MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Where to get a good paper map of Switzerland?
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I would think that a good map of Switzerland would be easy to find there. Is that correct?
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Yes, larger towns will generally have a bookstore with local Swiss maps. The larger versions of ‘Kiosk AG’ a Switzerland wide railway station kiosk chain often have local maps.
Hi Sconway-
What kind of map are you seeking? Where will you arrive in Switzerland?
Slowpoke
Arriving in Zurich and going to Berner Oberland region. I’d like to have a map of Switzerland to open up and check things out or a map book. Online/wifi maybe spotty.
Hi Sconway,
Internet will rarely be spotty if you have a card or hotspot with good coverage: http://www.myswissalps.com/si mcard. A basic paper road map should be available in any book store. There also is one specifically for the train lines. I think I got that from a book store as well years ago. For regional maps, please see http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/maps.
Hi SConway –
Telephone coverage in Switzerland is excellent, with the only exceptions being in in the most obscure regions of the high mountains:
scmplc.begasoft.ch/plc app/pages/gis/netzabde ckung.jsf?lang=en
Wifi is almost but not quite universal in lodgings, and will be excellent in the major tourist areas. Roughly 99% coverage of Switzerland’s populated areas. I use Google Maps on my smartphone regularly.
For travel by public transport in Switzerland, this map, with “Traffic” turned on in the menus, permits you to get the exact station/stop name for every stop in Switzerland. Useful when putting names into the timetable:
map.search.ch/?pos=641788,160504&z=32 &poi=bergbahn,halteste lle,zug
Mouse over the icon for a station.
You’ll note that the rail lines show up very clearly once you zoom in far enough.
A few of the simpler rural inns that I stay at don’t have good Wi-Fi.
As a consequence, I rent a portable WiFi hotspot and have fast service everywhere the phone networks reach. This link has good information on that device:
http://www.myswissalps.com/si mcard
1960man’s reply is correct, although bookstores are rarer than they used to be. Convenience stores in addition to “Kiosk” are common, at stations and in many villages and towns, and often have maps of Switzerland in addition to local hiking maps. They include “Aperto” and “Volg.” Local hiking maps tend to be available everywhere in Switzerland.
The hiking link in My SwissAlps is focused on hiking maps:
http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/maps.
If you have time, and are coming from the USA, you can find Michelin maps of Switzerland frequently in Barnes and Noble bookstores, and certainly on Amazon. Since I do not know your travel times or exact destination-
http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/rules
I cannot be more precise.
However, each of the towns and villages in the Jungfrau region will have a store where you can buy maps….more focused on local maps, but they should have an “all- Switzerland” map. Sporting goods stores often have maps , at least for hikers.
Trains from Zürich Airport to the Berner Oberland all pass thhrough Bern. Some do not require change in Zürich main station. Others do. If you stop in Zurich main station , Barth Bücherei, one level down near the steps to track 2 has a wide range of maps of all kinds, as well as travel books.
Zurich airport has “Press and Book ” stores airside and in the train station travel center:
More:
A Google search for Bookstore in Interlaken reveals a few bookstores.
Slowpoke
map.search.ch is very good, but does anyone know if there are add-ons for Google Maps that would make the railways show up more clearly? They are visible if you zoom in, but it can be hard to see the big picture.
No, Google maps is notoriously poor for railway coverage.
Although I use online mapping in many ways, there is no substutute for a paper map which shows much more territory in one glance.
A good general map of Switzerland is Michelin’s red national map – number 729 (scale 1:400 000) . This shows (like most Michelin paper maps) railways clearly as black lines. A larger scale Michelin (in the iconic yellow series) map covering your area is map 551 – Switzerland North (scale 1:200 000). You can purchase online from Michelin themselves or just search for other web retailers using suitable phrases.
Alternatively there is a transport map that makes public transport routes bolder than roads – the opposite to the norm for paper maps:
http://www.blsshop.ch/fr/en-route/carte-suisse-des-transports-publics/
Hi Hamiltonian-
Why don’t you want to use Mapsearch?
Mapsearch.ch does a superb job on transport. Play with the menus. Zoom in to zoom level 32, and the train lines become very visible. Look under layers, and you can find a way to turn on the numbered bike routes. Look under Shopping Services and Entertainment, too.
It is weak on accommodation and restaurants, where Google maps does a pretty good job.
For travel planning in Switzerland, using public transport, the combination of the timetable (which does show maps of the stations at the end and beginning (?) of the journeys) +Mapsearch + the station maps on the SBB website make a powerful combination. After traveling in Switzerland since 1980, I’ve not found a better option.
Another benefit of Mapsearch, is that they probably don’t use your data to make money, the way Google does. To my knowledge, unlike Google, Mapsearch has not been fined for privacy violations.
Slowpoke
Slowpoke-
I had not come across mapsearch before and am somewhat familiar with Google maps. I was just wondering if there might be an option to get everything I need in one place. Having said that, I am no fan of Google and will definitely plan to use mapsearch for all the reasons you give. Thanks for pointing it out!
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