There are many great destinations in the Alps, but are you looking for epic scenery, picturesque villages, iconic trails or sublime lakes? For a bit of everything, here are our recommendations for spending summer in the European Alps.
I’ve never been skiing. It’s something I feel the need to admit to people with shame and remorse. When I do, it’s normally met with a cross between pity and suspicion. How could you live so close to the Alps and not partake in this obligatory winter outing? Do you have no sense of adventure? What do you talk about in January?
But in January, my goal is not to spend more time in the freezing cold, my goal is to find some sun. So, heading over to the Alps to ski has never really fit into the schedule. But what does regularly feature in our travel plans is hiking in the Alps. For a European getaway, you can’t go past the fresh mountain air, exhilarating walking, quirky food and incredible scenery of the Alps in summer.
But the Alps covers so many countries and so much territory. How do you choose where to go? Here are our recommended destinations for hiking in the Alps in summer.
BEST SUMMER IN THE ALPS DESTINATIONS
CHAMONIX, FRANCE
Outdoor adventures in the stunning French Alps
GRINDELWALD, SWITZERLAND
Picture perfect alpine villages on precipitous ledges
MATTERHORN, SWITZERLAND
Challenging, adventurous trails to iconic Swiss mountain vistas
TYROL, AUSTRIA
Rolling hills and picturesque lakes in beautiful Austrian villages
DOLOMITES, ITALY
Dramatic limestone crags and hiking along rolling green meadows
CHAMONIX, FRANCE
Outdoor adventures abound in stunning alpine scenery
With arguably some of the best alpine scenery we’ve ever encountered, Chamonix is an ideal place to hike in the Alps in summer. It is wedged between two steep-sided valleys with cable-cars rising up each side. Walkng trails criss-cross the area and intersect with the cable car stations. This offers the chance to gain height quickly at the beginning of the day or cut short that descent in the evening.
One excellent walk takes you from the cable car station at Plan de l’Aiguille along the Grand Balcon du Nord to the Mer de Glace. Another is an energising hike up to Lac Blanc with impressive views back across the valley to the Mont Blanc massif. Although it takes a brave man to swim in the lake, even in the middle of summer.
Chamonix also offers a treasure trove of other activities; mountaineering, white water rafting, and mountain biking. But the real highlight of this region is the view from the top of the Aiguille du Midi – the closest you can get to Mont Blanc without actually doing it. The journey in the cable car is exciting enough – rising to over 3,800m – but the scenery from the summit is simply breath-taking. In our opinion – with the highest peaks in the Alps on show – it’s the best, easily accessible, single view in the Alps.
If you’re up for a different way to see Chamonix, our friends the Veggie Vagabonds have put together this detailed article about snowshoeing in Chamonix.
UPSIDE
- Best mountain view of the Alps from the top of a cable car
- Good variety of hiking on both sides of the valley
- Great for adventure sports
DOWNSIDE
- Chamonix is beautifully set, but otherwise, it’s not our favourite village in the Alps
GRINDELWALD, SWITZERLAND
Picture perfect alpine villages on precipitous ledges
The Bernese Oberland, set in the heart of Switzerland, is quintessential Alpine scenery. Picture perfect Alpine villages, perched on precipitous ledges, dot the rolling green meadows. Snow and ice crested mountains with vertiginous faces stand proud against the most dramatic of Alpine valleys. This is Alpine scenery at its very best.
The jewel in the Bernese crown is the spectacular Jungfraujoch. A train winds its way through rock up to 3,400m – the highest train station in Europe. From the saddle between the mighty Mönch and Jungfrau mountains, the stunning Aletsch Glacier, a river of snow and ice, stretches into the never-ending distance.
But there are many other jewels. Cable cars whisk you up to any of a hundred paths and ski-lifts take you to some of the finest ridge hiking in the Alps. The precipitous slopes of Mönch, Eiger and Jungfrau form a magnificent backdrop to every hike and every climbers challenge.
