SWITZERLAND

Peace has long been the policy of this majestic country. With the skierdotted Matterhorn in the distance and Zurich's modern buildings and Old Town art galleries reflected in a mirror lake, it’s no wonder that the world’s cares are left outside its borders. They’re hard to remember when walking on cobblestones to 50-plus museums, savoring cheese and chocolate whose flavors are sharpened by clean Alpine air, or wandering the storybook streets and covered bridges of Lucerne.

Timeless as it is, the tradition of keeping time is still treasured in Switzerland. The cuckoo clock was invented here, which has since evolved into upmarket watches that epitomize prestige. This penchant for precision is likely one of the reasons 21 Nobel Prizewinners have emerged from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, but luxury is an arena in which the Swiss continue to excel—an interest that goes hand-in-hand with Zurich’s renowned banking. Get your upscale goods from Bahnhofstrasse, but let your genteel composure give way to a techno-pulsing nightlife that ends only when you decide to leave.