Central and strategic, Western Switzerland is situated at the geographical, technological and economic crossroads of the European markets. Connections with the main world and European centres are easy, be it by train, by air, by road or by river. That is undoubtedly why numerous enterprises, the true locomotives of the international economy, have chosen to settle down here.
Western Switzerland is one of the most dynamic regions of the country. It spreads from Geneva to the Lakes of Neuchâtel and Bienne, and from the Matterhorn to the entrance of Basle, near Germany.
To the south it borders on Italy and to the west on France, and represents a surface of about 18,000 km2.
Lausanne and Geneva are 30 minutes (65 km) away from each other, just like Neuchâtel and Bern, the Swiss political capital. Due to their central position, the seven cantons which make up Western Switzerland, bordering France, Germany and Italy, offer an ideal platform to rapidly reach all the neighbouring and European markets. Thus, for example, Western Switzerland reaches the following destinations within:
By car/train:
- 1-2hrs : Basle, Lyon, Zurich
- 3-4hrs : Milan, Paris,
By plane:
- 1hr : Basle, Munich, Paris, Zurich
- 2hrs : Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Florence, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Moscow, Rome, Vienna,
- 4hrs : Athens, Casablanca, Istanbul, Stockholm,
- 8hrs : Abu Dhabi, New York,
- 15hrs : San Francisco, Tokyo.
Due to its geography and political stability, Western Switzerland has a long international tradition: it welcomes tourists, researchers, enterprises and business from all over the world. An important factor for companies: the region is at an equal distance between the Americas and the Far East.
