From highlining between mountain peaks to scores (no pun intended) of music festivals, these are some of the best events happening in July,.
Swim Across the Lake, Zurich, July 1st
The annual swim across Lake Zurich sees 9,000 strong swimmers take to the water, which could be as warm as 25C in July.
This year it’s scheduled for July 1st, but if the weather doesn’t play ball, the event will be postponed until July 8th or August 19th. The decision on whether to go ahead with the July 1st date will be made on June 29th and tickets will then go on sale.
The route for the 1,500-metre swim begins in Mythenquai and ends at Tiefenbrunnen.
Swatch Beach Pro Gstaad, July 1st – July 5th
Switzerland might not be the first place you think of when it comes to beach volleyball, but this huge tournament of the world’s top-ranked players has been held annually in Gstaad since 2000.
Tonnes of specialised sand are imported for the event that features a sprawling beach village and nightly DJ sets as well as all the sporting action.
Montreux Jazz Festival (Vaud), July 3rd – July 18th
This year sees the 60th edition of Montreux’s iconic music festival, with a wide variety of acts from rock and indie to hip hop and techno performing with the Alps and Lake Geneva as their backdrop.
Over 700 concerts (including 600 free) take place over the 16-day festival with acts including Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Raye, Sting, Moby, Angus & Julia Stone, Pinkpantheress, John Legend, and The Roots, among heaps of other world-class artists and emerging voices.
You can find out more about this year’s edition here.
Goats’ Tour, Zermatt (Valais), July 4th – August 14th
If you happen to find yourself anywhere near Zermatt on the above dates, then this event is worth making a trip for. After all, it’s not every day you see a herd of 70 blackneck goats just casually strolling down the city’s main street.
The event – which takes place twice a day at about 9am and 4.30pm over the summer – always attracts hundreds of visitors waiting to snap the photogenic black-and-white animals.
Moon & Stars, Locarno (Ticino), July 9th – July 19th
This music festival is as heavenly as it sounds.
Locarno’s picturesque Piazza Grande is the spot for unforgettable summer evenings with first-class live music from global names like Duran Duran and Jamiroquai, and Swiss legends such as Gölä, among many others.
Openair Frauenfeld (Thurgau), July 9th – July 11th
From pop to hip hop as Europe’s largest hip hop festival returns to Frauenfeld this summer.
Featuring a huge programme of big US and German names, the line-up includes rap legends like Wiz Khalifa and Sido & Friends, attracting around 150,000 visitors to the medieval old town each year.
Verbier Festival, July 16th – August 2nd
If your music tastes lean more classical, then the world-renowned Verbier Festival in the heart of the Alps is an excellent choice.
The prestigious festival brings together top-tier soloists and conductors with rising stars from its Academy programme for large-scale orchestral and opera performances and intimate rehearsals and masterclasses.
Paléo Music Festival, Nyon (Vaud), July 21st – July 26th
The country’s biggest open-air music festival, Paléo, is held in a Woodstock-like setting in an open field in Nyon, near Geneva.
The Cure, Katy Perry and Gorillaz and Twenty One Pilots are just some of the headliners this year. It sold out back in March, but you can still get returns in their official resale market and 1,500 tickets are also released online every morning of the festival.
With 200 concerts and shows across eight stages and 8 million visitors last year, it’s a pretty big deal.
Highline World Championships, Flims-Laax (Graubünden), July 21st – July 26th
This adrenaline-fuelled competition sees 40 competitors from around the world negotiate highlines (flexible, swinging lines) rigged between peaks at dizzying heights. In the past, athletes have raced on lines to the inappropriately named 2,250m Crap Sogn Gion peak (it’s anything but crap).
Spectators can watch jaw-dropping aerial stunts and head-to-head sprints from the safety of hammocks in the viewing area.
International Alphorn Festival, Haute-Nendaz (Valais), July 24th – July 26th
If you’re looking for some quintessential ‘Swissness’ this summer, this event has it all: traditional Alphorn music high up in the Swiss Alps – the village of Haute-Nendaz to be exact.
The highlight is undoubtedly the incredible experience of seeing some 100 alphorn musicians playing together against the Alpine backdrop, but you can also enjoy other traditional performances from yodellers, bell ringers and flag throwers over the three-day event.
You can find more information about the festival here.
Swiss National Day, across Switzerland, July 31st – August 1st
Switzerland’s National Day may be August 1st, but the celebrations across the country begin the day before.
In Basel, for example, there’s an evening festival with live music that ends with a huge firework display while in Zermatt, there’s a full day of entertainment and a street festival.
