Swimming in Switzerland

Ticino canton is the warmest, sunniest part of Switzerland. Look for swimming in the lakes around Locarno and Lugano.

Thanks, Tom. Also wondering how warm it is likely to be in August in the non-alpine parts of Switzerland? I seem to find conflicting info, plus I seem to remember Europe was unusually hot recent summers. Climate change?

The northern (non-Alpine) half of Switzerland has a climate similar to the surrounding areas of Germany and France. Generally mildly warm summers, with occasional short heat waves. Now that I've thought over your original question again... Germany has hundreds of swimming lakes that are generally quite busy in August. If the water is warm enough to swim throughout Germany, I don't think you necessarily have to limit yourself to the warmest canton of Switzerland.

For those who might be interested - I found some info online that says in August the water temp. in Lugano is 22-25 degrees C (71-75 F). Also Lake Annecy, France is about the same temp or just slightly cooler. For comparison, our local indoor pool is kept at 83 degrees F. (Wish I had a handy "degree" symbol on my keyboard.)

You can also go swimming at the lake in Lucerne. There's a beach right outside the transportation museum - nice for a change of pace after hours exploring the museum (which is fabulous!). Water temperature in August would be up to 20 C.

There's an app for that. Seriously. Switzerland Tourism has an iPhone app that lists the water temps in all the swimmable bodies of water. 'My Switzerland Swimming Weather' on iTunes. The same information is also available on myswitzerland.com

Thanks Calgary folks.