But for the view that will have you grabbing your smartphone, you can’t go past the spectacular Lauterbrunnen Valley. The steep gigantic rock sides of the Lauter Brunnen – or “many fountains” – is home to 72 cascading waterfalls and one of the finest vistas in the world
But its not just the hiking in the Alps, the Swiss settlements are beautiful too. Cute rural villages sit high up in the mountains and sophisticated towns rest on the edge of deep blue lakes. With their well preserved medieval architecture, it means whenever you are tired of walking, there are plenty of other things to do in Lucerne, Interlaken and Brienz.
UPSIDE
- The stunning scenery of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains
- Lauterburnnen valley – the most beautiful we’ve seen in Europe
- Magnificent Swiss villages and chalets perched on precipitous ledges
DOWNSIDE
- Switzerland is expensive – time for that second mortgage
MATTERHORN, SWITZERLAND
Challenging, adventurous trails to iconic Swiss mountain vistas
Yes, it’s not exactly a traditional town and yes, it’s full of tourists year-round. But Zermatt is a great place to base yourself for hiking in the Alps in summer. Set below the iconic Matterhorn, its impeccably cute, full of wooden houses, cuckoo clocks and rösti. The no-car zone keeps Zermatt feeling more local and relaxed than the crowds would otherwise suggest.
Cable cars, railways and funiculars rise out of Zermatt and up the steep-sided valley to a large array of walking paths. The Glacier Paradise cable car rises to the summit of Klein Matterhorn, allowing you to walk on the snowy summit. Halfway up a magnificent adventurous trail heads off to Hörnlihütte, a mountain hut where climbers get ready to ascend the Matterhorn in the early hours.
The cog railway up to Gornergrat passes Swiss forests, mountain lakes, rocky ravines and beautiful old bridges. Once at the top you’ll be presented with 29 mountains over 4000m and the incredible Gorner Glacier. Any of the many walks back down offer magnificent views of the Matterhorn and the glaciers that run along the valleys.
Additionally, a short train ride from Zermatt, brings you to a cable car that ascends Eggishorn, a 2212-metre-high viewpoint offering stunning views of the 23-kilometre-long Aletsch glacier. From here you can take one of the many walking paths either curling around the mountain, across the glacier or clinging to suspension bridges. There’s also a fantastic mountain-bike path stretching all the way back down to the cable car station at the bottom. Or if all that sounds too much, slowly float down under a paraglide.
UPSIDE
- The exhilarating walk up to Hörnlihütte and views from Gornergrat
- The extensive public transport makes getting around easy without a car
- The amazing sight of the Aletsch Glacier as it meanders down the valley
DOWNSIDE
- Zermatt is tucked under the valley wall, restricting views form the town
- It’s an expensive place – time for that third mortgage
TYROL, AUSTRIA
Rolling hills and picturesque lakes in beautiful Austrian villages
The Austrian Tyrol region offers a different side to the hiking in the Alps in summer. The peaks are less dramatic, but the rolling hills, alpine flowers and picturesque lakes will have you singing along to the Sound of Music soundtrack playing in your head. Innsbruck is a great cosmopolitan city to base yourself in. From here you can walk in beautiful alpine scenery, climb steep rock faces or try your hand at a game of golf.
The Lüsens – Westfalenhaus hike is a 5km circuit with an ascent of 638 metres. It’s a fantastic walk that showcases some of the best variety this area has to offer. The walk starts above Innsbruck and meanders through a beautiful native forest beneath the rock face of the Lüsener Fernerkogel. There are a number of rifugios to stop at and feast on some traditional Austrian sausage and generously sized beers.
In this part of the world, most tourists make a beeline for Hallstatt, home of Instagram greatness. It’s easy to see why it’s so popular. Perfectly positioned between lake and mountain, Hallstatt – with its iconic church – was made to be photographed. Dating back to the iron age, Hallstatt has been beckoning tourists ever since. When you run out of things to do in town – and this won’t take long – explore some of the fantastic lakes and intriguing ice caves in the area.
