# Alps The great mountain arc of central Europe, from France to Slovenia via Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Austria. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/regions/alps · Revisado: 2026-11-12 Zonas que contiene: [Italian Lakes](https://www.geocalia.com/en/regions/italian-lakes.md), [Tour du Mont Blanc](https://www.geocalia.com/en/regions/tour-du-mont-blanc.md) Países: France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria ## Destinos de esta zona - [Annecy](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/auvergne-rhone-alpes/annecy.md): A medieval old town crossed by canals at the outlet of a clear alpine lake, with a 33 km greenway along its shore. Two or three nights. - [Chamonix-Mont-Blanc](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/auvergne-rhone-alpes/chamonix.md): Cable cars that rise to 3,842 m, a rack railway to the Mer de Glace and balcony trails facing Mont Blanc. Allow three to five nights. - [Écrins National Park](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/provence-alpes-cote-dazur/ecrins.md): A high-mountain national park between the Isère and the Hautes-Alpes, created in 1973, with more than a hundred summits above 3,000 m and the Barre des Écrins (4,102 m) as its roof. - [Gran Paradiso](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/aosta-valley/gran-paradiso.md): Italy's first national park (1922), born from a royal hunting reserve that saved the Alpine ibex. It surrounds the Gran Paradiso (4,061 m), the only 4,000-metre peak lying entirely within Italian territory. - [Dolomites](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/dolomites.md): Pale rock towers, high meadows and mountain huts for multi-day walks. What to do, what to book in advance and where to sleep around Cortina, Gardena and Sesto. - [Lake Garda](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/lake-garda.md): Italy's largest lake: mountains and wind for windsurfing in the north; Sirmione, castles and vineyards in the south. What to see, where to stay and how to get around. - [Lake Como](https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/lombardy/lake-como.md): A glacial lake shaped like an inverted Y at the foot of the Alps, with villas and gardens on its shore. Here you travel by boat: the ferry links Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio in a quarter of an hour. - [Berchtesgaden](https://www.geocalia.com/en/germany/bavaria/berchtesgaden.md): An Alpine corner in the far south-east of Bavaria, with Germany's only Alpine national park. Lake Königssee is toured in electric boats beneath the east face of the Watzmann (2,713 m). - [Jungfrau Region](https://www.geocalia.com/en/switzerland/canton-of-bern/jungfrau-region.md): The Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald valleys, in the Bernese Oberland, beneath the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. A cogwheel train climbs to the Jungfraujoch, at 3,454 m the highest railway station in Europe. - [Engadine](https://www.geocalia.com/en/switzerland/graubunden/engadine.md): The upper Inn valley in Graubünden, with lakes at around 1,800 m, houses decorated with sgraffito and Romansh as its own language. The Bernina Railway, a World Heritage Site, links it with Italy. - [Lucerne](https://www.geocalia.com/en/switzerland/lucerne.md): A central Swiss city on the shores of Lake Lucerne, with a covered wooden bridge from the 14th century and easy access to Mount Pilatus and Mount Rigi. - [Ticino](https://www.geocalia.com/en/switzerland/ticino.md): Italian-speaking Swiss canton south of the Alps, with a mild climate, Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano, granite valleys such as the Verzasca and the three castles of Bellinzona, a World Heritage Site. - [Aletsch Glacier](https://www.geocalia.com/en/switzerland/valais/aletsch-glacier.md): The largest glacier in the Alps, more than 20 km long, within the Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage Site. It can be admired from the car-free villages of Riederalp, Bettmeralp and Fiescheralp. - [Zermatt](https://www.geocalia.com/en/switzerland/valais/zermatt.md): A village with no petrol cars at the foot of the Matterhorn (4,478 m), reached by train from Täsch, with a network of mountain trains and cable cars climbing to 3,883 m at the Klein Matterhorn. - [Hohe Tauern](https://www.geocalia.com/en/austria/carinthia/hohe-tauern.md): A national park spread across Salzburg, the Tyrol and Carinthia, with the Grossglockner (3,798 m), the roof of Austria. The Grossglockner High Alpine Road crosses it and usually opens from May to late October. - [Puchberg and the Schneeberg](https://www.geocalia.com/en/austria/lower-austria/puchberg-and-schneeberg.md): The rack railway that has climbed since 1897 from Puchberg to 1,800 metres, up the highest mountain in Lower Austria, about 90 km from Vienna. - [Semmering](https://www.geocalia.com/en/austria/lower-austria/semmering.md): The mountain pass an hour and a half by train from Vienna: Europe's first mountain railway, a World Heritage site, trails beside the line and the ski resort closest to the capital. - [Mariazell](https://www.geocalia.com/en/austria/styria/mariazell.md): Austria's great shrine, in the Styrian Alps, reached from St. Pölten on an 84 km narrow-gauge railway. Basilica, cable car and Advent. - [Innsbruck](https://www.geocalia.com/en/austria/tyrol/innsbruck.md): The capital of the Tyrol, in the Inn valley, twice host of the Winter Olympics (1964 and 1976). A funicular and a cable car climb from the centre to the Nordkette, above 2,000 m. - [Salzkammergut](https://www.geocalia.com/en/austria/upper-austria/salzkammergut.md): A region of lakes and mountains east of Salzburg, linked since prehistoric times to salt mining. Hallstatt and the Dachstein massif have been a World Heritage site since 1997. ## What are the Alps? The Alps are the great mountain range of central Europe: an arc of about 1,200 km that begins beside the Mediterranean, on the coast between Nice and Genoa, climbs along the French-Italian border, crosses Switzerland, southern Germany and Austria, and fades out in Slovenia, near the Pannonian plain. The Alpine Convention, the