Best time to visit Switzerland
Every guide's best months, checked against its own thirty-year rainfall: a filled month is recommended, a hatched one has over 250 mm of rain. Most of Switzerland agrees on Jan, Feb, Mar, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Dec.
| Place | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | In words |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interlaken & the Bernese OberlandJune to September for the mountains, December to March for the snow | June to September for the mountains, December to March for the snow | ||||||||||||
| ZermattDecember to April for snow, and July to September for the walking | December to April for snow, and July to September for the walking | ||||||||||||
| LucerneMay to October — and December for the lake in fog, if you like that | May to October — and December for the lake in fog, if you like that | ||||||||||||
| GrindelwaldDecember to March for the snow, and June to September for the walking — the shoulder weeks are quiet and many mountain restaurants close | December to March for the snow, and June to September for the walking — the shoulder weeks are quiet and many mountain restaurants close | ||||||||||||
| ZurichMay to September, and December for the Christmas markets | May to September, and December for the Christmas markets | ||||||||||||
| St. MoritzDecember to March for the snow and the lake events, and July to September for the walking — the shoulder weeks are when the village and most lifts shut | December to March for the snow and the lake events, and July to September for the walking — the shoulder weeks are when the village and most lifts shut | ||||||||||||
| VerbierDecember to April for the snow, and July to September for the walking and the bikes — much of the resort shuts in the weeks between | December to April for the snow, and July to September for the walking and the bikes — much of the resort shuts in the weeks between | ||||||||||||
| Saas-FeeLate November to April for the snow, and July to September for the walking and the summer glacier — the village is at its quietest in the weeks between | Late November to April for the snow, and July to September for the walking and the summer glacier — the village is at its quietest in the weeks between | ||||||||||||
| DavosDecember to March for the snow, and June to September for the walking — the town works all year, which is rare for an Alpine resort | December to March for the snow, and June to September for the walking — the town works all year, which is rare for an Alpine resort |
best month · over 250 mm · the letters are the months, January to December.
The guides in Switzerland
Interlaken & the Bernese OberlandSwitzerlandTwo lakes, three of the great north faces, and a railway that goes to 3,454 metres
ZermattSwitzerlandA car-free village under the most photographed mountain in the world, with skiing in every month
LucerneSwitzerlandA painted wooden bridge over a green river, a lake with steamers on it, and two mountains at the end of the line
GrindelwaldSwitzerlandA village under the north face of the Eiger, with a railway that climbs inside the mountain to the highest station in Europe
ZurichSwitzerlandA banking city with a swimmable river through the middle of it, and a lake that turns into a beach in July
St. MoritzSwitzerlandThe resort that invented winter tourism in 1864 on a bet, in a high dry valley where they race horses on the frozen lake and the sun shines about three hundred days a year
VerbierSwitzerlandA sunny terrace above the Rhône valley with the steepest lift-served terrain in Switzerland behind it, and the Freeride World Tour finishes here for a reason
Saas-FeeSwitzerlandA car-free village in a bowl with thirteen four-thousand-metre peaks standing round it and a glacier that skis all summer
DavosSwitzerlandThe highest town in Europe, built as a tuberculosis sanatorium in thin dry air, now five separate ski mountains and a conference nobody local enjoys