Drink
Cafes are open from breakfast until about midnight/1am and often sell alcohol; bars and pubs tend to open their doors for late-afternoon and evening business only. Daytime places for tea and cakes are dubbed tearooms . Other than pubs, drinking venues vary according to region. A cosy Bierstube or Stubli - replete with wood-beams and Swiss kitsch decor - is the evening meeting-place of choice throughout German-speaking Switzerland, while in Romandie and Ticino pavement cafes are more common. Table service is ubiquitous, except at the English or Irish pubs gracing most towns. Local beers vary between regions and are invariably excellent, costing Sfr3-4 for a third of a litre. A beer-lemonade shandy is a panache . Even the simplest bars and restaurants have wine , most affordably as Offene Wein , vin ouvert , vino aperto , a handful of house reds and whites chalked up on a board and sold by the decilitre (small glass Sfr3-5). Premier Swiss wines are the Valais whites (Fendant) and reds (Dole). Also look out for local spirits/liquors ( Schnapps , eau-de-vie , aquavite ), including cherry Kirsch , aromatic pear Williamine , and excellent Ticinese grappa .
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