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 May – Ascension Day (40 days after Easter)

 May/June – Whit Monday (7 weeks after Easter)

 1 August – Swiss National Day

 25 December – Christmas Day

 26 December – St Stephen’s Day (Boxing Day)

In addition several cantons have their own special holidays, and many local cultural events and festivals take place in specific towns and valleys throughout the year.

High season prices in hotels, restaurants and some shops are often considerably greater than in the low season. In summer the high season in most mountain resorts covers July and August, when pressure on accommodation (including mountain huts) is at its greatest. The winter high season coincides with the ski season, although there are fluctuations. For example, prices are highest over Christmas and the New Year, and in February, while January and March are often less crowded and less expensive.

The Mönch, as seen from Mettlenalp (Chapter 5:7)

Weather

Mountains create their own weather patterns, so there’s no surprise to find that Switzerland is home to a variety of local and regional microclimates. For instance, a storm may be isolated on the Matterhorn without affecting the nearby Ober Gabelhorn, and what may appear from Alpiglen to be an innocent cloud on the Eiger could, in fact, be launching a blizzard on the mountain. The north side of the Bernese Alps is notoriously wet, while the Rhône valley which divides those mountains from the Pennine Alps to the south is one of the driest in the country. The Rochers de Naye overlooking Lac Léman in Vaud has 257cm of annual precipitation, while Staldenried, less than 75km away at the junction of the Mattertal and Saastal in Canton Valais, has only 53cm.