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The national speed limit is 120kph (75mph) on motorways, 80kph (50mph) on main roads, 50kph (30mph) in urban areas, and 30kph (18mph) in residential streets. Numerous speed cameras and radar traps are ready to catch speeding motorists, with on-the-spot fines for the guilty driver. Note also that parking can be prohibitively expensive in both town and country.

By train

Taking the train is perhaps the most relaxing way to go, as well as being the most environmentally friendly. It also compares well with air travel, for the journey time of high-speed trains between London and Bern is not all that different from the actual door-to-door time taken by air passengers.

Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) operates a high-speed rail service from London St Pancras through the Channel Tunnel direct to the Gare du Nord in Paris in 2½hrs. Eurostar trains also depart from Ebbsfleet (near the M25/M2) and Ashford (by the M20) in Kent; both stations have plenty of long-term parking available.

The rail journey from Paris to Switzerland continues via TGV from the Gare de l’Est (next to Gare du Nord) to Basel and Zürich (4hrs 25mins); or from the Gare de Lyon to Geneva (3hrs 25mins), Lausanne (3hrs 50mins) and Bern (4hrs 35mins).