Please sign in to post.

Switzerland in Late May

Posted by on

Hi!

I am planning a trip to Switzerland for the last week of May. I am mainly looking for rich greenery and more scenic / less intense hiking trails. I've heard a lot of mixed things about the weather this time of year...but am just hoping for the best. I plan on doing 3 days in Lucerne, 4 in Wengen/Lauterbrunnen (with a day trip to Interlaken) and the last 2 nights in Zermatt. Here is my question...

I am aware that may is the off season and much of Zermatt will be taking a break before the summer season. I would be there May 23-25. I am not looking to Ski and am mainly looking to experience the atmosphere, see the Matterhorn, and enjoy the ambiance of the village. With that said....will EVERYTHING be shuttered? I would hate to have every little shop and restaurant be closed while I'm there. Or is there enough open to sustain the type of experience I'm looking for?

Below are a few things I've come across that I'd love to do..and am wondering if anyone has insight as to whether or not these specific things won't be available that time of year:

  • Gorner Gorge -Meet the Black Nose sheep between Goernergrat and Riffleberg (or anyplace i might be able to?) -Restaurants in Findeln -Train to Gornergrat

Im torn between cancelling Zermatt totally and instead spending my last two nights at Lugano. But it's obviously a very different vibe-- and I really preferred Zermatt! So trying to see if there will be enough to do. thanks so much!

Posted by
21414 posts

Since Zermatt is such an international hotspot, I will go out on a limb and say most places will be open. As you know, there will still be skiing on the glaciers by Klein Matterhorn. Many hotels may be shuttered for the break between winter and summer seasons, but shops and restaurants will still be open. It is not exactly a sleepy little town.

Posted by
7 posts

That's what I was hoping! I kept seeing mixed things online so it was hard to tell. Thank you!

Posted by
94 posts

My family and I went to Switzerland at the end of May/early June a few years ago. Yes, some of the hotels and sights had not yet opened but by and large we got to see everything we had planned. We flew into Geneva, spent a night a Lausanne and then made our way to Zermatt for 2 nights and then to Murren where we stayed for 4 nights. We went everywhere in the Berner Oberland most places were open. We then went to Luzern and then flew back to the USA from Zurich.

The only thing I had not thought about planning for were the Catholic holidays that came up when we were there. That was my fault. What we found was that most restaurants and grocery stores were closed on these holidays, and there was one weekend (Saturday through Tuesday if I remember right) when we were scrambling for groceries. We wound up going to a farm and buying bread, eggs, milk and yoghurt from the farmer because all the stores were closed. I definitely advice you to check up on Catholic holidays and plan to stock up on food and groceries!

Apart from this fiasco (which I should have known and planned for), we did not experience any issues with it not being tourist season in Switzerland. Hey, the locals have to eat and shop even in the off season!

Enjoy your trip to Switzerland.

Penn

Posted by
590 posts

I took the RS Best of Switzerland during the last week of May in 2022. It included a day trip to Zermatt. As I recall, the town was busy and everything seemed open (and this was shortly after things in Europe were just beginning to recover from the pandemic. I would expect things to be even busier now.)

We stayed in Murren and it was fairly quiet there, just starting to open up for the summer season. Still, it was no problem finding restaurants to eat in and the mountains were beautiful!

It did get quite cool, even cold, up higher in the mountains. I was glad to have a warm jacket, as well as some fleece and cashmere.

Add Reply

Please do not reply to violations of our Community Guidelines.