Switzerland has no sea access and still has a swimming culture that would shame many coastal countries. The country counts around 1500 lakes, more than 1800 glaciers, and the largest freshwater reserve in central Europe — six per cent of the continent's drinking water sits here.
The big lakes
- Lake Geneva, 580 square kilometres, the largest alpine lake. North shore with the Lavaux terraces and Chillon, south shore already France. Around 22 degrees in August
- Lake Lucerne, the finest because it reaches in four arms between the mountains. Historic paddle steamers run scheduled services
- Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano in Ticino: Mediterranean, with palms and water at 24 degrees in summer
- Lake Constance in the north-east, shallow and warm, with cycle and boat links to Germany and Austria
- Lakes Thun and Brienz in the Oberland; Brienz is turquoise from glacial silt, and correspondingly cold
Mountain lakes worth the detour
- Caumasee near Flims, turquoise, hidden in forest, with rowing boats
- Oeschinensee above Kandersteg, in the UNESCO area, enclosed by cliffs
- Blausee in the Kander valley, tiny and so clear the bottom stays visible
- Riffelsee near Zermatt — the Matterhorn reflects here, best at dawn with no wind
- Lac de Moiry and Lac de Tseuzier in the Valais, reservoirs in glacier colours
- Lakes Sils and Silvaplana in the Engadine, kite and windsurf territory thanks to the Maloja wind
River and city bathing
The Swiss swim in their cities, in rivers. In Bern you drift down the Aare and climb out at one of the exit ramps; in Zurich there is the Oberer Letten river bath and the wooden Badis by the lake; in Basel you float down the Rhine with a waterproof bag, the Wickelfisch. All free or a few francs — and all with current, so never alone and never without knowing the exits.
Glaciers and high mountains
- Aletsch glacier, 23 kilometres, the longest in the Alps, World Heritage. Best views from the Eggishorn, Riederalp or Bettmeralp
- Morteratsch in the Engadine, with an interpretive trail marking year by year where the ice used to end — more telling than any statistic
- Rhône glacier at the Furka pass, with a tunnel cut into the ice
- Jungfraujoch at 3454 metres as the most comfortable access to the high alpine world
Protected areas
- Swiss National Park in the Grisons, founded in 1914 and thus the oldest in the Alps: 170 square kilometres with no exploitation at all. Ibex, chamois, bearded vultures; leaving the paths is forbidden
- Val Verzasca: emerald water over polished granite and the double-arched stone bridge at Lavertezzo
- Creux du Van in the Jura, a rock amphitheatre 160 metres high, with chamois
- Aletsch forest with thousand-year-old stone pines
When to go and what to watch
- Swimming: July and August. The big lakes reach 22 to 24 degrees; mountain lakes stay below 15
- Hiking: July to September; higher trails stay under snow until late June
- Glaciers: never step onto one without a guide. Crevasses are invisible under snow bridges
- Hiking paths are marked yellow, mountain paths white-red-white, demanding a sure step and proper boots
- Fountain water is drinkable unless marked kein Trinkwasser