“The most beautiful villages in Switzerland” is an independent association founded in 2015 with the aim of protecting, promoting and coordinating in a tourist network the Swiss municipalities that, meeting the criteria set out in the quality charter, are classified as such. Since 2017, the Swiss Association is a member of the International Federation of the “Most Beautiful Villages of the World” and since 2019, a municipality in the Principality of Liechtenstein has also become a member of the Swiss Association. The “Best Swiss Villages” programme was created in 2022 to promote the small rural member communities that are set in magnificent natural surroundings. In 2023, the “Swiss Historic Towns” programme was created to better valorise the larger and more structured member municipalities with a considerable history. Since the same year, the association is a partner of the Austrian “Kleine Historische Städte” network, which represents 16 municipalities in 6 regions.