UPSIDE
- Rolling hills, open spaces and a Sound of Music scenery
- Cosmopolitan Innsbruck and the very pretty Hallstatt
- Excellent, but easy walks in rolling alpine countryside
DOWNSIDE
- More foothills than big hills and less dramatic mountain peaks than other areas
- The Austrian food scene can get very repetitive
DOLOMITES, ITALY
Dramatic limestone crags and hiking along rolling green meadows
The Italian Dolomites didn’t appear on our hiking in the Alps in summer radar for quite some time. In our mind there were more impressive regions. But we were wrong. The Dolomites really won us over.
The Dolomites don’t have the height and grandeur of the snow-covered French peaks or cute villages and steep-sided valleys of the Swiss Alps. But what makes the Italian Dolomites spectacular are the dramatic limestone crags that launch themselves out of rolling green meadows. As the sun rises in the early morning or sets in the evening these crags come alive in beautiful shapes and colours and are perfect for budding and professional photographers alike.
The different shaped crags offer fantastic walking opportunities whether you’re circumnavigating the mighty Sassolungo massif, struggling your way up to the Vajolet Towers or hiking Tre Cime. Since the mountains are lower than their French and Swiss counterparts, you get the added satisfaction of actually getting to the top of many of them.
The Dolomites are also the home to the Via Ferrata, with many of the best routes in the world. If you’re more adventurous than us, you can clip yourself onto iron railings embedded in the rock and work your way along these “iron routes” as the valley floor sits thousands of meters below you. It looks a steep terrifying affair.
The last, and possibly best, bonus of the Dolomites is the huts. The Italian mountain rifugios are fantastic. I lost count the number of times we ate great food and downed a well-earned beer while staring at stunning scenery from the balcony of an atmospheric rifugio. For half the price of their Swiss counterparts, instead of saving money, we simply drank twice as much.
UPSIDE
- Dramatic limestone mountains rising from green meadows
- Rocks that glow in the changing light
- Vast range of interconnecting paths taking you to the tops
- Excellent huts with even better food and drink
DOWNSIDE
- Not as high as other alpine areas so much less snow
- Public transport links are not as good as Switzerland
BEST OF HIKING IN THE ALPS IN SUMMER
BEST OVERALL SCENERY / The vertiginous Lauterbrunnen valley backed by mighty mountains of Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau is some of the best scenery we’ve encountered anywhere.
BEST SINGLE VIEWPOINT / The endless rows of needles from top of the cable car at Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix provides the best individual viewpoint in the Alps and a fun way to see it.
BEST VALUE FOR MONEY / There’s no competition here, the Italian Dolomites are easily the best value for money destination in the Alps with both food and facilities reasonably priced.
BEST TRANSPORT LINKS / The interconnectivity of trains, cable cars and funiculars in the Bernese Oberland make travelling around the area a breeze without your own wheels.
BEST RIFUGIO / Rifugio Dreizinnenhütte at Tre Cime has delicious food, cold beer and with the towering rock faces staring back at you, it also has one of the best refugio views we’ve seen.
BEST OVERALL HIKING / The Italian Dolomites gets our pick for the best hiking in the Alps in summer thanks to superb views, good facilities, easy to navigate paths and excellent food.
WHERE NEXT?
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We’ve spent a lot of time in the Dolomites exploring many of the areas fantastic hiking trails. Here’s some more reading from the area you might enjoy:
Really useful info Paul. When we do plan to go to Switzerland I will refer back to this blog! Great pics too!
Thank you very much. You’re in for a treat if you haven’t been to Switzerland before. Let me know if you need any planning tips when you’re ready to go.
Chamonix looks fantastic! What is the dining scene like in Chamonix in the Summer? Are there good cafes and restaurants open or is it a bit quiet?
Yes, Chamonix was amazing, but the best bit about it is the views, not so much the dining scene. Most things are open in summer but it’s not exactly a dining destination. I guess that happens in popular tourist spots though.
Hi. Amazing site! Up for giving detailed advice?
Dad & Grad (son) are celebrating high school graduation, 18th birthday, off to university etc. We are both fit and enjoy hard-core hiking. We loved our 4 day hut-to-hut experience in Swiss Alps (Bernese Oberland) a few summers ago, and also enjoyed some basic self-guided via ferrata there. We have 6 hiking days. Thinking: 3 days/ 2 nights of refuges; then another 3 days of multi sports (interested in: via ferrata; kayaking; possibly mountain biking).
