Swiss Travel Ideas

Family travel in Switzerland

Switzerland is a perfect destination for families. One of the safest countries in the world, our little ones really do still walk through the neighbourhood to kindergarten and primary school by themselves!

Planning activities for children in Switzerland is easy if you know a few hacks.

The promenade in Murten is lined with playgrounds for all ages

5 top tips for travelling Switzerland with families

  • 1. Getting there on the Kinderwagen. Most SBB Intercity trains have a Kinderwagen (child carriage), the carriage is marked with a teddy bear on the arrivals screen. You can position yourself perfectly to get on in the right carriage, and it’s really amazing. There’s a slide and jungle gym, a boat to sit in, and just generally an open space where kids can crawl or run around without any fuss. It makes longer journeys really manageable as you don’t need to stay seated like in other countries!
  • 2. Spielplatz. Most mountain destinations will have a play ground (Spielplatz) at the top of the lift, and many restaurants have a Spielplatz too.
  • 3. Swiss kids all love Globi, a blue cartoon bird, and if you’re going on a hike check out if there’s a parallel Globi hike as often he has checkpoints, stickers, and even a separate gondola at Entsligenalp!
  • 4. Fragkultur – don’t be scared to ask. Swiss polite society isn’t as child friendly as some countries (it was a delight taking our baby to Italy!!), kids tend to be more tolerated with a stern face by the older generation, but don’t let that put you off. People just mind their own business intensely. For example if you are pregnant or carrying a kid; you might need to ask in the train / bus for someone to stand up, even in the designated seats. But no one will ever refuse you – they just don’t want to assume you can’t manage! ‘Excuse me’ – in the German part, ‘Ent-schul-di-gung’ – is your friend here.
  • 5. Badi culture. In the summer in the cities, families flock to the Badi. These are pools in parks often next to the lakes and rivers, where you can cool off. The baby pools are amazing, in Bern for example we have 5 different outdoor badis, all with really nice kids pools (our favourite at the moment is Weyermanshaus because it’s got a great canopy shade). Older kids learn to respect the water, and wild swimming starts under adult supervision. The most famous rivers to swim in are the Limmat in Zürich and the Aare in Bern (much featured on Instagram due to the locals using the perfect blue water to commute home from work). Whilst this is an activity for older families, there are pools made from river channel water as well which give little ones their first taste!

Itineraries for families