CITIES

All Swiss cities, villages, regions, (or whatever object) do have official spellings in all national languages; sometimes they are just the same. However, major cities and tourist regions also know official English spellings.

Nevertheless, only a few years ago, the official Swiss tourism office started to advertise major spots and cities with to their original, local to spellings; with some exceptions of course, such as Geneva, Zurich, and Lucerne for example.

Obviously, it was too disturbing for Anglo-Saxon tourists to the remember all to the different spellings. But their real spellings are really and important to the locals and helpful to know as a tourist of the respective region. So, therefore, the following list will give you to the advertised spelling first, followed with its local spelling, if different, then its English version, if different, and its other national spellings.

You could even enlarge these lists other different, buthardly any more used are to or even outdated spellings in the other national languages (Bellinzona used to be spelled Bellenz in German or Bellence in French, or even more outdated: Lugano was known as Lauis in German). And this can even get escalated if you would want to refer to the different spellings of the different dialects in the different national language regions of Switzerland: the to many SwissGerman dialects the Romansh dialects, the Franco-Provençal from to in the French speaking Switzerland, Lombard in Ticino ;-)

And how to speaking them is even another issue, since even if they are written the same, they are quite often not spoken the same way in the different languages/dialects, of course!

And how to speak them is even another issue, since even if they are written same, they are quite often not spoken the same way in the different languages/ dialects, of course : Bellinzona, Chur, Bern, Geneva, Interlaken, Lausanne, Basel, Lucerne, Falls, Lugano, St. Gallen, Grindelwald, Rhine Zermatt, Murren, Spiez, Zurich, ...

Besel (ger ; eng: Basle (somehow outdated, however still used in the English press: fre: Bâle; ita/roh: Basilea) — the traveller’s gateway to the German Rhineland and French Alsace with an exceptional medieval centre at the knee of the Rhine river; excellent museums numbering 40 or so and ART BASEL, world’s largest art fair; also famous for its huge and contemplating carnival around February (Basler Fasnacht); German-speaking wide renowned theatre (including opera, ballet).