10 Most Beautiful Places in Switzerland to Visit in 2026

A country this small shouldn’t be able to hold this much beauty. The trains don’t help — running like clockwork, they make it dangerously easy to believe you can see every beautiful corner of Switzerland in a week. You can’t. But you can see ten.

Ten places that have more pull than the rest, and are basically Switzerland distilled: mountains that shape the skyline, valleys where waterfalls never stop, lakes that look too good to be true, and cities that carry their history in plain sight. Each one earns its place, and together they form a map of the most beautiful places in Switzerland to visit: the ones worth planning around, not just passing through.

1. Zermatt and the Matterhorn

The Matterhorn is ridiculous. So perfectly pointy and geometric, it looks like a child’s idea of what a mountain should look like, and yet it’s real and it pulls half of Switzerland’s tourism weight on its own. Zermatt, the village at its feet, is car-free, which makes the air sharp and the streets quieter than you expect for a place that feels permanently on display. Wooden chalets lean into narrow lanes, and fondue pots steam in windows.

Trains connect Zermatt to the rest of the country, with a constant direct line from Visp and connections from Zurich in under four hours.

Summer is for hiking the 5 Lakes Trail, and winter is for skiing — the pistes here link into Italy, so you can have lunch in Cervinia and be back in Zermatt for dinner. Go in July if you want wildflowers and daylight that stretches forever, or in January if you want the town’s streets filled with snow and skiers.

2. Grindelwald & Lauterbrunnen

The Bernese Oberland is Switzerland at full volume, and if I had to pick my favorite place to visit in the country, this would be it.

Lauterbrunnen comes first, a tiny town with seventy-two waterfalls dropping from cliffs on either side. Staubbach Falls is the one everyone photographs, but the real trick is just walking the valley floor, glancing up, realizing half the rock faces are leaking.

Grindelwald sits a few train stops away, bigger, busier, and pointed straight at the north face of the Eiger. A gondola ride away is Bachalpsee, a lake sitting in a bowl of peaks, insanely beautiful to see and hike to during summer if the weather behaves.

Interlaken ties it together, a flat strip between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, often dismissed as just a tourist hub, but it’s the base that makes sense. From here the trails open up — like Augstmatthorn, with its serrated ridge and ibex that refuse to move off the path.

Come in June or September, when the crowds thin and the weather holds. Snow lingers high into summer, but the valleys are already green, and every trail seems designed to prove why this region always lands on any list of the most beautiful places in Switzerland to visit.

• Curious to know more about the Bachalpsee trail? 👉 You’ll find everything in this hiking guide. 

3. Oeschinensee

One gondola ride from Kandersteg and you’re standing at the edge of a lake that looks engineered for exaggeration, an impossible sheet of blue pressed against cliffs that rise like a wall. The water is glacial, fed by waterfalls that fall straight off the cliffs ringing the basin, and in summer the surface is busy with rowboats that drift in slow circles while their passengers debate whether to jump in.

The trail that loops above the lake climbs just enough to give you a balcony view, where the water turns every shade between turquoise and navy depending on the light. Families picnic at the shoreline meadows, cows graze like extras brought in to complete the Alpine set, and the cliffs behind them rise in layers that look sculpted, not accidental.

Trains from Bern or Interlaken reach Kandersteg in under two hours; the gondola station sits a short walk from the platform. Visit in July or August if you want the full alpine meadow version, or in October when the larch trees go orange and the crowds have thinned.

• Want more details and the best viewpoints? 👉 The full hiking guide’s just a click away.

4. St. Moritz and the Engadin Valley

St. Moritz has the reputation: the champagne bars, the fur coats, the winter Olympics, the whole “see and be seen” routine; but the surprise is how quickly the luxury image fades once you step outside town. The Engadin Valley stretches for 80 kilometers, long and high, with lakes strung like beads on a wire and villages that look almost too understated for the neighborhood they keep.

The town itself sits at 1,800 meters, which means the light feels sharper, almost metallic, and in winter the snow sticks around for months. Skiers know it for the slopes and frozen lake polo matches, but in summer the hiking trails are the better secret: ridges above Sils and Silvaplana, larch forests that turn orange in autumn, glacial rivers that cut the valley floor in sudden silver flashes.

