Solothurn, Switzerland

Solothurn is the canton with the most beautiful baroque town in the country and a genuinely odd obsession with the number eleven — the cathedral has eleven bells and eleven altars, there are eleven fountains and eleven churches, and the local beer is called Oufi which is the old word for eleven. Nobody remembers why, which is part of the charm. The town sits on the Aare with the cathedral square that is genuinely one of the finest pieces of baroque architecture north of the Alps, Olten is the rail junction town that half the country changes trains in, the Weissenstein is the Jura ridge above the plateau with the view across to the Alps, and the Verena gorge is the slot canyon with the hermitage that locals walk through.

The canton's character is Catholic, orderly and genuinely provincial with a real watchmaking heritage in the Jura valleys and a population that is entirely comfortable being overlooked.

Expect genuine baroque-town charm, real Jura-walking content, and a canton that is obsessed with the number eleven for reasons nobody can explain.

Nearby: Basel-Landschaft Aargau Bern Lucerne