Looking for some guidance.. Flying in to Geneva and spending 6 days in country, mostly to hike. My choices are to either go to Bern for a day or two then Murren/Grindelwald in the Alps, or head to Zermatt and hike the area around the Matterhorn. Was wondering if any of you had been to Switzerland and had any recommendations. Unlike hiking in Yosemite and other areas, I'm not having luck finding good trail reviews for the area. Too much commercialization.

I've been to Switzerland. It's one of my favorite places that I've traveled to.

I haven't spent much time in the countryside though, most of my time was spent at Lake Geneva. I'm no stranger to hiking, but I haven't hiked in Switzerland other than in the towns' hilly streets, heh.

What type of hiking are you looking for? Paved hiking paths or rough, off the beaten trail hikes? Steady grades or steep inclines? Do you want to see other people/villages, or do you want to get away from it all and be out in the wild?

I do have a number of travel guides back home. I might be able to look up some recommendations for you.

I'd say the best hike of my life was the glacier point hike in Yosemite, which was an 8-9 hour hike mostly downhill, over 3 waterfalls and tons of scenic views of Yosemite Valley.

I'm taking my wife, and we're both in good but not athletic shape. We'd likely take a train or a hikers shuttle to the top and walk down. I've lived in Georgia/Florida for 20 years, so we don't do well with high altitude ascents. Single track, not paved, and moderate difficulty, I'd say.

The two drivers are photography and the name recognition of the hike, if that makes sense. I've done about 3 hikes that are considered some of the best in the world, and hiking the perimeter of the Matterhorn has a lot of appeal.

Still, we're thinking of a mix of culture and hiking, which is why we may skip the Matterhorn area, which is south, and stick to Bern > Interlaken and Grindelwald/Murren. Bern for the culture and the rest for the sights.

The problem is that I think Zermatt has the best hiking, it's just off the beaten path. I saw this pic on Flickr.. I'd say this type of trail is about perfect (the Matterhorn is in the top left).

Sounds like fun.

I would never have considered doing such a thing before reading that, but it does sound like fun.

Switzerland is awesome! Our High School Jazz band was invited to Montreux for the Jazz festival there. I don't have any information regarding hiking, but, look for something that might say Volksmarch or something like that. It isn't uncommon in Europe to have 5K or 10K walks advertised. Then you can get a neat little badge when you finish the walk. I do have a friend in the travel business so I'll ask him about getting some info for you Jox.


Sent you a PM Joxur. talk to you later.

I've only spent two days in Switzerland, but I fell in love with it very quickly! I didn't backpack around since I was on a whirlwind Eurotrip via Eurorail. I spent a day in Bern and a day in Zurich, both of which are cool cities to visit. If you go to Bern, make sure you hit the Albert Einstein museum. Everyone seemed very friendly and everyone I approached seemed to speak at least some English. It is a little more expensive than countries like the Czech Republic, but it is well worth a visit. You're not going to want to leave!