The secret to spending summer in Switzerland

Telegraph

a day ago

Swiss summers used to be a well-kept secret among the country's residents. In cities, workers would make for lidos in their lunch breaks and spend balmy evenings on bar terraces, while weekends meant trails across meadow-dotted countryside towards stunning views of snow-capped peaks under dazzling sunshine.
These days, though, the country is experiencing a dose of sport and social media fuelled fame. Switzerland is playing host to the Uefa Women's Euros in Zurich, with the Lionesses defending their champion title. And TikTok has become obsessed with Basel's brilliant river commute – a float along the Rhine – while beautiful spots such as Lauterbrunnen can be a magnet for Instagrammers.
Worry not: there's still plenty of space for summer fun, whether that involves late nights in vibrant cities or days on the country's 65,000km (40,000 miles) of hiking trails.
And the best news? Flights and accommodation prices have yet to catch up with Switzerland's seasonal boom, so the country is generally cheaper in July and August than in ski season.
Choose from gentle strolls between empty villages and idyllic pastures, city days of boat trips and lakeside restaurants or full-steam adventures up mountains and down canyons. Better still, combine them: excellent rail services and roads make this one of the easiest countries in Europe to get around.
Where to go
North: for slick cities
Zurich is brilliant fun in the summer months. By day, residents take dips at lakeside baths such as leafy Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen or have coffees in the chic cafés of the city centre.
By night, al fresco bars open for long nights of cocktails (try Frau Gerold's Garten, in the shadow of the Freitag Tower) or, if you have kids in tow, stretch bedtime at Josefwiese, a park with a playground, bar and plenty of buzz, both located against the backdrop of the post-industrial architecture of Kreis 5.
Hire a car and the wider region opens up: join the grandmas bathing in the lake in the sleepy village of Greifensee, a bucolic blast of Swiss past about 20 minutes' drive from the centre. Head north to hear the thunder of the Rhine Falls, the most powerful in Europe. Or take a ferry to medieval Rapperswil, where an atmospheric Old Town leads to the newly reopened, 13th-century castle.
From Zurich, it's around an hour by train to Basel, Switzerland's social media sensation. Though it lacks Bern's charm or Zurich's buzz, it makes up for it with museums, shops and galleries (you could lose days wandering the oldest public art collection in the world at Kunstmuseum Basel).
And, for those who have been drawn by the Rhine, there are supervised swims for competent swimmers every Tuesday evening from early July to mid-September.
Where to stay
In Zurich Romantik Seehotel Sonne has doubles from £281, or Marktgasse Hotel in the Old Town has doubles from £428. In Basel, Art House Basel has doubles from £161 room only.
South: for getting outside
In summer, car-free Zermatt fills with tourists drawn by the Matterhorn, who throng the local hiking and biking trails (including the Five Lakes Trail, with its knock-out views of the mountain).
A metaphorical world away (though less than three hours by car), the Italian-speaking region of Ticino is one of the sunniest places in the country. This is an ideal spot for boat trips towards the grotto restaurants of Lake Lugano, lazy trails along the vine-covered slopes of Monte San Giorgio, or aperitivi in a waterfront bar in Ascona, drinking in the view of Lake Maggiore as palms make dancing shadows on the pavement.
Where to stay
In Zermatt, the luxurious Cervo Mountain Resort has doubles from £680. Or 3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat, the highest hotel in the Swiss Alps, has doubles from £408. Hotel Eden Roc in Ascona has doubles from £552 B&B. Or B&B Bertazzi has two-night apartment stays from £184 for two people.
East: For pedalling and trips to the past
Eastern Switzerland comes with pricey ski resorts and a teeny slice of Lake Constance. But its main draw in hot weather is the series of trails around Appenzell.
This is Switzerland from the story books, the intricately painted facades of the town centre segueing to rolling green landscapes where all is silent save for birdsong and cowbells. Summer brings the ' stobete ', parties of yodelling and folk dancing while nearby, clearly-marked routes pass soaring forest and freezing lakes on their way to remote mountain inns.
Cyclists should make for Flims Laax, around an hour's drive south, for 330km (205 miles) of bike trails, including one to the muscle-soothing glacial baths at Alp Mora. Switzerland's oldest town, Chur (from where train enthusiasts can board the Glacier Express bound for Zermatt), is worth a detour. Meanwhile, posh San Moritz has its own 'summer season' of sorts, complete with jazz, film and classic car festivals.
Where to stay
Flims's Me And All Hotel has doubles from £185. Or, in St Moritz, Badrutt's Palace has doubles from £714 B&B. Berggasthaus Aescher is from £59 B&B. Back in Appenzell, Hotel Traube has doubles from £185 B&B.
The living is easy on the Montreux Riviera, which extends from the Château de Chillon (inspiration for Byron's poetry and Prince Eric's castle in Disney's The Little Mermaid) and passes through its palm-fringed tourist town namesake towards the cobbles and lakeside cafés of Vevey. Below Unesco-protected vineyards, the wine-growers' towns of Cully and Lutry come with lake beaches and tidy lanes of taverns.
Farther west along the lake, Geneva is less scruffy than Lausanne, with correspondingly less excitement. However, the café culture of the pretty Carouge neighbourhood feels winningly summery. There's fancy food in the city too (L'Aparté is the Michelin-starred place to book).
Where to stay
In Lausanne, the Beau-Rivage Palace has doubles from £598. In Geneva, 9 Hotel Paquis has doubles from £148.
Central: For old towns and extreme pursuits
Small and cutesy, the country's capital, Bern, is a place where colonnaded streets shelter in a bend in the river Aare and the Zytglogge clock tower displays animal automatons straight from a fairytale.
Fifty minutes' away by train in the Bernese Oberland, the Jungfrau region (including Interlaken and Insta-famous Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald) is Switzerland's adventure capital, where influencers snap pictures from Zwei-Seen-Steg (Two Lakes Bridge) with the waters of Brienz and Thun far below. The lakes are good for paddleboarding, and there's whitewater rafting, canyoning and paragliding too.
Around an hour's drive east, the mansions of multimillionaires line the banks of Lake Lucerne. The city of the same name is swish, lined with watch shops and posh restaurants, and the riverside buzzes with buskers serving up impeccable classical concerts. From here, you can reach the top of Mount Pilatus by cable car.
Where to stay
In Bern, the Schweizerhof Hotel has doubles from £520. On the shores of Lake Brienz, one week at Camping Aaregg starts from £1,603 for a family of four, self-catering. Or Hotel Eiger has doubles from £360. In Luzern Pickwick Luzern has doubles from £208 room only.
When to go
Swiss summer weather is a pleasant surprise, with temperatures reaching the 20s by May. Beware, though, that there's sometimes unexpected snow in the mountains at that point: for high-up hiking, the season opens in late June. By late September, changing leaves and plummeting temperatures signal the winter to come.
What to book
Discover The World's two-week Grand Tour of Switzerland incorporates four of its best rail journeys (Gotthard Panorama Express, Bernina Express, Glacier Express and the Golden Pass). From £3,898pp B&B, including train travel from London (01737 428520).
Or tackle the Bernese Oberland on Inntravel's two-week self-guided Swiss Alps – from Eiger to the Matterhorn trip. From £3,400pp including most meals but excluding international travel (01653 617001).