Switzerland in Summer

Every June, without fail, someone planning a trip to Switzerland in summer asks me whether they should pack a puffer jacket.

I always hesitate before answering because, honestly, it is one of the hardest questions anyone asks me. Not because I don’t know Switzerland, but because Switzerland has an extraordinary ability to change its mind. I’ve photographed families wrapped in jumpers on a June morning when the temperature barely climbed above 12°C (54°F). Four days later I found myself standing in exactly the same spot in 36°C (97°F) sunshine, wondering why I’d thought jeans were a sensible idea. If you’re travelling around Switzerland, I also recommend checking the MeteoSwiss forecast every morning rather than relying on the forecast you looked at a week before your flight. Mountain weather changes quickly, and a little flexibility can completely transform your day

The answer I usually give is simple. Pack the puffer jacket, but choose one that folds down into its own little pouch. If Switzerland decides to throw you a cool mountain morning or a rainy afternoon, you’ll be delighted it’s there. If not, it will quietly live at the bottom of your suitcase for the entire trip. What I wouldn’t do is build your expectations of a Swiss summer around that jacket, because what the weather does is only half the story. The more interesting question is how Switzerland responds when the temperature suddenly climbs.

How Switzerland in Summer Beats the Heat

One of the things I have come to love about living here is how calmly the country responds when summer arrives. It simply adapts. By lunchtime you’ll notice shutters pulled down across apartment buildings to keep the sun out. Windows stay firmly closed until the evening air begins to cool. Then, almost imperceptibly, the whole country seems to migrate towards the water. The first few summers I lived here I genuinely wondered where everyone disappeared to after work. Now I know they’re at the lake, floating down the river or meeting friends at their local Badi. On particularly hot afternoons you’ll even see office workers taking a longer lunch break for a swim. Afterwards, they simply return to work and finish a little later. It struck me as wonderfully sensible. Rather than spending the day complaining about the heat, they simply reorganise the day around it.

Where to Cool Off During a Swiss Summer

Visitors often spend months planning mountain railways, scenic train journeys and famous viewpoints. Yet, more often than not, it’s the afternoon swim in Lake Brienz or the impromptu picnic by the river that becomes the story they tell when they get home. In Lucerne, I always encourage people to spend an afternoon at the Lido instead of squeezing in another attraction. Watching local families swim in the lake while paddleboarders drift past tells you far more about Swiss life than another hour in a queue ever will.

Around Lake Brienz, the water is so brilliantly turquoise that people often think the photographs have been edited. They haven’t. On a hot afternoon it is almost impossible to resist finding a safe place to jump in, and I would argue you shouldn’t even try. In the Jungfrau Region, Grindelwald’s outdoor pool is perfect for families, while Wengen’s pool enjoys one of the finest mountain backdrops in the country. Lauterbrunnen somehow manages to make an ordinary afternoon swim feel extraordinary simply because you’re surrounded by sheer cliffs and waterfalls. I sometimes think visitors forget that Switzerland isn’t just a country of mountains. It’s a country built around water, and the locals have been making the most of it for generations.

My Favourite Summer Day in Switzerland

If you asked me for my favourite summer activity in the whole country, though, I probably wouldn’t tell you to catch another cable car. I’d send you to Thun. Hire a boat, pack a picnic and spend the afternoon drifting down the Aare towards Bern. The current does most of the work. You’ll float through some of the clearest water you’ll ever see, passing swimmers, paddleboarders and families enjoying exactly the same thing. Once the boat trip finishes, it’s only a short walk uphill to the tram stop. From there, it’s an easy tram ride into Bern’s Old Town, where I’d happily spend the rest of the afternoon wandering the arcades, stopping for dinner and soaking up the atmosphere before catching the train back to wherever your temporary home is.

It isn’t particularly famous, and perhaps that’s why I love it so much. You won’t find it topping many “must-do” lists, which is precisely its charm. By the time you reach Bern, it feels less like a tourist attraction and more like you’ve accidentally wandered into an ordinary Swiss summer’s day.

Slow Down and Enjoy Summer Like a Local

I think that’s probably the biggest lesson Switzerland has taught me over the years. Visitors often arrive determined to conquer the country. They try to squeeze another mountain, another village and another scenic viewpoint into every spare hour because they’ve travelled so far to get here. I completely understand the temptation, but summer in Switzerland rewards a gentler rhythm. Head into the mountains early while the air is still cool. Enjoy a long lunch without constantly checking the time, leave space for an unplanned swim, then wander through town in the evening when everyone reappears after the heat of the day. Ironically, you’ll probably remember those slower moments long after you’ve forgotten which train you caught to which viewpoint.

What to Pack for Switzerland in Summer

So, should you pack the puffer jacket?

Absolutely.

Just don’t let it define what you expect from a Swiss summer. Pack the lightweight jacket, but leave room for a swimsuit, a quick-drying towel and perhaps a picnic blanket too. With a bit of luck, the puffer jacket will stay neatly folded away. Instead, you’ll spend your holiday swimming in alpine lakes and floating down rivers. Along the way, you’ll discover something the Swiss quietly worked out years ago: summer isn’t something to endure until the temperature drops. It’s something to rearrange your day around and enjoy while it lasts.

Planning Your Own Swiss Summer?

If all of this sounds like the sort of holiday you’re dreaming about, you’re exactly the kind of family I love photographing. My job isn’t just to turn up with a camera; it’s to help you experience Switzerland in summer at its best, whether that means suggesting an earlier train, swapping a busy viewpoint for a quieter one, or recommending a lakeside swim after your session. The photographs are only one part of the experience. If you’d like me to help you plan a family photo session in Switzerland that feels relaxed, fun and genuinely reflects your time here, I’d love to hear from you.

A quick note about the photographs in this article: Every image you see here was taken during summer in Switzerland, across a range of weather conditions, locations and times of day. Choosing the right location, the right time of day and having the flexibility to adapt to the weather makes an enormous difference to the final result. While I carefully plan every session around the forecast, we’re ultimately at the mercy of the weather gods. Fortunately, years of photographing families across Switzerland have taught me to always have a Plan B (and usually a Plan C) ready. If you’d like to learn more about how I approach changing conditions, have a read of my article, The Truth About Real Family Photography in Switzerland, where I share why the most memorable photographs often come from the moments you never planned for.