The experiences worth building a trip around
Some Alps experiences are worth every euro; others are overrated. Here are the ones we'd plan a trip around, and exactly where to base yourself for each.
Scenic train journeys
The Alps invented the scenic railway. These bases put you on the platform for the cog trains, panorama lines, and summit railways worth a whole day.
Zermatt
Valais
Gornergrat cog railway and the eastern end of the Glacier Express.
Grindelwald
Bernese Oberland
The Eiger Express and the cog trains up to the Jungfraujoch.
Interlaken
Bernese Oberland
The junction for the Jungfrau lines and the GoldenPass to Lucerne.
Lucerne
Central Switzerland
Where the GoldenPass and the Mt. Rigi cog railway begin.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Werdenfelser Land, Bavaria
The cog railway and cable car to the Zugspitze summit.
Mittenwald
Werdenfelser Land, Bavaria
The Karwendelbahn and the scenic line over to Innsbruck.
St. Moritz
Engadine, Graubünden
The start of both the Bernina Express and the Glacier Express.
Gstaad
Saanenland, Bernese Oberland
On the GoldenPass panorama line down to Lake Geneva.
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Alpine lakes
Turquoise water under limestone walls, for swimming, rowing, or simply staring. The lakes worth basing a whole trip beside.
Lake Bled
Upper Carniola
An island church and a cliff-top castle over glacial water.
Hallstatt
Salzkammergut
A lake-mirrored village wedged between water and cliff.
Annecy
Haute-Savoie
Europe's cleanest big lake, ringed by a medieval old town.
Tegernsee
Miesbach, Bavaria
A genteel Bavarian lake of breweries and shoreline paths.
Zell am See
Salzburgerland
A warm, swimmable lake beneath the Kitzsteinhorn glacier.
Lake Bohinj
Triglav National Park
Bled's wilder, quieter big sister inside the national park.
St. Wolfgang
Salzkammergut
A pilgrimage village on the Wolfgangsee, a cog railway climbing above it.
Ridgeline hikes & big views
Cable-car-served ridgelines and valley trails where the scenery does the heavy lifting. Bases with the best walking from the door.
Lauterbrunnen
Bernese Oberland
A valley of 72 waterfalls under the Jungfrau's wall.
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Dolomites
Tre Cime and the Dolomites' most famous rock theatre.
Ortisei
Val Gardena, Dolomites
Lifts straight onto the Seceda ridge and the Alpe di Siusi.
Chamonix
Haute-Savoie
The Aiguille du Midi and the trails beneath Mont Blanc.
Oberstdorf
Oberallgäu, Bavaria
Germany's southern trailhead into the Allgäu high routes.
Logar Valley
Kamnik-Savinja Alps
A glacial amphitheatre at the quiet end of Slovenia.
Mürren
Bernese Oberland
A cliff balcony face-on to the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.
Selva di Val Gardena
Val Gardena, Alto Adige
Lifts straight to the Sella and the Sassolungo at the head of Val Gardena.
Madonna di Campiglio
Brenta Dolomites, Trentino
The spiky Brenta Dolomites and their pioneering via ferrata.
Mountain tables & hut lunches
Rifugio platters, fondue by the fire, and the long lunches that anchor an Alps day. Where the food is reason enough to come.
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Dolomites
Dolomite rifugi where lunch is the main event.
Ortisei
Val Gardena, Dolomites
Ladin dumplings and sunny mountain huts in Val Gardena.
Megève
Haute-Savoie
Savoyard fondue in France's most polished mountain village.
Zermatt
Valais
Raclette and high-altitude dining under the Matterhorn.
Kitzbühel
Tirol
Hearty Tirolean tables in a storybook medieval town.
Courchevel
Trois Vallées, Savoie
The Alps' densest concentration of fine mountain dining.
Courmayeur
Aosta Valley
Aostan cooking and rifugi beneath Mont Blanc's Italian glaciers.
Lech
Arlberg, Vorarlberg
A famously high-end dining scene at the head of the Arlberg.
Thermal spas & soaks
Where to ease tired legs after a day on the trails, the Alps' great soaking towns.
Car-free & rail-easy
Leave the rental behind. These bases are reached and enjoyed almost entirely on foot and rail.
Zermatt
Valais
Entirely car-free. Arrive by train, get around on foot.
Wengen
Bernese Oberland
A car-free shelf village reached only by cog railway.
Lauterbrunnen
Bernese Oberland
Park once; the whole valley runs on cable car and rail.
Grindelwald
Bernese Oberland
A walkable base wired into the Jungfrau lift network.
Hallstatt
Salzkammergut
Best reached by train and ferry, then walked end to end.
Lake Bled
Upper Carniola
Frequent buses from the airport; a lake you loop on foot.
Mürren
Bernese Oberland
A car-free cliff village reached only by cable car or mountain train.
Saas-Fee
Valais
Car-free by rule; cars stay in the garages at the village edge.
Christmas markets & winter magic
December in the Alps, glühwein, lantern-lit squares, and the year's best markets.
Salzburg
Salzburg
Baroque squares and one of Europe's oldest Christkindlmärkte.
Innsbruck
Tirol
Markets under the Golden Roof with the Nordkette above.
Munich
Bavaria
The grand Marienplatz market and a dozen smaller ones.
Ljubljana
Central Slovenia
A riverside old town strung with winter lights.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Werdenfelser Land, Bavaria
An alpine market beneath the Zugspitze.
Mittenwald
Werdenfelser Land, Bavaria
A painted village that turns lantern-lit in December.
Fairytale castles & storybook towns
Mad King Ludwig's palaces and the painted villages around them, the Alps at their most storybook.
Füssen
Ostallgäu, Bavaria
The launch point for Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.
Hallstatt
Salzkammergut
So photogenic it was copied wholesale, building by building.
Lake Bled
Upper Carniola
An island church and a medieval cliff castle in one view.
Oberammergau
Ammergau Alps, Bavaria
Frescoed Lüftlmalerei houses and woodcarvers' workshops.
Mittenwald
Werdenfelser Land, Bavaria
Painted facades under the Karwendel's limestone wall.
Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria
The Eagle's Nest and the fjord-like Königssee below.
Castelrotto
Alto Adige (South Tyrol)
A frescoed South Tyrolean village beneath the Alpe di Siusi.
Appenzell
Appenzellerland
Hand-painted facades below the Alpstein's cliffs.
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