The Editor of the HAND-BOOK for SWITZERLAND, PIEDMONT, and SAVOY, is very solicitous to be favoured with corrections of any mistakes and omissions which may be discovered by persons who have made use of the book. Those communications especially will be welcomed which are founded upon personal knowledge, and accompanied by the name of the writer, to authenticate them. Travellers willing to make such communications are requested to have the kindness to address them to the Editor of the HAND-BOOK, care of Mr. Murray, Albemarle-Street. * * *No attention can be paid to letters from Hotel-keepers in praise of their own inns; and the postage of them is so onerous, that they cannot be received. LONDON: Printed by A. SPOTTISWOODE, A HAND BOOK FOR TRAVELLERS IN SWITZERLAND AND THE ALPS OF SAVOY AND PIEDMONT. A New Edition, REVISED AND CORRECTED. LONDON: JOHN MURRAY AND SON, ALBEMARLE STREET; 1842. AIX-LA In Germany, France, Holland, and Belgium, at CHAPELLE BY MAYER. AMSTERDAM. NAYLER & CO. AUGSBURG BERLIN BRUSSELS CARLSRUHE COBLENTZ COLOGNE DRESDEN FRANKFURT.. GRÄTZ HAMBURG KOLLMAN & CO. DUNCKER. PRATT & BARRY. BAEDEKER. DUMONT SCHAUBERG. ARNOLD. C. JÜGEL, F. WILMANS. PREFACE. FOR a very long time Switzerland was the only country in Europe which possessed a Guide-book, worthy of the name. The excellent work of Ebel, here alluded to, indeed deserves the highest praise; and it is upon the foundation of the materials collected by him that every succeeding work of the same kind, on that country, has been laid. It is, however, voluminous, extending to four volumes: its arrangement and bulk fit it more for the library than the pocket, or even the travelling-carriage; and the abridged French translation is unskilfully made, inconvenient to consult, and full of gross errors. In addition to this, the original work was written more than forty years ago, and was not corrected at the time of the author's death. In consequence of this, and owing to the great changes which have been made in every part of Switzerland since its publication, a portion of the information is necessarily antiquated. The improvements of roads, the opening of new passes over the Alps, the establishment of steam-boats, and the increased facilities of locomotion, have given rise to a thoroughly different system of travelling. Most valuable contributions to our stock of knowledge, respecting the natural history, resources, &c., of Switzerland, have been made since his time; the geology of the country has assumed a totally different aspect; and the ancient political forms are now scarcely recognised since the recent revolutions. The Editor of the present work has great pleasure in acknowledging his obligations to Ebel, as well as to the later writers on the country, especially to the scientific researches of Agassiz, Hugi, and Studer, to the compilations of Glutz Blotzheim and Bollman, and to the recent publication entitled "Gemälde der Schweitz." Nor is he less indebted to his own countrymen, having found the greatest assistance from the accurate and interesting works of Brockedon and Latrobe. For his own part, he has brought to the task the *The Passes of the Alps, 2 vols. 4to.; and Excursions among the Alps. †The Alpenstock and The Pedestrian. * |