We want to hike in Northern Italy – but the time available is the most crowded time – end July/ beg August. The only thing we have done is book flights to MILAN (that was the affordable flight). Flight arrives at ~16:00. Want to be sure to be hiking early next morning, so want to travel to mountains immediately. But don’t necessarily care if get to mountain location at 20:00 or 22:00 if the next days will be much better. Questions:
1- I know that the Italian Alps / Valle D’Aosta is closer to Milan. But should we travel a bit more and make it to the Dolomites area? Where?
2- Should I do this all w trains / buses (as I would in Switzerland) or should I consider a rental car?
Thanks!!
Hi TG,
What a great birthday present.
I have to confess to never having walked in the Valle D’Aosta region although seeing as it backs onto the Swiss Alps and the Matterhorn, I suspect it will be similar, though less impressive scenery, than the Bernese Oberland.
The Dolomites offers a completely different landscape and is the home of Via Ferrata, with many of the best routes in the world. In my opinion the Eastern Dolomites, based around Canazei and Cortina, has better and more expansive scenery than the Brenta Dolomites, and also has a better range of beginner and intermediate Via Ferrata. You can also kayak on Lake Misurina (near Cortina) and paraglide from a number of view-points. One word of warning: The Eastern Dolomites will be very busy that time of year, so if solitude is more important, then perhaps stick to the Valle D’Aosta.
I think you should consider renting a car. Car rental is not that expensive in Italy and the public transport network is not nearly as well connected, or regular, as it is in Switzerland. It’s around 4 hours drive from Milan Airport to the Eastern Dolomites. So, if you land at 4pm you should be able to get there by 10pm. If that sounds rushed, you could spend a night on the northern shore of Lake Garda (2h15 drive from Milan), go kayaking and swimming in the morning and complete the last 1h45 next morning before hiking somewhere.
Let me know if you need any more advice.
You have got me excited about going to the Alps again…….
Thanks
Mark
Love the intro about you not being a skier! Time to think about snowshoeing and winter hiking in January/February. ????????
Great blog, both informative and inspirational. Brilliant format too!
Thanks, Luke & Nell. We’re actually skiing right now. I’m certainly not a natural but I managed to spend a lot more time upright today so that was quite nice! I’ve been reading about your snowshoeing adventures, it’s definitely something we would be in to. I love this part of the world so it would be great to have another excuse to go to the Alps more in winter. Thanks for stopping by!
What a great find! I spent a few months in Zermatt last summer because it has plenty of functioning gondolas. My “hiking” is more of a spirited jog/walk up very early morning and a ride down. If you want to keep your knees, it’s the only way to get those hill miles.
While I’m not keen to spend more time in Zermatt (summer scene is mostly day tourists as opposed to winter when ppl go for a month at a time), I appreciated how easy it was to get to Zermatt and how reliable the ski lifts were for getting me back down the mountains.
Can you recommend an area where I could set up for a month (august) that has plenty of ski lifts/gondolas that are still operating daily? It’s really hard to tell even on ski sites if and when lifts are open during the summer. The Swiss do seem to have that organized better than any of the French?Italian sites I’ve combed.
Hi Kate, Glad you enjoyed our post. As you mention by far the best country for interconnected gondolas, trains and public transport is Switzerland. Seeing as you have tried Zermatt you could consider Lauterbrunnen. The Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland is magnificent and Lauterbrunnen is probably best placed to explore the area. Another option is the Val Gardena valley in the Dolomites. There are quite a large number of cable cars that go up and down either side of the valley, taking you up to a number of different massifs. There are no trains but the bus network does allow you to get over a couple of passes and into other valley. But it is not as easy as Switzerland. Hope that helps.
Thanks Mark!
Hi Kate, Actually one further thought is that the Lauterbrunnen valley is very steep so walking up directly from the town can be tricky. You may want to consider Grindelwald as a base instead. It is not far from Lauterbrunnen and may be a better for walking up directly from town and then using the cable car back down.
Love your blog! So insightful and absolutely gorgeous pics!
Thanks Roxy, glad you found it useful.