People shake hands a considerable number of times in Switzerland, and if you meet a small party you are expected to shake each person’s hand while looking him or her in the eye.

In German-speaking Switzerland, to say hello you can use guten morgen (good morning) before noon, and guten tag (good day) or grüetzi (hello) all day long. To say goodbye you will use Auf Wiedersehen (to the seeing again) when leaving a meeting, but Auf Wiederhören (to the hearing again) when closing a phone conversation. Aren’t the Swiss a precise lot? The use of the local word for hello (Gruetzi, Guetzach, etc.) will sound strange unless you can speak at least some German.

In the French-speaking part, use bonjour (good day) all day long to say hello, but switch to bonsoir (good evening) in the evening. When saying goodbye, use au revoir (to the seeing again). On non-business occasions it is common for men and women to kiss each other on the cheek (or just in the air) 3 to 4 times. Observe the local custom.

In the Italian part, people greet each other in the morning with Buongiorno (good day) and with Buonasera (good evening) in the afternoon. When leaving, they use Arrivederci (to the seeing again).