What to spend your franc on
A bar of authentic Swiss chocolate
2.5 CHF
A cup of fresh coffee
4.7 CHF
A cheese fondue for two in a restaurant
32 CHF
A day-pass for all zones on the Zurich metro
33.6 CHF
A day tour around the beautiful Mount Titlis
156 CHF
The final francs in Europe
Due to not being a member of the European Union, the Swiss have held tightly onto their francs. Whilst there are four official languages in Switzerland (German, French, Italian and Romansh) only Latin is used for the inscriptions on the coins.
You will find a 15% service charge added to your bill in hotels, bars and restaurants – this is a legal requirement. Other than that, tipping is not expected, but if you have found the service really exceptional you can always round the bill up!
Frequently used banknotes
There are 100 cents in a franc, while the most commonly used banknotes are for 10 (yellow), 20 (red), 50 (green), 100 (blue) and 1,000 (purple) francs. All four languages are used on each note.
In Switzerland, the majority of payments are made in cash, even for large amounts, so make sure you have plenty of each note to settle bills of all sizes. Not all establishments will accept a credit card.
Buying Swiss franc online is easy
Free next-day home delivery on orders over 600 GBP