treaty signed by the countries of the range, counts eight: France, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. The roof is Mont Blanc, on the border between France and Italy, at a little over 4,800 m; the height changes slightly with the ice on the summit, and the latest measurement, in 2025, gave it 4,807 m. The UIAA's official list recognises 82 peaks above 4,000 m, almost all in the western Alps, between Switzerland, Italy and France. For travelling it is best to think in valleys rather than countries. Each valley has its base village, its lifts and its paths, and what separates one valley from the next is mountain passes or tunnels. That is why a trip to the Alps works best by choosing two or three bases rather than trying to cross them whole. ## How do you get there and get around? By air, the airports that leave you at the foot of the mountains are Geneva, Zurich, Milan, Munich, Turin, Venice, Innsbruck and Salzburg. From Geneva to Chamonix it is about 80 km and an hour by car; from Munich to Innsbruck, about 160 km and two hours. By car from Spain, Barcelona is about 750 km from Annecy and almost 800 from Geneva: about eight hours of motorway without counting stops. Switzerland and Austria are the countries where it is easiest to travel without a car. In Switzerland, trains reach almost every mountain village and connect with rack railways, funiculars and cable cars; some villages, such as Zermatt or those on the Aletsch glacier plateau, do not allow combustion-engine cars, and you leave the car in the valley. The Glacier Express links Zermatt and St. Moritz in about eight hours over 291 km of track and the Oberalp pass, at 2,033 m. In Austria, Innsbruck and Salzburg have good connections and from Vienna historic mountain trains leave, such as the Semmering one, the rack railway to Puchberg and the Schneeberg or the Mariazell one. In France and Italy the car is more practical, especially in parks such as Écrins, Gran Paradiso or the Dolomites. On foot, the network of paths and huts allows multi-day crossings. The best known is the Tour du Mont Blanc, of about 170 km around the massif through France, Italy and Switzerland. ## What to see in the Alps? In Switzerland, the Jungfrau region, with Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald and the train to the Jungfraujoch, at 3,454 m; Zermatt at the foot of the Matterhorn; the Aletsch glacier, the largest in the Alps; the Engadine, with its high lakes and the Bernina railway; Lucerne and its lake, with Pilatus and the Rigi above; and Ticino, Italian-speaking Switzerland. In France, Chamonix facing Mont Blanc, Annecy and its lake, and the wilder Écrins park. In Italy, Gran Paradiso, the Dolomites and the lakes at the foot of the range, such as Lake Como and Lake Garda. In Germany, Berchtesgaden and the Königssee. In Austria, the Salzkammergut with Hallstatt, the Hohe Tauern park with the Grossglockner, Innsbruck and, near Vienna, day-trip mountains such as the Rax. In Slovenia there are the Julian Alps and Triglav, its highest point, at 2,864 m. ## When to go and what changes with the season? There are two good seasons and two bad ones. The walking season runs from late June to mid-September: the huts open, the summer lifts run and the high paths are clear of snow, although in June there are still snowfields above 2,000 m. September is the best month for many: fewer people, clear light and more settled weather. The skiing season runs from December to March or April, depending on the height of the resort. In between, from mid-April to early June and from late October to early December, many cable cars and mountain hotels close for maintenance, the high passes remain closed by snow and the resort villages are left empty. It is a good time for the lakes and the cities on the edge, not for going up. In summer, afternoon storms are common: set out early and come down before three. ## How many days and how to divide them? With four or five days, choose a single base: the Jungfrau region, Zermatt, Chamonix or one of the Dolomites. With a week there is room for two nearby bases, for example Jungfrau and Zermatt, or Innsbruck and the Salzkammergut. With two weeks you can string together a train journey through Switzerland or a drive that links France and Italy through the Mont Blanc tunnel, of about 11.6 km. Always allow a spare day in case the weather closes the summits: with clouds you see nothing at the top. ## What to know before you go? Switzerland is expensive and uses francs; so does Liechtenstein. The rest use the euro. The motorways of Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia require a vignette; in Switzerland it costs 40 francs a year. France and Italy charge tolls by section, and the big Alpine tunnels have their own tolls. In heavily visited villages and in some parks you have to reserve parking or access in summer: this is the case for the Tre Cime and Lake Braies in the Dolomites. For walking above 2,500 m take warm clothing even in August and check the day's mountain forecast. ## Un consejo más ### Buy mountain tickets on arrival, not before Cable cars and summit trains charge the same in cloud as in sun. Check the summit webcams on the morning of the trip and go up on the clear day; regional passes usually let you change plans without losing money. ## Cuándo no ir ### May and November in the resort villages Between seasons many lifts, huts and restaurants close at the same time. If you can only go in those months, stay on the lakes and in the cities. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### What is the best time to go to the Alps? For walking, from late June to mid-September; September is usually the quietest month. For skiing, from December to March. ### Can the Alps be toured without a car? Yes, especially in Switzerland and Austria, where the train reaches the mountain villages and connects with the lifts. In France and Italy there are buses, but a car gives more freedom. ### How many days do I need? Four or five days for one base, a week for two and two weeks for a longer route. ### What is the highest mountain in the Alps? Mont Blanc, on the border between France and Italy, at a little over 4,800 m.