three important Swiss customs for tourists to know include: religion, greeting and punctuality. the Swiss people are very religious and Sunday is their holy day. On Sunday, in the house, or even on the car. Foreign tourists should know that the most drugstores, supermarkets and banks are closed on Sunday. The Swiss are also a formal people. For example, they seldom call acquaintances by their first names; the German "Herr" and French "Monsieur" are much more frequently used in Switzerland than the English "Mister" is used in the United States. A tourist should therefore say either "Herr" or "Monsieur" when greeting an acquaintance, and only use the person's first name if he is a close friend. In addition, Switzerland is the land of watches and exactness. It is important to be on time to parties, business, meetings, and churches because Swiss hosts, factory bosses, and ministers-all love punctuality. It is especially important for tourists to be on time for trains: Swiss train conductors never wait for late arrivers. In short, Swiss customs are very easy to follow and very important to remember!