Can you tell me more about Switzerland?

Switzerland is situated in the central Alpine region of Europe and borders on Italy in the south, Austria and the Principality of Liechtenstein in the east, Germany in the north and France in the west. It is a landlocked country with no direct access to the sea. The total area of Switzerland is approximately 41,300 square kilometres. There are four national languages in Switzerland: German, French, Italian and Rhaeto-Romantic (Rumantsch Grischun).  The unit of currency is the franc (CHF), which is divided into 100 Rappen or centimes.  For more information on Switzerland you might like to visit the website of Switzerland Tourism.

Idiap is located in the town of Martigny in the Canton of Valais. Valais enjoys an exceptional and localized climate and holds the Swiss record for the number of hours of sunshine per year. (Valais has an average of 2000 hours of sunshine per year compared with 1500 for Zurich and 1600 for Geneva). The total population of Valais is approximately 291,000. 27,800 of those people live in Sion, the Cantonal Capital. Sion, which is found just 15 minutes by train from Martigny, has an average temperature of –1.1 °C in January and 18.8 °C in July. The average annual precipitation is 619mm. For weather related information go to:

Valais is a scenic region in the south of Switzerland, surrounded by the highest mountains of Europe, and offering exciting recreational activities, including hiking, climbing and skiing, as well as varied cultural activities. It is within close proximity to Montreux (Jazz Festival) and Lausanne (EPFL). For information on Martigny and the surrounding areas visit or Valais Tourism.