Switzerland (the Swiss Confederation, Schweiz in German, Suisse in French, Svizzera in Italian, Svizra in Romansh) is an alpine country situated in Western Europe. It is a federal republic and consists of 26 cantons (districts). It has borders with Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. Switzerland covers the total area of 41,285 square km and has population of about 7,591,400 inhabitants. The official languages are German, French, Italian, and Romansh.

The city of Berne (Bern) is the capital of the Canton of Berne and de facto is the capital of Switzerland. It is the fifth most inhabited city in the country and has population of about 128,000 people. Bern is a rather old city and its center is mostly medieval. It is a UNESCO’s Cultural World Heritage Site. So it is a rather popular European travel destination.

Skiing in Switzerland has very long and continuous traditions. This small alpine country is probably the most exclusive and oldest ski area in the world. There are about 42 ski areas there, they are mostly located in Valais, Eastern Switzerland, the Bernese Oberland and the Canton Graubunden and provide a wide range of possibilities to practice almost any kind of winter sports. Besides incredible vistas Switzerland can offer slopes of different complexity levels, cross-country and winter hiking trails, bob and luge tracks.

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