Illuminated snowy mountain village, Bergün/Bravuogn, Switzerland

Bright lights, little city

Here in pleasantly lit Ardez, you'll need some specialized language study if you want to chat with the locals in their native tongue. Almost three-quarters of Ardez's 400-odd residents speak Romansh, a language related to French and Italian but unique to Switzerland. While considered one of the country's four national languages, Romansh is only spoken daily by about 60,000 people, virtually all of whom live here in the canton of Grisons.