Summer and Fall Beckon Families to the Heart of the Swiss Alps

Green meadows of wildflowers with a backdrop of snow-covered Jungfrau and surrounding Alpine peaks make the Bernese Oberland region an ideal setting for a summer or fall family vacation.

Postcard-perfect villages of chalets surrounded by wildflower-filled meadows are framed by snow-capped mountain peaks, but it’s not just the visual pleasures that draw summer visitors. Almost too many experiences vie for your attention here. Hikers can choose trails across high green meadows they can reach by train or cable car, enjoying lofty views without the climb.

In a high alpine valley, Lauterbrunnen is a good base for attractions around the Jungfrau. The town lies between vertical rock walls and waterfalls drop straight into the village from nearly 1,000 feet above.

A rack railroad takes you up to Jungfraujoch to Europe’s highest railway station, where you can walk through the Ice Palace carved from the glacier. At the Schilthorn, a 4-mile cableway climbs to the revolving restaurant Piz Gloria, the setting for scenes in James Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Beneath the dramatic ledges of the Eiger, you can walk from the picturesque village of Grindelwald to two different glaciers. One has an ice cave, and you access the other through Lütschine Gorge, carved into glacial potholes by melting glaciers. At Trümmelbach Falls, near Lauterbrunnen, you can climb through a vertical cave where the rock has been carved into corkscrew shapes by swirling glacial meltwater.

Traveling around Switzerland is easy by train with a free Swiss Family Card. This allows children ages 6–16 to travel free with a parent who holds a Swiss Travel System ticket. Children under 6 always travel free with a parent.