Switzerland…Land of Astonishing Lakes

A swan swims on Lake Geneva at sunrise in Rolle, western
Switzerland. Fabrice Coffrini / AFP Photo
A swan swims on Lake Geneva at sunrise in Rolle, western Switzerland. Fabrice Coffrini / AFP Photo
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Switzerland…Land of Astonishing Lakes

A swan swims on Lake Geneva at sunrise in Rolle, western
Switzerland. Fabrice Coffrini / AFP Photo
A swan swims on Lake Geneva at sunrise in Rolle, western Switzerland. Fabrice Coffrini / AFP Photo

Switzerland is known as the home of the mountains but Switzerland also has more than 1,500 lakes and water bodies.

According to the Travel Daily website, almost all Swiss cities are located on the shores of lakes. Whether it's the altitude, the crystal-clear water or the beauty of the surrounding landscape, there's something extraordinary about the sparkling lakes of Switzerland.

Below are three of Switzerland's most beautiful lakes for those who might be interested in visiting them:

Lake Geneva: The largest in Central Europe; it is a crescent-shaped deep lake in Switzerland overlooked by the Swiss Alps.

One can book a cruise or a culinary trip to comfortably enjoy notable sights, such as the emblem of the city of Geneva, the "Jet d'eau", a 140-meter high water fountain that is illuminated at night. It's also a great place to go rowing, sailing, windsurfing, water skiing, wakeboarding and even scuba diving.

Lake Lugano: Located in Ticino, Lake Lugano is a glacial lake at the southernmost tip of Tessin, the holiday region at the southern end of the Alps! The Lake has many different branches and is surrounded by mountains, Monte Generoso being the highest at about 1700 meters.

Lake Thun: The deeply-blue Lake Thun lies on the northern periphery of the Alps, between the Bernese Oberland towns of Thun and Interlaken.

A cruise on Lake Thun is an experience that also relaxes whilst enjoying a fine meal, or simply the glorious sunshine on the deck, your gaze will travel pass along the attractive shore with its romantic villages, majestic historic castles right up to the peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.



Europe's Oldest Lake Settlement Uncovered in Albania

A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
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Europe's Oldest Lake Settlement Uncovered in Albania

A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci
A drone view shows archaeologists diving in the lake of Ohrid to uncover objects, in the village of Lin, Albania, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci

Archaeologists working on the shores of Ohrid Lake in Albania are convinced they have uncovered the oldest human settlement built on a European lake, finding evidence of an organized hunting and farming community living up to 8,000 years ago. The team, from Switzerland and Albania, spends hours each day about three meters (9.8 feet) underwater, painstakingly retrieving wooden stilts that supported houses.

The are also collecting bones of domesticated and wild animals, copper objects and ceramics, featuring detailed carvings.

Albert Hafner, from the University of Bern, said similar settlements have been found in Alpine and Mediterranean regions, but the settlements in the village of Lin are half a millennium older, dating back between 6,000 and 8,000 years.

"Because it is under water, the organic material is well-preserved and this allows us to find out what these people have been eating, what they have been planting," Hafner said.

Multiple studies show that Lake Ohrid, shared by North Macedonia and Albania, is the oldest lake in Europe, at over one million years.

The age of the findings is determined through radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology, which measures annual growth rings in trees. More than one thousand wood samples have been collected from the site, which may have hosted several hundred people.

It is believed to cover around six hectares, but so far, only about 1% has been excavated after six years of work.

Hafner said findings show that people who lived on the lake helped to spread agriculture and livestock to other parts of Europe.

"They were still doing hunting and collecting things but the stable income for the nutrition was coming from the agriculture," he said.

Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi said it could take decades to fully explore the area.

"(By) the way they had lived, eaten, hunted, fished and by the way the architecture was used to build their settlement we can say they were very smart for that time," Anastasi said.