About Where to Stay in Switzerland

Who we are

Where to Stay in Switzerland is an independent planning guide to where to stay in Switzerland, including Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken, Grindelwald, the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Zermatt, Geneva, Montreux and Lake Geneva, Lugano, St. Moritz and Bern. It is not an official tourism website, and it is not run by a hotel, a tour operator or a booking platform.

What we publish

We write area guides that explain which Swiss town, and which part of each town, suits which kind of trip, with train times, seasons and the trade-offs of each base. Each guide names specific hotels at different budgets and says who each one suits, so you can judge whether it fits your own trip.

How we choose areas and hotels

We start with location: what you can walk to, how far the drive is to the beaches, parks and sights people come for, and what the roads are like. We then pick named properties at each budget from their Booking.com listings, official websites and guest reviews, and note drawbacks such as steep access roads, noise or a long walk to the beach. Practical details such as park hours, ferries and drive times are checked against official sources, which we link from the guides.

Every guide shows the date its hotel details were last checked. Prices, room types and availability change, so the live booking page is always the final word before you pay. No hotel pays to be listed.

Unless a guide says otherwise, our recommendations are based on research into published listings, guest reviews and official sources, not on staying at every hotel ourselves.

How the site is funded

Some links earn us a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Our affiliate disclosure explains how this works.

Corrections

We update guides when listings or official information change.

Photo credits

Photos on this site come from Wikimedia Commons and are used under the Creative Commons licenses linked below. We have resized and cropped them. Most show the areas we cover. A hotel card photo labelled "Area photo" shows the place where the hotel is, not the hotel itself; a card photo without that label shows the hotel.

