Swiss Stories

Élise Chabbey

Swiss pro cyclist and doctor, the double life of Élise Chabbey

Society
At 27 years old, Élise Chabbey from Geneva is already an accomplished multidisciplinary athlete. In 2012, she competed in canoeing and kayaking at the London Olympics. In 2017, she finished best Swiss female runner in the legendary Sierre-Zinal mountain race. In 2020, she worked as a doctor at the Geneva University Hospitals at the height of the coronavirus crisis, but this did not prevent her from becoming Swiss road cycling champion a few weeks later. Quite a double life.

by Bertrand Monnard

James Bond aka 007 on his quest to hunt down Goldfinger in his Aston Martin DB5 in Switzerland.

The Spiez laboratory

Science & Education
4 March 2018 – A man and woman are found unconscious in Salisbury, England. After a while it becomes clear who they are: Sergei Viktorovich Skripal and his daughter Yulia. The world's press gets its hands on a story worthy of James Bond. And the Spiez lab gets a job... But what is this laboratory exactly?
Dal Ticino a Madrid: l’opera “Offset” dei Nevercrew è stata realizzata in occasione della Urvanity 2020 Art Fair. © Nevercrew

Walking tour of Madrid in search of Swiss-Italian art and architecture

Society

It sometimes happens that you visit a city for the first time and immediately feel at home.
© Claudio Bader

The forbidding side of Val Bavona, frozen in time

History
Val Bavona is one of the wildest valleys in the Swiss Alps. Bordering Ticino, it has remained frozen in the 16th century. The valley is only inhabited in summertime and has opted to remain true to its rustic roots, even shunning electricity.
The charnel house in Leuk, June 2018 – © Cyril Zingaro for Le Temps

The catacombs of Valais: as fascinating as those of Paris

History
You don't have descend into the catacombs of Paris to feel the gaze of thousands of empty eye sockets. With its 24,000 skulls, the charnel house in Leuk in the Upper Valais region of Switzerland provides an equally chilling spectacle.
Why Switzerland

Why Switzerland has no capital and other questions you have about Switzerland

Science & Education
On one of the recent warm spring evenings, we sat on the balcony and wondered what the world thought about Switzerland. But how should we find out? A flash of inspiration: Google knows everything! Let’s take a look at the most common search queries people have about Switzerland.
Riverside bar scene, Lucerne (hi-res). Credit: © Simon Conway

Swiss Craft Beer Boom

History
Switzerland is famous for many things and now its burgeoning beer scene is beginning to gain recognition. The demise of the beer cartel at the end of the twentieth century opened up the industry and provided the space for Swiss brewers to create and flourish. They have responded by establishing breweries and microbreweries in unprecedented numbers and Switzerland has emerged as a major contributor to the ever-swelling European craft beer wave.