Swiss cantons, found on the map
Learn all 26 cantons, from Geneva beside its lake to Graubünden in the eastern Alps. Zoom in for the smaller cantons around Basel and Appenzell.
26 to find, 8 a run.
4 rounds, 6 of 8 to pass each. Pass one and its places are yours.
Every one on the map
Every place listed below can be asked in this game. Places you find in a passed round drop out of your remaining pool.
- Aargau
- Appenzell Ausserrhoden
- Appenzell Innerrhoden
- Basel-Landschaft
- Basel-Stadt
- Bern
- Fribourg
- Geneva
- Glarus
- Graubünden
- Jura
- Lucerne
- Neuchâtel
- Nidwalden
- Obwalden
- Schaffhausen
- Schwyz
- Solothurn
- St Gallen
- Thurgau
- Ticino
- Uri
- Valais
- Vaud
- Zug
- Zurich
What the map tells you about each one
The paragraph the game shows when you find each one. Reading them first is not cheating.
- Zurich
- Zurich is the canton containing Switzerland’s largest city. Its southern edge follows part of Lake Zurich.
- Bern
- Bern is an officially bilingual canton. Its territory connects the federal city with the Bernese Oberland.
- Lucerne
- Lucerne connects the Central Plateau with Lake Lucerne. Its capital sits where the Reuss leaves the lake.
- Uri
- Uri is one of the original confederation’s central Alpine communities. The Gotthard route connects it with Ticino across the mountains.
- Schwyz
- Schwyz gave Switzerland its name. The canton reaches from central Alpine valleys to the shores of Lake Zurich.
- Obwalden
- Obwalden includes the Sarnen valley and the separate Engelberg area. Together with Nidwalden, it formed historic Unterwalden.
- Nidwalden
- Nidwalden is a small central canton beside Lake Lucerne. Its capital is Stans, and mountain slopes rise directly above the lake.
- Glarus
- Glarus centres on the Linth valley. It is one of the two cantons that retain an open-air Landsgemeinde assembly.
- Zug
- Zug is a small central canton between larger urban centres. Its capital sits on the northeastern shore of Lake Zug.
- Fribourg
- Fribourg is officially bilingual in French and German. Its territory spans the plateau and foothills of the Pre-Alps.
- Solothurn
- Solothurn connects the Aare valley with parts of the Jura. Its canton has several separated pieces near Basel.
- Basel-Stadt
- Basel-Stadt contains Basel and the municipalities of Riehen and Bettingen. Zoom in to distinguish it from surrounding Basel-Landschaft.
- Basel-Landschaft
- Basel-Landschaft surrounds much of the urban canton of Basel-Stadt. The two became separate cantons in 1833.
- Schaffhausen
- Schaffhausen is Switzerland’s northernmost canton. Its territory includes separated areas along the German border.
- Appenzell Ausserrhoden
- Appenzell Ausserrhoden occupies outer parts of the historic Appenzell area. The region’s hills are associated with dairy farming and textile history.
- Appenzell Innerrhoden
- Appenzell Innerrhoden retains a Landsgemeinde assembly. Zoom in to separate its main territory and detached district from neighbouring cantons.
- St Gallen
- St Gallen wraps around the two Appenzell cantons. It links Lake Constance with the Alpine Rhine valley and southern lake districts.
- Graubünden
- Graubünden, also called Grisons, is officially trilingual in German, Romansh and Italian. It contains the Swiss National Park and the Engadin.
- Aargau
- Aargau takes its name from the Aare. The Aare joins the Rhine on the canton’s northern edge.
- Thurgau
- Thurgau faces Lake Constance and includes Frauenfeld and lakeside towns. Farming and orchards are familiar features of its landscape.
- Ticino
- Ticino is predominantly Italian-speaking. The Ticino river reaches Lake Maggiore near Locarno.
- Vaud
- Vaud is a French-speaking canton that stretches from Lake Geneva to the Jura. Lausanne is its capital.
- Valais
- Valais is officially bilingual in French and German. The Matterhorn and Switzerland’s highest summit, the Dufourspitze, stand on its southern border.
- Neuchâtel
- Neuchâtel is a French-speaking canton between its lake and the Jura. La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle preserve a watchmaking landscape.
- Geneva
- Geneva is surrounded largely by France, with a narrow connection to Vaud. The Rhône leaves Lake Geneva in its capital.
- Jura
- Jura became Switzerland’s newest canton in 1979. Its French-speaking communities sit among the northern Jura hills.
How this one works
How many cantons are on the map?
26. Every one of them is on the map, and a run asks 8 of them. Pass a round and the places you found in it drop out of the pool, so the next run is what you have left.
What is a round?
A run of 8 questions, and 6 right passes it. 4 rounds cover the whole map, and the counter at the top of the Switzerland page counts the ones behind you. Passing is what banks a round's finds: miss the mark and nothing is taken off the map, so every place that round asked about is still there to be asked again. A round is always the places you have not found yet, and when fewer than five are left it is topped up with a few you have found as review, so the last round is never one or two questions. Three quarters of it passes it.
Can I start the map over?
Yes. "Reset this map" under the counter puts all 26 back in the pool and sets the rounds to zero the moment you press it, so the whole map is there to be found again from nothing. It clears this map only; the other maps of Switzerland keep their progress.
Do I need an account?
No. The game plays in the page, and a guest's progress is kept in their own browser. Signing in carries it between devices and earns XP for a run.
What happens when I get one wrong?
The map names what you actually hit, then lights up the right answer in green and tells you something about the place. Missing one is how most of this map gets learned.
The other maps of Switzerland
All three together on the Switzerland atlas page, the country itself on the Switzerland guide, and the other two hundred on the world map.