How is Switzerland in the summer?

Suggestions for summer holiday in Switzerland please?

• My boyfriend and I would like to take a summer holiday in switzerland. We would ideally like to spend some time doing scenic day-walks, maybe one day of cycling and some swimming in ...show more

• Answer:

  Public transport is superb in Switzerland and means you can get to pretty much everything easily by train, bus, boat or cablecar. A Swiss Pass or Flexi Pass gives you virtually unlimited use of public transport, free entry to many attractions and discounts on many others. When I say public transport is superb, it really is! Everything connects together seamlessly, taking you right up into the mountains or ot the lakes. There are cycle routes all over Switzerland, and bicycles can be hired at many places, including major railway stations. You can also easily take bicycles on most trains. And the train journeys can be attractions in themselves, particularly through the Alps. German-speaking Luzern is a great centre for exploring Switzerland. From here you can easily get up the mountains to Riga, Tilis and Pilatus, amongst others and take boats across the lake. It also has a fabulous lakeside lido, just next door to the Transort Museum. probably ticks most of your boxes. Graubünden is the wildest of the Swiss cantons, and there are lots of options for hiking, rafting etc, and you really do feel you are in the heart of the Alps. St Moritz, Davos and Chur make good bases, but there are also lots of lovely smaller resorts like Pontresina, Arosa and Lenzerheide - all accessible by train. The train ride to Arosa is especially spectacular - and there is even a beach on the lake there! Lugano in Ticino on the Lakes is a fabulous centre for lakeside swimming and mountain walks or cycle rides with almost guaranteed good weather. The Rhone Valley is beautiful with some outstanding areas for walking and cycling and the highest mountains of the Alps, including the Matterhorn. Zermatt, Champery, Les Diablerets and Leysin are all accessible by train and make good bases. One recommendation is Leukerbad, you need to take a bus to get there, but it is very easy. It has the largest natural spa in the Alps and one of the most scenic mountain walks across to Kandesteg. The Bernese Oberland has probably the most facilities for outside pursuits. There is swimming on the lakes either side of Interlaken, great hiking above Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the shadow of the Eiger, some brilliant cycling up around Gstaad. The area around Gruyeres is pretty good too. Finally Lake Geneva is worth considering as a base. Lausanne, Nyon and Montreux are lovely towns, with good access to the Alps and Lakeside Lidos. There are numerous accomodation options, but I do recommend the Swiss youth hostels. They take people of all ages, are cost-effective and are of an extremely high quality. Most of the places I've mentioned have one. With only one week to play with, assuming you fly into Zurich, you might find three days in Luzern and three days in Grindelwald will give you the best balance.