Trains arrive on the Bernina line from Chur or Tirano. Come in July for long daylight and high trails, or in September when the larch trees ignite and the valley looks staged for painters.

5. Lucerne

Lucerne is part medieval stage set, part transport hub, and part lakeside resort, yet the pieces lock together neatly. The Kapellbrücke bridge cuts across the Reuss River with its 14th-century roof still painted inside, tourists jamming the walkway while locals glide past on bikes.

The lake dominates everything. Boats leave from the main quay every hour, sliding toward alpine villages and peaks that form the city’s backdrop. Mount Pilatus rises bluntly on one side, Mount Rigi on the other, both reachable by cogwheel railways that seem overengineered until you’re halfway up a 45-degree slope. Even if you don’t climb either, just standing on the lake promenade at dusk, is enough to make you understand why Lucerne always lands on lists of the most beautiful places in Switzerland.

Trains from Zurich arrive in under an hour, which makes Lucerne an easy day trip, though staying overnight gives you the quiet version once the tour groups leave. Best months: May through September, when the boats and mountain railways all run, though December brings the Christmas market glow if you’d rather trade hikes for mulled wine.

6. Montreux and Lake Geneva

The lake is the first thing — wide, steel-colored in the morning, warmer by afternoon, ferries crossing between France and Switzerland so often the timetable looks like a subway schedule. Montreux sits on a long curve of shore, its promenade edged with flowers in summer, joggers threading through strollers, teenagers balanced on the railings with their feet hanging over the water. The hotels are old and unapologetic, Belle Époque façades facing the lake as if nothing else matters.

Walk twenty minutes east and you hit the Château de Chillon, a fortress that smells of damp stone and wood smoke, its towers rising straight from the lake. In July, the Montreux Jazz Festival takes over every open space, the music carrying out over the water until midnight. In October, the Lavaux vineyards above town turn shades of orange and red, and the platforms between the vines fill with people tasting wine poured by the growers themselves.

Trains run direct from Geneva in under an hour, from Zurich in two.

7. Zurich

The central river sets the pace. In summer the Limmat turns into a conveyor belt of swimmers, while office workers lean over the bridges pretending not to be jealous. Trams clang past above, with the old town climbs right off the water. Cobbled lanes twist upward into medieval streets where façades are painted with oversized frescoes, and church towers keep reappearing no matter which corner you take. A few blocks west, Bahnhofstrasse swaps history for gloss, with banks behind granite, watch boutiques behind glass.

Culture goes strong here, too. The Kunsthaus, Zurich’s main art museum, stacks Giacometti sculptures beside Munch and Monet. The Landesmuseum, shaped like a storybook castle, covers Swiss history from knightly armor to Bauhaus furniture.

Trains can get you to Zurich from any location: Lucerne in under an hour, Bern in just over, Zermatt in four. Go June through September if you want to swim, December if you want the Christmas markets. Zurich isn’t the Alps, but it stays on every list of the most beautiful places in Switzerland to visit because it manages to be a hub, a river town, a lakeside resort, and a cultural stop all at once.

8. Bern

Bern is the capital, though it behaves more like a provincial town that lucked into parliament. The old center sits on a loop of the Aare River, medieval arcades running for miles under sandstone arches and cafés tucked into vaulted cellars. The clock tower still pulls crowds on the hour, its figures spinning through a ritual that has been repeating for six centuries, while the Bundeshaus, the federal parliament building, stands at the edge of a terrace that drops straight into the river valley.

The museums spread the city wider: the Zentrum Paul Klee, built by Renzo Piano, holds nearly half of the artist’s work, while the Einstein House shows the rooms where relativity was drafted between lectures.

Bern is on every shortlist of the best places to visit in Switzerland because it delivers both Swiss history and daily life without needing to dress it up. Trains from Zurich take just over an hour, from Lucerne about ninety minutes. Come in June if you want river swimming, or December if you want Christmas lights threaded through medieval streets.

9. Appenzell

Appenzell is a small canton in eastern Switzerland, mostly rural, mostly quiet, and often skipped by people rushing to the high Alps. That’s their mistake. The region folds out into the Alpstein mountains, lower than the giants to the south but steep enough to deliver insane views.