• The Matterhorn reflected in the Stellisee lake above Zermatt: Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The twin towers of the Grossmünster above the Limmat River in Zurich's Old Town: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0
• The Wasserturm and Chapel Bridge on the Reuss in Lucerne, with mountains behind: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Interlaken and Lake Thun seen from Harder Kulm: Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Meadows and chalets of Grindelwald Grund below the Eiger north face: Falk2, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Lauterbrunnen village and its church below Staubbach Falls: chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Wooden chalets in Zermatt with the Matterhorn behind: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5
• The Jet d'Eau on Lake Geneva with a rainbow in its spray: Terragio67, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Chillon Castle on Lake Geneva with the snow-capped Dents du Midi behind: Christian David, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Lugano lakefront promenade with Monte Brè across the bay: Roy Egloff, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Lake St. Moritz with Piz Muragl and the Engadin mountains behind: Isiwal, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Bern's Old Town above the Aare, with the spire of the Minster: August Geyler, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Glacier Express crossing the Landwasser Viaduct in Graubünden: Stefans Pixmix, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The paddle steamer Stadt Luzern on the Lucerne lakefront: Asurnipal, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Snow-covered chalets in Grindelwald in winter: Robert Campbell KOR, CC BY 2.0
• The Baur au Lac hotel beside the Schanzengraben canal in Zurich: Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The facade of the Widder Hotel in Zurich's Old Town: Adrian Michael, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Hotel zum Storchen on the Limmat, seen from Limmatquai in Zurich: Roland zh, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The Dolder Grand hotel on the hillside above Zurich: Whgler, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The facade of the Haus zum Kindli hotel on Pfalzgasse in Zurich: Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The glass front of the 25hours Hotel Langstrasse in Zurich: UCaetano, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The wrought-iron eagle sign on the facade of Hotel Adler in Zurich's Niederdorf: Archaeaoris, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Shops and cafés on cobbled Niederdorfstrasse in Zurich's Old Town: Leonhard Lenz, CC0
• A tram crossing Paradeplatz in Zurich in front of the Credit Suisse building: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Tables on the patio of the Zurich youth hostel in Wollishofen: Kelson, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The Radisson Blu hotel at Zurich Airport: toaoa, CC BY-SA 4.0
• View from the Lindenhof hill over the Limmat and Zurich's Old Town: Jakub Hałun, CC BY 4.0
• The main facade of Zurich Hauptbahnhof: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Hotel Bellevue Palace in Bern's Old Town: Sandstein, Public domain
• The Hotel Schweizerhof facing Bahnhofplatz in Bern: AnBuKu, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Arcaded houses at the lower end of Gerechtigkeitsgasse in Bern's Old Town: August Geyler, CC BY-SA 4.0
• A tram among the arcades of Spitalgasse in Bern's upper Old Town: Smiley.toerist, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Kramgasse and the Zytglogge clock tower in Bern's Old Town: JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Kornhausbrücke over the Aare in Bern, with the Old Town behind: Riccardo Speziari, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Federal Palace above the River Aare in Bern, seen from the southeast: August Geyler, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Bern's Old Town and Minster seen from the Rosengarten: Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The glass canopy on Bahnhofplatz in Bern, with the Heiliggeistkirche behind: marsupium photography, CC BY-SA 2.0
• The Hotel Schweizerhof on the Lucerne lakefront, seen from the lake: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Mandarin Oriental Palace, the former Palace Hotel, on the lakeside promenade in Lucerne: WES1947, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The painted Corragioni-Haus of the Hotel des Balances in Lucerne's Old Town: Tilman2007, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The turreted facade of the Hotel Waldstätterhof in Lucerne: Paebi, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Jesuit Church on the bank of the Reuss in Lucerne: Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Pedal boats on the lakefront by Haldenstrasse in Lucerne, with the Hofkirche towers behind: Yair Haklai, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Reeds and trees on the shore of the Rotsee in Lucerne: Barbara Steinemann, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Hammetschwand Lift on the Bürgenstock cliffs above a sea of fog: Leiju, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Aerial view of the KKL concert hall and boat piers in Lucerne, with Pilatus behind: Beat Ruest, CC BY 4.0
• A Rigi railway train in the snow between Rigi Staffel and Rigi Kulm: Kabelleger / David Gubler, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel seen across the Höhematte meadow in Interlaken: Richter Frank-Jurgen, CC BY-SA 2.0
• The Hotel Interlaken on Höheweg in Interlaken: WebKay, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Hotel du Lac beyond a railway bridge over the Aare in Interlaken: Oleg Yunakov, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof on Alpenstrasse in Interlaken: Foto Fitti, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The turquoise Aare river by Interlaken Ost: Christian David, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The station building of Interlaken Ost: Tycho (Shansov.net), CC BY 3.0
• Shops and hotels along Höheweg in Interlaken: Robot8A, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Interlaken and the valley towards the Jungfrau region, seen from Harder Kulm: Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Chalets and boats at Iseltwald on Lake Brienz: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5
• Grindelwald's church with the Wetterhorn behind: Satoshi T., CC BY 3.0
• Flower-decked chalets in Grindelwald with the Wetterhorn behind: Satoshi T., CC BY 3.0
• The Wetterhorn, Mettenberg and Schreckhorn above the Grindelwald valley: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5
• Shops and hotels on Dorfstrasse in Grindelwald below the mountains: qwesy qwesy, CC BY 3.0
• Grindelwald's Dorfstrasse with the Mettenberg behind: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Cabins of the Grindelwald–First gondola above chalets and meadows: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
• An Eiger Express cabin above a sea of fog near Grindelwald: Blanky75, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Chalets on the slopes around Grindelwald Grund in autumn: Leonhard Lenz, CC0
• The Wetterhorn and Mettenberg above Grindelwald, with cabins of the First gondola: MartySwissCH, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Bachalpsee lake above Grindelwald with snowy peaks behind: Maru Bern, CC BY-SA 4.0
• A Wengernalpbahn train at Grindelwald Grund station: qwesy qwesy, CC BY 3.0
