>>2836298I have family in Switzerland, so visit occasionally.
What I have basically learned is:
1. It's expensive. Hope you have a lot of money if you are paying for your own accommodation and food and travel.
2. It's beautiful. I would say it is peak European aesthetic. Very tall looming snow-covered pointed mountains as far as the eye can see, flat plateaus in the valleys with vibrant green grass and cows with bells, picturesque streams and Alpine flowers in bloom, wooden chalets and huts and traditional German-style Bavarian architecture.
3. Very well-maintained infrastructure and public transport. The trains are great, you can get around smoothly and comfortably on large trains between the major cities, and into the smaller areas, and there are funiculars up a surprising amount of mountains and regular small postal buses going up precarious mountain roads which turn up and are modern, with electronic announcements and TVs showing what stop you are at.
4. They have some of the best marked paths in the world. They maintain them, they're always well sign-posted with name of a peak or nearby village and a distance in km, with waymarker poles in case of snow.
5. Despite the above, there are big mountains, so don't just try to climb the north face of the Eiger by yourself. Go with a tour guide at the right time. But there are enormous areas in the foothills of the alps where you can climb at altitude and see beautiful scenery by yourself, just following the marked paths.
What are you after exactly? In spring there will still be a lot of snow and challenging areas where it could be chest deep and difficult without the right gear.
If you go in summer it is warm, and a lot of the lower areas will be snow free and it's really good hiking. And you have the added bonus of swimming in clear Alpine rivers etc. That's popular in many places, including Bern. You can swim in the Aare, you can get a waterproof bag, swim the whole way. Or lots of places to do river walking.
