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In summer, gentle valley walks suitable for families with small children follow trails and tracks through meadows, alongside rivers and around lakes. Funicular railways, gondola lifts and cable cars provide opportunities to gain height and far-reaching views without effort, and in a number of cases enable modest walkers to enjoy easy trails to vantage points that would otherwise be beyond their ambition. Alp hamlets and the occasional farm restaurant make obvious goals. Neither prior experience (beyond common sense) nor specialised equipment will normally be required. But waterproofs, warm clothing and refreshments should be carried, and inexperienced walkers should never stray from a marked footpath. Local tourist offices often provide useful leaflets suggesting suitable walks.

Bolted to the rockface, metal ladders like this one on the Pas de Chèvres, enable trekkers to scale otherwise impassable slabs

Stream crossing en route to the Vereinapass in the Rätikon Alps

Keen hillwalkers have a wonderland to explore, for countless footpaths seduce to mountain huts, passes, viewpoints and modest summits, every one of which will almost certainly reward with an unforgettable experience. For the newcomer to the Alps, however, ambition needs to be tempered with caution. On a first visit the sheer size and scale of the mountains can either excite or intimidate, and it may be difficult to appreciate just how long it will take to walk from A to B when the map’s contours are so tightly drawn. Don’t overstretch yourself on the first few outings. Keep ambition in check until routes have been found that match your capabilities, and make sure you enjoy the steep uphills as much as the level sections and downhill trails. Always carry a map and compass or GPS – and know how to use them. Stick to marked trails and avoid taking shortcuts that will lead to soil erosion, and where a route crosses terrain where no footpath as such is evident, keep alert for waymarks (paint flashes) and/or cairns that show the way.