countrywide.
»
Websites
Swissinfo (
www.swissinfo.org
) is a national news website available in several languages, including Eng-
lish.
»
Weights & Measures
The metric system is used. Like other continental Europeans, the Swiss indicate decimals
with commas and thousands with full points.
STUDENT & YOUTH CARDS
An International Student Identity Card (ISIC) yields discounts on admission prices, air and
international train tickets, and even some ski passes. If you're under 26 but not a student,
apply for the IYTC (International Youth Travel Card). Travel agency
STA Travel
(
www.statravel.ch
,
in German & French)
issues ISICs (Sfr 20) and both cards should be issued by
student unions and by youth-oriented travel agencies in your home country.
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