Geography questions check whether you can find your way around Switzerland: cantons and capitals, landscapes, lakes and rivers, and the language regions.
Switzerland covers about 41,000 km² and has three natural regions: the Jura, the Central Plateau (Mittelland) and the Alps. Most people live on the plateau between Lake Geneva and Lake Constance. Bern is the federal city; Switzerland has no official capital. The largest city is Zurich, the second largest Geneva.
Common questions cover the cantonal capitals, the longest national border (with Italy), lakes that lie wholly or partly in Switzerland, and where the rivers flow: the Rhine into the North Sea, the Inn via the Danube into the Black Sea. Languages belong to geography too: around 60 percent speak German, Romansh is the main language of less than one percent, and Graubünden is the only trilingual canton.
24 of the 64 questions on this topic in our question bank · Tap an answer to see if it is right. Under “Show answer” you find the solution with an explanation and the source.
Correct answer: D – Bellinzona
The capital of Ticino is Bellinzona, known for its three castles (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Lugano is the largest city in the canton but not its capital.
Source: ti.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: C – Chur
Chur is the capital of Graubünden and is considered one of the oldest towns in Switzerland. Graubünden is the largest canton by area.
Source: gr.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – Liestal
Liestal is the capital of Basel-Landschaft. The canton was created in 1833 when the countryside split from the city of Basel after a conflict.
Source: baselland.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: C – Stans
Stans is the capital of Nidwalden. Do not confuse it with Sarnen, the capital of the neighbouring canton of Obwalden.
Source: nw.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – Herisau
The government and cantonal parliament of Appenzell Ausserrhoden sit in Herisau, which is regarded as the capital. The higher court sits in Trogen. Appenzell, by contrast, is the capital of Appenzell Innerrhoden.
Source: ar.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: A – Basel-Stadt
With about 37 km², Basel-Stadt is the smallest canton. It consists only of the city of Basel and the municipalities of Riehen and Bettingen.
Source: bfs.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: A – Federal city
Since 1848 Bern has been the seat of the Federal Council and Parliament and is officially called the 'federal city' (Bundesstadt). The Federal Constitution does not designate a capital.
Source: bern.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: B – About 60%
According to the Federal Statistical Office, about 62% of the population name German or Swiss German as a main language. German is thus the most widely spoken national language.
Source: bfs.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: B – Less than 1%
Only about 0.5% of the population name Romansh as a main language. Nevertheless, Romansh is one of the four national languages and receives special support from the Confederation and the canton of Graubünden.
Source: eda.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – Graubünden
Graubünden is the only trilingual canton: its official languages are German, Romansh and Italian. Bern, Fribourg and Valais are bilingual (German and French).
Source: gr.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: C – The language border between German- and French-speaking Switzerland
The 'Röstigraben' is a humorous term for the language and cultural border between German- and French-speaking Switzerland. It is often mentioned when the two regions vote differently in referendums.
Source: swissinfo.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – Italy
Switzerland's longest border is with Italy, followed by France and Germany. The shortest is with Liechtenstein (about 41 km).
Source: swisstopo.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: C – Zermatt
The Matterhorn (4,478 m) rises above Zermatt in the canton of Valais, on the border with Italy. Thanks to its distinctive pyramid shape, it is Switzerland's best-known mountain.
Source: aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – Jura, Central Plateau, Alps
Switzerland is divided into three main regions: the Jura in the north-west, the Central Plateau (Mittelland) in the middle and the Alps in the south and east. The Alps cover the largest part of the country.
Source: aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: A – About 41,000 km²
Switzerland covers about 41,285 km². It measures roughly 350 km from west to east and about 220 km from north to south.
Source: aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: A – Geneva
With about 200,000 inhabitants, Geneva is the second-largest city, followed by Basel, Lausanne and Bern. Geneva is also an important seat of international organisations.
Source: bfs.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: B – Lake Neuchâtel
Lake Neuchâtel (about 218 km²) is the largest lake entirely on Swiss territory. It borders the cantons of Neuchâtel, Vaud, Fribourg and Bern.
Source: aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: B – Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore lies mostly in Italy; only its northern part belongs to Ticino. Switzerland also shares Lake Lugano with Italy.
Source: aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – North Sea
The Rhine flows via Lake Constance, Basel, Germany and the Netherlands into the North Sea. At Basel it is important for shipping: the Rhine ports connect Switzerland to the sea.
Source: aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: C – Black Sea
The Inn rises in the Engadine (Graubünden), flows into Austria and joins the Danube at Passau, which flows into the Black Sea. Swiss water thus reaches the North Sea, the Mediterranean, the Adriatic and the Black Sea.
Source: aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – Great Aletsch Glacier
The Great Aletsch Glacier in Valais is about 20 km long and the largest glacier in the Alps. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch and is retreating rapidly due to climate change.
Source: aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: C – 1980
The roughly 17 km Gotthard road tunnel between Göschenen and Airolo opened in 1980. A second tube is being built to allow its renovation. The first Gotthard railway tunnel dates from 1882.
Source: astra.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – Bern and Valais
The Lötschberg Base Tunnel (about 35 km) connects Frutigen in the canton of Bern with Raron in Valais. Together with the Gotthard Base Tunnel it forms the New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA).
Source: bav.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: A – Geneva
Geneva hosts the UN's European headquarters at the Palais des Nations, the ICRC and many other international organisations such as the WHO. Geneva is therefore a centre of international diplomacy.
Source: eda.admin.ch · Checked October 2026