A Month in Switzerland with Kids

Kids ages: 9 & 8

Time of visit: July/August

We had always wanted to take a longer trip to Europe as a family that felt more immersive and enriching, one that truly felt more like “living” in the destination rather than just visiting briefly. Switzerland had the perfect blend of outdoor pursuits, rich culture, an efficient transit system, and excellent and well-regarded summer camps, which allowed us the opportunity to spend quality time together as a family while also enjoying a week of exploring without the kids. Below is our itinerary for the dreamy month we spent here starting with family time in Geneva and the Vaud Alps, then roaming and dining our way through Eastern and Central Switzerland, and ending our trip at a lovely family Palace-designated resort in Haute-Savoie, France.

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WEEK 1 | GENEVA AND VAUD ALPS

After arriving at the bustling Geneva airport, we made our way to the elegant Mandarin Oriental Geneva (read Stay Review) for the night, where we had booked two interconnecting rooms. After resting and recharging, we spent a whirlwind 24 hours exploring the charming city of Geneva, immersing ourselves in its unique culture and lovely parks and playgrounds. With our stopover in the city complete, we headed back to the airport to pick up our rental car, eagerly anticipating the scenic drive to our lovely chalet rental nestled in the breathtaking Vaud Alps.

*View of Villars-sur-Ollon from chalet apartment*

Villars-sur-Ollon, our serene and picturesque base in the stunning Vaud Alps, is truly a hidden gem of a mountain ski resort town situated conveniently just 45 minutes from the captivating region of Montreux and the sparkling shores of Lake Geneva. We dedicated the remaining days of our week to fully immerse ourselves in the breathtaking outdoor hiking areas, eagerly exploring the nearby attractions, and delighting in the numerous offerings for families that this charming small town has to offer. We rented a quaint chalet apartment through Interhome which offered spectacular mountain views, especially at sunset.

Some of the unforgettable highlights of this leg of our journey included:

Taking the gondola and scenic mountain train up to Bretaye for picturesque hikes
Treetop adventure course at Parc Diablerets
Touring the breathtaking Glacier 3000 and riding the alpine coaster
Visiting the town’s impressive playgrounds and community center pool
Taking a fun, educational tour of the Bex Salt Mines in a tiny underground train
Visiting Barryland, a museum and play space dedicated to Switzerland’s beloved Saint Bernards (including dogs and puppies onsite)

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WEEK 2 | VAUD ALPS AND DAY CAMP

In our second week here, the kids started day camp and we explored more of the Vaud Alps as well as nearby destinations.

Some of our highlights of this leg of the trip included:

The kids’ day camp — they absolutely loved this experience (French language instruction each morning, activities and excursions each afternoon; read separate post on this topic here) and we still all got to spend mornings and evenings together
Train trip to Montreux — walking the lakeside promenade nicknamed the “Swiss Riviera” and having courtside refreshments at the Montreux Racquet Club — this city was lovely and we would have loved to spend more time here
Visiting Gstaad — having tea and coffee at Alpina Gstaad
Lunch at Villars Golf Club with panoramic mountain views
Daytrip to Gryon and scenic lunch spot, Cafe Gryon
Swiss National Day in Villars — like 4th of July but in Switzerland, complete with live entertainment, festival, and fireworks
Dinners and happy hours at Villars Palace, Il Peppino, and BeAr’s Bar at Chalet RoyAlp

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WEEK 3 | EASTERN SWITZERLAND AND BOARDING CAMP

For the second week of camp, the kids transitioned to a boarding/residential program, allowing us the chance to delve deeper into the beauty of Switzerland, venturing out to the eastern part of the country. Our first destination was Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau, renowned as the world's smallest city. This charming locale is home to a boutique luxury hotel and Michelin 3-star gourmet restaurant, which consistently features on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Highlights while here included:

Dinner at the gourmet restaurant
Sipping champagne in the hotel lounge and poolside
Our short stop in Gruyere on the way here, exploring the mind-bending Geiger Museum with original artwork, including Academy-Award winning sets and costumes from Alien and Predator movies

Our next overnight destination: Bad Ragaz, a town famed for its thermal spas and five-star hotel, the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, where we stayed for three nights. We loved this town and resort, and wish we would have stayed here longer (especially to be able to try the Michelin 3-star restaurant, which was closed during our stay dates).

