Geneva - Switzerland on a budget – starting with skiing. Even though April marks the end of the ski season for most resorts, those with slopes above 3 000m stay open. Happily, glamorous St Moritz is one.
And when the snow melts?
That’s when Switzerland comes into its own. For a snow-free break head south to the sassy Italian-speaking city of Lugano. On the lakefront at Bissone, Hotel Lago di Lugano (hotellagodilugano.ch) is well set up for families, with a big pool and free activities.
Nearby attractions include the Alprose chocolate factory (00 41 91 611 8888, alprose.ch), which offers unlimited tasting as part of a museum visit (9am-5.30pm Monday to Friday, 9am-4.30pm Saturday and Sunday), the Monte Generoso rack-railway (00 41 91 630 5111, montegeneroso.ch), and the world’s highest commercial bungy jump: 220m off the Verzasca Dam (00 41 91 780 7800, trekking.ch).
Many high-altitude resorts close down in the May-June “shoulder” season, but there are some bargains to be had at lower, more accessible locations.
Summer heights?
Interlaken, surrounded by majestic mountains and poised between two of Switzerland’s most beautiful lakes, has plenty of summer activities, from sailing to canyoning.
Interlaken is also a good launch-pad for scenic Alpine rail journeys. Highlights include a ride to the highest rail station in Europe – the Jungfraujoch, at 3 454m above sea level – and the world’s steepest rack-railway, which claws a path up Mount Pilatus near Lucerne.
Elsewhere, 23 Alpine resorts – famous names such as Davos and Klosters, and smaller destinations such as Braunwald, Grächen and Nendaz – qualify for the “Families Welcome” label.
Any other ways to burn off energy?
Mountain biking is hugely popular, with routes outlined in detail at mountainbikeland.ch. Bike shops in major resorts offer rental.
Engelberg, a buzzing Alpine resort at the end of a narrow-gauge train line above Lake Lucerne, has several family-friendly trails, including Route 6, an easy ride to the Untertrübsee lake, with classic vistas (280m ascent; 16km).
There’s a host of other possibilities, from canoeing at Interlaken to blading beside Lake Constance. Parc Aventure at Aigle near Montreux (00 41 24 466 3030, parc-aventure.ch) is one of 28 Swiss adventure parks – perfect for children to go monkeying around on rope bridges in the forest.
The park operates from May to October, with opening hours increasing to 9am-6pm daily in July and August.
A hidden gem?
Head off the main tourist trails in the Bernese Oberland to the Haslital region (haslital.ch). Centred on the modest holiday town of Meiringen, it bends over backwards to accommodate families. From 26 pram-accessible walking paths to a mini-golf course in a meadow, teepee adventures and picnic areas with pre-equipped barbecues, they seem to have thought of everything.
Adding to the allure are the vintage steam locomotives of the Brienzer Rothorn railway, demonstrations of rural crafts at the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum, waterfalls and Alpine gorges to explore – and Meiringen itself, once a haunt of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, now with its own Sherlock Holmes Museum (00 41 33 972 1880, sherlockholmes.ch).
Getting around?
With the greatest of ease. Swiss trains are fast, frequent and punctual, connecting seamlessly to buses, boats and cable cars thanks to integrated timetabling.
The Swiss Pass gives unlimited travel on the entire network, including urban trams and buses, as well as free admission to 450 of the best museums in Switzerland.
Cycling is a good way to see the countryside, with hundreds of routes outlined at veloland.ch. Swiss travel passes discount the cost of a day’s cycle hire. Rentabike.ch has details.
More information:
Switzerland Tourism (00 800 1002 0030, MySwitzerland.com/families ). - Weekend Argus
l Teller is author of The Rough Guide to Switzerland.