• Rooftops of Lauterbrunnen village looking up the valley: Nashwini, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Lauterbrunnen's church below the cliffs of the valley: Paul Bissegger, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Chalets and hotels of Wengen seen from the train: chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Hotels by Wengen station in autumn: 2015 Michael 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Chalet roofs on the slopes of Wengen: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The main facade of the Hotel Regina in Wengen: Rudolf H. Boettcher, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Hotel Eiger in Mürren in winter: otterboris, CC BY 3.0
• Chalets in Mürren with the Eiger lit at sunset: Frank Reeder, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald, with lights strung along its front: Barochat, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Wengen on its terrace below the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, seen from Isenfluh: Parchaco, CC0
• Mürren's chalets on the cliff edge above the Lauterbrunnen valley, with the Eiger behind: Cristo Vlahos, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Wengen and the Lauterbrunnen valley seen from Männlichen: Kevin Hadley, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The Hotel Mont Cervin Palace in Zermatt: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5
• The Riffelalp Resort above Zermatt, with the Riffelalp tram in front: Riffelalp Resort, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Hotel Bahnhof opposite Zermatt station: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5
• The Kulmhotel on the Gornergrat above Zermatt: Wayne77, CC BY-SA 4.0
• St. Mauritius church on the Kirchplatz in Zermatt: WmcRahulSaini, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Alpine meadows at Sunnegga and Findeln above Zermatt: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5
• A Matterhorn Express gondola above Zermatt with the Matterhorn behind: Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0
• Chalet roofs of Winkelmatten on the edge of Zermatt: Daniel Reust, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Wooden chalets and flags on Bahnhofstrasse in Zermatt: Abxbay, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Vispa river through Zermatt with the Matterhorn behind: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5
• The Matterhorn Terminal at Täsch station: Andris Pienkauss, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Old wooden barns and houses in the centre of Zermatt: Bybbisch94, CC BY 4.0
• Electric buses outside Zermatt railway station: Bybbisch94, CC BY 4.0
• Zermatt under snow at dusk, with the Matterhorn behind: Roy Egloff, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Hôtel Beau-Rivage on the Geneva lakefront: Fanny Schertzer, CC BY 3.0
• The Hôtel des Bergues on the Rhône in Geneva: Gfuerst, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The Hôtel d'Angleterre on the Geneva lakefront: Mourad Ben Abdallah, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The Hotel Les Armures in Geneva's Old Town: JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Hôtel Cornavin in Geneva: MHM55, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The ibis Styles hotel by Palexpo in Le Grand-Saconnex: Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Pâquis lighthouse with the Pâquis waterfront behind: Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0
• The central rotunda of the Bains des Pâquis lake baths in Geneva: Mourad Ben Abdallah, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The facade of Geneva's Cornavin station: Sdnegel, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Place du Bourg-de-Four in Geneva's Old Town: Wouter Hagens, CC BY-SA 3.0
• A yellow Mouette boat passing the Pâquis lighthouse in Geneva: KlausFoehl, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Fairmont Le Montreux Palace in Montreux: Llez, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The Grand Hôtel Suisse Majestic on Avenue des Alpes in Montreux: Llez, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The Hotel Eden Palace in Montreux: JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Hotel Masson in Veytaux: Falk2, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Lake Geneva, Chillon Castle and the Dents du Midi seen from above Territet: Whgler, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Hôtel des Trois Couronnes in Vevey, seen from the lake: Jmh2o, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Beau-Rivage Palace on the Ouchy lakefront in Lausanne: Panoramasuisse, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The Hôtel Angleterre & Résidence on Place du Port in Ouchy: Patrick Nouhailler, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The tree-lined Place du Vieux-Port in Ouchy, Lausanne: Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France, CC BY 2.0
• Lausanne Cathedral above the rooftops of the Old Town: Maicomaico, CC BY-SA 3.0
• St-Saphorin among the Lavaux vineyard terraces on Lake Geneva: JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The paddle steamer Montreux at Lausanne-Ouchy: JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Hotel Splendide Royal on the Lugano lakefront: Domi-schnitz64, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Castagnola on the slopes of Monte Brè above Lake Lugano: Franck Arciuolo, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The lakefront promenade in central Lugano, looking towards Paradiso: Chris j wood, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Flower beds on the Lugano lakefront with Monte San Salvatore behind: Visem, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Piazza della Riforma and the Palazzo Civico in Lugano's old town: JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Two cars of the funicular between Lugano station and the old town: Chris j wood, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Lugano and its bay seen from Sighignola: Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Rooftops of Lugano with Castagnola and Monte Brè across the bay: Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The village of Gandria on the shore of Lake Lugano: JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Kulm Hotel in St. Moritz: Leonhard Lenz, CC0
• Suvretta House and its lawn in St. Moritz: FB Celebrations, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Carlton Hotel on the hillside above Lake St. Moritz: Ximonic (Simo Räsänen), CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Hotel Waldhaus am See on the shore of Lake St. Moritz in autumn: JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Hotel Hauser in St. Moritz at dusk: Gunnar Klack, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Buildings of St. Moritz Bad below a forested mountain: Tiia Monto, CC BY-SA 4.0
• St. Moritz Bad and Lake Silvaplana seen from the slopes above: Capricorn4049, CC BY-SA 4.0
• St. Moritz Dorf on the hillside above the lake, seen from St. Moritz Bad: Swiss79, Public domain
• St. Moritz Dorf seen across the frozen lake in winter: Frédéric de Goldschmidt, CC BY 3.0
• The Bernina Express beside Lago Bianco on the Bernina Pass: David Gubler (Kabelleger), CC BY-SA 3.0
• The Grand Hotel Kronenhof in Pontresina: Tiia Monto, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Verbier spread across its slope in the Val de Bagnes: Jérémy Toma, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Wellnesshostel4000 building in Saas-Fee: SJH8042, CC BY-SA 4.0
• The courtyard and pool of The Chedi Andermatt: 100Goblins, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Engelberg village seen from the Titlis cable car: Rudolph.A.furtado, Public domain
• The Engelberg valley in winter with the Titlis behind: Gestumblindi, CC BY 3.0
• A Zentralbahn train leaving Brienz station on Lake Brienz: JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0
• A Bernina line train on the Brusio spiral viaduct: David Gubler (Kabelleger), CC BY 3.0