Highlights while here included:

Wandering around Bad Ragaz during the Bad RagArtz Outdoor Art and Sculpture Festival, which takes place every 3 years
Excellent dining — three restaurants at the hotel have been awarded Michelin stars (a 3-star, 2-star, and 1-star)
Spending time at the indoor pool and thermal spa complex
Daytrip to Bregenz, Austria and Werdenburg, Switzerland, with a brief stop in Lichtenstein
Visiting St. Moritz and riding the Bernina Express panoramic train — in hindsight, we would have skipped the expensive train ride and just spent more time in St. Moritz

Our third and final destination for our third week in Switzerland was Lucerne, with the Mandarin Oriental Palace Lake Luzern as our base for three nights. This portion of our trip was the only letdown — the hotel did not live up to the service and dining standards we have experienced at other Mandarin Oriental properties, which was disappointing, and we saw everything we wanted to see in Luzern in a day. However, highlights of this leg of the trip included:

Day trip to Basel and riverside lunch at Hotel le Trois Rois and visiting the art museum — Basel was a fascinating town, we would have loved to spend more time there
Day trip to Zurich and lunch at the Restaurant at the Dolder Grand (restaurant awarded 2 Michelin Stars; hotel recently named one of the World’s 50 Best Hotels)
Walking the promenade around Lake Luzern while eating ice cream and visiting the old bridge

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WEEK 4 | HAUTE-SAVOIE

Our final partial week in Switzerland was spent in the Haute-Savoie on the French side of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva). Our base for this leg of the trip was the Hotel Royal Evian in (read Stay Review), a Palace-designated 5-star spa hotel located in Evian-les-Bains that epitomizes what it means to be a luxury family-friendly resort. Highlights here included:

The Kids Club (plus Baby Club and Teens’ Club) — complimentary for hotel guests 3+ and runs from 9am-10pm with a sprawling complex and daily program of activities and excursions to nearby attractions that rivaled our kids’ Swiss summer camp experience
Day trip to Lausanne via ferry exploring The Olympic Museum — highly interactive family-friendly museum, easy travel logistics, and lovely lake-side town — would have loved to spend more time in Lausanne
The palatial Belle Epoque Suite we were upgraded to on arrival (complimentary, courtesy of booking through Amex Travel) — lovely antiques, floor-to-ceiling windows, and two furnished balconies overlooking the lake
The coolest in-room sofabed we have ever seen — it converted to a pullout double bunk bed with a separate bed for each child (located in an alcove adjacent to the main bedroom)
The onsite evian®SPA facilities and indoor pool/outdoor thermal spa complex — spa even offered treatments for families and children
Exploring the charming town of Evian-les-Bains and taking the funicular to the lower village, especially on bustling market day

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GOOD TO KNOW

Tourists staying at hotels or holiday rentals in the Vaud Alps receive a complimentary Carte Bienvenue, which provides free and discounted access to area attractions — this saved us several hundreds of dollars during our time here by planning our itinerary around days/times when attractions were free or discounted. Train travel in Switzerland is ideal, but getting up to the mountain towns can be a bit tricky without a car so be sure to check transit options when booking your trip . Booking a rental car at Geneva airport on the French side versus the Swiss side can yield substantial savings, especially for long trips — be sure to check out both options. Speeding of any type is a big no-no in Switzerland and traffic cameras are everywhere, unmarked, so be sure to stay under the speed limit at all times or risk getting expensive speeding tickets six months after you get home (or even court summons with possible jail time if caught speeding excessively). English is spoken widely in Western Switzerland (where French is primarily spoken) but is hit and miss in Eastern and Southern Switzerland (where German and Italian are primarily spoken). Switzerland is quite costly so plan to spend more here than you would in many countries on things like groceries, gas, restaurants, train travel, activities, etc..