How Switzerland became a longevity hot spot

Series Longevity, Episode 3:

People from all over the world have come to Switzerland for centuries in search of the fountain of youth. How did the small Alpine nation become a magnet for longevity seekers?  

Longevity is the latest trend to take over social media. Longevity start-ups are raising billions, biohackers are tracking every molecule in their bodies, and longevity clinics are popping up all over the world offering a host of promises. 

But long before all of this, people looked to nature for rejuvenating cures. And no place embodied that hope more than Switzerland with its idyllic sceneries and fresh Alpine air. Even more, its thermal baths were explicitly advertised as rejuvenating cures. Did dipping in a pool to emerge younger – as in the “Fountain of Youth” painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder – really work? 

“Der Jungbrunnen” by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1556, Gemäldegalerie Berlin Public domain

Today people still flock to Switzerland in search of the secrets to live longer, healthier lives but not for the same reasons. How did the country become a longevity hot spot? And what does the future hold for it in the face of rapid advances in high-tech treatments and technologies promising to slow down ageing?

We set out on a journey across Switzerland to find out what happened to the country’s “rejuvenating” thermal waters, and how it has maintained its appeal with longevity seekers from all over the world. 

Series Longevity

• Episode 1: 1. Longevity clinics: modern-day snake oil or the key to healthy ageing?
• Episode 2: 2. The Basel researcher whose work triggered a longevity revolution
• Episode 3: 3. How Switzerland became a longevity hot spot