From the trailhead at Wasserauen you climb to Seealpsee, a lake ringed by pastures where cows graze right up to the shore, the water doubling the cliffs above it. Higher you have several magnificent routes: Schäfler ridge runs narrow and exposed, a line of limestone with insane views all around; Saxer Lücke cuts a clean notch through the mountains, framing the peaks behind it as if designed for a postcard.

The villages below still carry the old rhythm. Appenzeller cheese is made here, sold in shops that haven’t updated their signage in decades. Half an hour away, St. Gallen shifts the mood entirely: the Abbey Library is baroque excess, manuscripts and frescoes crammed into a hall that feels like it belongs in a palace, not a provincial city.

June through October is the time to come, when the snow has cleared from the ridges and the trails stay open. For hikers, Appenzell is one the best places to visit in Switzerland.

10. Stoos

Stoos is a village without cars, perched above Lake Lucerne and reached by a funicular so steep it feels like a carnival ride — 110 percent gradient at its sharpest, the cabins tilting automatically so passengers stay upright while the mountain falls away beneath. At the top you step into something quieter: a plateau of fields, chalets, and trails that cut immediately into the ridges.

The headline walk is the Stoos ridge trail, five kilometers of up-and-down that strings together two peaks, Klingenstock and Fronalpstock. On one side the ground drops into the basin of Lake Lucerne, on the other into the valleys of Schwyz; the whole way the view flips back and forth, blue water in one glance, jagged grey in the next. It’s short enough to fit in half a day, sharp enough to feel like an accomplishment, and it explains why Stoos gets counted among the most beautiful places in Switzerland to visit even when stacked against more famous peaks.

Getting here is simple: trains run to Schwyz, buses connect to the Stoos funicular, and the whole trip from Zurich takes under two hours. Best months are June through October, when the ridge is free of snow.

• If this walk sounds like your kind of adventure, 👉 here’s the full Stoos guide to dive into.

FAQs about visiting Switzerland

What is the best time to visit Switzerland for scenery?
Summer (June to September) is hiking season: wildflower meadows, high trails like Schäfler and Bachalpsee are fully open, ferries running late on lakes. Autumn is quieter, ideal for visiting vineyards in Lavaux as they turn gold. Winter means Zermatt, St. Moritz, ski slopes and snowbound towns. Spring is a mix: fewer crowds, but most high routes still closed.

How many days do you need to see the best places in Switzerland?
Ten to twelve days is enough to string together the highlights, including Zermatt and the Matterhorn, Bernese Oberland (Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, Interlaken), Lucerne, Zurich, and a slice of the Engadin Valley or Appenzell. Trains make the circuit realistic, and distances rarely stretch beyond four hours. With less time, pick one region and stay put.

Is it better to visit Switzerland by train or by car?
Both are good options, really. The train network is absurdly good, fast, and scenic, from the regular tracks to the panoramic ones like Glacier Express or Bernina Line that feel like sightseeing trips. Driving helps in rural corners, or if you plan on hiking a lot and/or prefer to get to the trailheads / gondolas early.

Which city is the best place to visit in Switzerland first?
Zurich if you’re flying in: biggest airport, direct trains everywhere. Lucerne if you want a softer landing, with a lake and mountains at the door, although it works exceptionally well as a day-trip from Zurich, too. Geneva works if you’re coming from France. Interlaken is the best place to stay for hikers. Bern is the capital but not a practical entry point.

Are the most beautiful places in Switzerland expensive to visit?
Yes, but not equally. Zermatt and St. Moritz push luxury prices; Interlaken and Lucerne sit mid-range; Appenzell and Stoos are slightly gentler on the budget, for Swiss standards anyway. Trains cost more than buses, but they save time. Switzerland isn’t cheap, but you can adjust how much it hurts.

What is the most beautiful place in Switzerland to visit if you only have one day?
The Bernese Oberland. Starting in Zurich, drive or take the earliest train you can find to Lauterbrunnen and explore its cliffs and waterfalls. Then, take another train or drive to Grindelwald and the Gondola “First” for hiking to Bachalpsee. It will be a long day, but you can still be back in Zurich by night. Another great option is to visit Lucern early in the morning, and then to walk the Stoos ridge trail in the afternoon.

Keep reading: