Switzerland family holidays
Switzerland may be the best family destination in Europe: short distances, trains with space for prams and grandparents, lakes for swimming and mountains reached by cable car. We use two or three bases so nobody lives out of a suitcase.
Plan it with usWhat we'd suggest
Summer holidays
May–June school holidays are ideal: green valleys, long days, open mountain lifts.
For grandparents
Cable cars, boats and trains make the high Alps accessible without long walks.
Food
Indian and Jain meals arranged in advance at partner hotels and restaurants.
Planning Switzerland from India
- When to go
- June to September for green valleys, hiking and lake days. December to March for snow and skiing. April–May and October are quieter, with some mountain lifts closed for maintenance.
- Getting there
- Direct flights connect Delhi and Zurich in around eight to nine hours. Within the country we usually travel by first-class rail, with luggage forwarded between hotels.
- Visa & entry
- Indian passport holders need a visa for Switzerland (Schengen). Rules and processing times change, so we confirm the current requirements when you book, prepare the document checklist with you, and help schedule any appointments.
Places worth the time
Jungfraujoch
A cogwheel railway tunnels through the Eiger and Mönch to Europe's highest railway station, 3,454 metres above sea level. From the Sphinx terrace the Aletsch Glacier, the longest in the Alps, curves south for more than twenty kilometres, and on clear days the view reaches the Black Forest.
Lucerne and Mount Pilatus
Lucerne's covered Chapel Bridge, painted gables and Lion Monument sit at the head of a fjord-like lake ringed by peaks. A paddle steamer to Alpnachstad connects with the world's steepest cogwheel railway up Pilatus, and Mount Titlis, with its revolving cable car and glacier, is under an hour away by road.
Grindelwald First
A long gondola lifts you above Grindelwald to First, where a steel cliff walk hangs off the rock face beneath the Schreckhorn. An easy hour on foot leads to the Bachalpsee, a small lake whose still water mirrors the Bernese peaks, and the descent can be made on scooter-bikes or the First Flyer zip line.
Lauterbrunnen Valley
Sheer limestone walls rise almost a thousand metres on either side of this valley floor, and more than seventy waterfalls spill from them. Staubbach Falls drops beside the village church, while Trümmelbach Falls thunders inside the mountain itself, carrying meltwater from the Jungfrau through a series of lit corkscrew chambers.
Zermatt and the Matterhorn
Zermatt is reached only by train, and its lanes of dark larch chalets lead toward the Matterhorn's unmistakable pyramid. The Gornergrat railway climbs to a ridge facing twenty-nine summits above four thousand metres, while the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable car rises higher still, to an ice palace and year-round snow.
Six days in Switzerland: Day 1, Zurich · Arrival and transfer to Lucerne · Day 2, Lucerne · Lake and Mount Pilatus · Day 3, Mount Titlis · Glacier and snow · Day 4, Interlaken · Across the Brünig Pass · Day 5, Jungfraujoch · Top of Europe · Day 6, Departure · Interlaken to Zurich. See the day-by-day plan →
- Paris, the Alps and ItalyA first European journey done properly: four nights in Paris, the Swiss Alps by train, then Venice and Rome.
- Summer in the Swiss AlpsLakes, cable cars and mountain villages across three bases by scenic train — made for children and grandparents alike, with the Glacier Express as an option.
Is Switzerland expensive for a family?
It is a premium destination. A Swiss Travel Pass and the right base hotels keep costs predictable — we share options at different levels.
