Switzerland Holidays

The Five Lakes Trail links Stellisee, Grindjisee, Grünsee, Moosjisee and Leisee through the mountains above Zermatt. Visitors follow an approximately 11-kilometre route with views towards the Matterhorn, which is reflected in three of the lakes when conditions are clear and calm.

Running high above the Lauterbrunnen Valley, the via ferrata between Mürren and Gimmelwald follows a 2.2-kilometre route across ladders, rock faces and suspended crossings. Visitors taking it on need alpine experience, proper equipment and a head for heights, with the route rated at intermediate K3 difficulty.

The glacier-fed Lütschine brings white-water rafting into the heart of the Bernese Oberland. Guided trips take visitors through powerful rapids before heading towards the turquoise waters around Lake Brienz, with different operators offering routes suited to varying levels of rafting experience.

Launching from the heights around Beatenberg gives visitors a bird’s-eye view across Lake Thun and the Bernese Oberland. Tandem flights can reveal the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau before descending towards Interlaken, combining one of Switzerland’s best-known adventure sports with its classic Alpine panorama.

The Great Aletsch Glacier is the largest glacier in the Alps and can be experienced on organised glacier tours. Visitors joining a qualified mountain guide travel onto the ice with specialist equipment, learning about the glacier and its changing landscape within the UNESCO-listed Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch region.

Near Basel, Augusta Raurica takes visitors into one of Switzerland’s most important Roman archaeological landscapes. More than 30 monuments survive across the site, including a large theatre, temples, baths and a reconstructed Roman house that reveals how families lived during the Roman period.

Founded in the twelfth century on a hill surrounded by the River Aare, Bern developed around a remarkably coherent medieval plan. Visitors can walk beneath long arcades, pass colourful sixteenth-century fountains and see historic streets that have retained their character despite centuries of rebuilding and modernisation.

The Abbey of St Gall grew into one of Europe’s most important monasteries between the eighth century and its secularisation in 1805. Visitors can see its Baroque cathedral and historic library, whose manuscript collections preserve an extraordinary record of medieval learning and monastic culture.

Bellinzona’s three castles once guarded an important route through the Ticino Valley towards the major Alpine passes. Visitors can explore Castelgrande, Montebello and Sasso Corbaro alongside surviving walls and defensive works that UNESCO recognises as an exceptional example of late-medieval Alpine fortification.

Château de Chillon occupies a rocky island beside Lake Geneva and reflects almost a thousand years of regional history. Visitors can move through courtyards, underground vaults, halls and chambers while seeing medieval murals and the dungeon later made famous by Lord Byron’s The Prisoner of Chillon.

German, French, Italian and Romansh are Switzerland’s four national languages, and each is associated with its own cultural region and traditions. Visitors moving across the country can notice the shift through language, architecture, food and local customs, particularly between German-speaking Switzerland, Romandie, Ticino and Graubünden.

Yodelling remains a living Swiss musical tradition rather than simply a symbol created for tourism. Visitors may hear solo performers, choirs and regional styles at concerts, agricultural celebrations and folk festivals, while UNESCO added Swiss yodelling to its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2025.

Originally used by Alpine herders for communication and working with livestock, the alphorn later developed into one of Switzerland’s most recognisable cultural symbols. Visitors can hear it at traditional festivals, yodelling events and mountain celebrations, where its long wooden form produces distinctive natural tones across open landscapes.

The Jura towns of La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle developed around the needs of the watchmaking industry, with workshops and homes integrated into carefully organised urban plans. Visitors can see how centuries of precision manufacturing shaped not just Swiss craftsmanship but the physical design of these UNESCO-listed towns.

Between spring and autumn, livestock are traditionally moved to high mountain pastures where Alpine farming and cheesemaking continue through the warmer months. Visitors may encounter decorated cattle, seasonal festivals and working mountain farms connected with a tradition UNESCO recognised as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2023.

Every 1 August, communities across Switzerland mark the national day with local celebrations. Visitors may encounter speeches, bell-ringing, national flags, folk traditions and hilltop bonfires, while larger towns and resorts often organise public festivities and fireworks.

Basel Fasnacht begins on the Monday after Ash Wednesday and lasts exactly 72 hours, usually placing it in February or March. Visitors experience lanterns, elaborate costumes, fife-and-drum groups and satirical processions during Switzerland’s largest carnival, which UNESCO added to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2017.

Established in 1967, the Montreux Jazz Festival takes place beside Lake Geneva each summer, generally in July. Visitors can hear far more than jazz, with international performers, intimate concerts and free stages forming part of a festival that has grown into one of Switzerland’s best-known music events.

Every summer, usually in August, Locarno becomes a meeting point for filmmakers, industry professionals and cinema audiences. Visitors can see international and independent films across the city, with large open-air screenings in Piazza Grande forming one of the festival’s most distinctive traditions.

Geneva commemorates the failed Savoyard attack of December 1602 with the annual Fête de l’Escalade. Visitors can see period costumes, musicians, cavalry and historical re-enactments filling the Old Town, particularly around the traditional celebrations held in December.

Zürich Opera House offers visitors an intimate setting for internationally recognised opera and ballet. With around 1,100 seats, the theatre is relatively compact for a major opera house, while its programme ranges from established works and new productions to ballet and performances for younger audiences.

Set beside Lake Lucerne, the KKL brings visitors into one of Switzerland’s leading cultural venues. Designed by architect Jean Nouvel, the centre hosts concerts, theatre and other cultural events, while its waterside position places the city’s historic centre and Alpine scenery within easy walking distance.

Peter Zumthor’s thermal baths in Vals turn wellness into an architectural experience built around local quartzite and the warm water of the St Peter spring. Visitors move between indoor and outdoor pools of different temperatures, with stone, light and water deliberately forming part of the experience.

At Kilchberg near Zurich, the Lindt Home of Chocolate gives visitors an interactive introduction to cocoa, chocolate production and the development of Swiss chocolate. Exhibitions, tastings and chocolate-making experiences sit around a centre whose most conspicuous feature is a chocolate fountain more than nine metres high.

Lucerne’s Swiss Museum of Transport gives visitors a hands-on look at mobility and technology across rail, road, water, aviation and space. Interactive displays make it particularly useful for families, while the collection also reflects Switzerland’s long relationship with engineering and public transport.