best time of year
The best time to visit Switzerland depends upon what’s on your to-do list. Switzerland has a pleasant climate with the peaks of the Alps being snow covered while the lowlands and plains enjoy a temperate climate all through the year.
If you are into adventure sports then the ideal time to visit Switzerland is during the winter which starts from late December and goes on toMarch. It is in this season that you can enjoy snow sports like skiing, snow-boarding and ice-skating at ski resorts like Gstaad and St Moritz as also the little known but very beautiful Val d'Anniviers, located in the French-speaking Switzerland. The more adventurous tourists can also experience tobogganing from Pradaschier near Lenzerheide to Churwalden, which is world’s longest toboggan run on rails. Besides the exhilarating outdoor sports you can get to experience White Christmas winters. But bear in mind that the price of ski resorts are higher in the winters as compared to the rest of the year because of the increase in the number of tourists coming in.
The best time to visit Switzerland for sightseeing and to experience the scenic beauty and varying colours is the summer season (June to September) as the mountain passes are open and you can see the most picturesque and panoramic views at this time of the year. This is also the peak tourist time, so it gets quite crowded. During summer there are a lot of international and local events held which are mostly themed on sports, music and art. One of the well known festivals is the Lucerne Music Festival which last the entire summer. The temperature in summer hardly rises above 26 degrees Celsius, the humidity is low and the air is clear.
Autumn is a good time for hiking in the Swiss Alps as the view from the mountain peaks can take your breath away. The temperature starts to fall around this time of the year and the air gets cooler. May and October are the shoulder months when you will find good hotel bargains as this is time the tourists flow falls considerably.
Climate
The cool Alpine air is the primary attraction that draws tourists like magnets towards the highlands of Switzerland in the summer months. The dry south-easterly foehn that blows in the higher regions, makes for a perfect summer getaway that is cool and yet soothing. The higher you go the colder it gets. For the sporting crowd, the Alpine winter with its inviting valleys and snow-laden hills is home to some of the most famous and luxurious ski resorts in the world. The days are clear, but make no mistake, it is cold![apar] Average temperatures during the summer are normally between 20 and 25°C, while the figure during the winter drops to below freezing point.