I'm planning on going on a long distance hike with friends in August.
We are all expriences hikers, albeit not in alpine environments.

anything from 3-7 days

Any recommendations ?

I'm not an experienced walker, there's a guidebook called 'Walking in Switzerland' which describes many kinds of walks and rates them according to degree of difficulty. It also gives details about where to stay on the longer walks.

There's all sorts of hikes that you can check out...

The Alpine trail is a famous one. It goes east to west from Sargans to Montreux in roughly a straight line, across a series of alpine passes. It's all hiking - there's no climbing involved anywhere. It takes about 19 days, but you can do any part that you want. I'm slowly working my way along it...

Another option is to walk around the Matterhorn, or even Mont Blanc. Or you could do the Swiss part of the pilgrim trail, that goes from Canterbury (England) to Rome.

There's a selection of hikes listed here:
http://activityworkshop.net/hiking/s...lti/index.html

Accommodation-wise, there's guest houses and small hotels all over the place.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

Are you talking about the Jakobsweg? I've done a small piece of this and it's pretty hard going but well worth it (watch out for scary religious icons on route though ).

The Jakobsweg (Camino de Santiago) http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/ goes to Santiago de Compostela, in Spain.

The pilgrim's trail from Canterbury to Rome is most likely the Via Francigena http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Francigena.

Watch you pick the right one otherwise you will end up in the wrong corner of the continent!

-E.

Never knew that was there - then again, it only pops in and out of Switzerland and looks like it's easypeasy .

If you're interested in the Alpine trail route, then check out the Google Earth file that Bubbles posted on the "Swiss sightseeing via satellite" thread.

I've also been gradually working my way across the country by linking together separate one-day hikes. I looked at the Alpine trail route, but decided that in many of the sections, the official trail takes a relatively easy option, hitting many of the passes and not too many of the high-points of each region. I've therefore been picking out my own routes, which is quite easy to do with the extensive Swiss trail system.

So, my advice would be to put together a route by yourself that hits the kind of terrain that you're looking for, and possibly using an established long-distance route like the Alpine trail as good advice/suggestion/starting point.

I generally only use the 1:100,000 composite maps from Swiss Topo, they are good enough because the trail signage is so excellent. Occasionally I get a little confused, and sometimes use trails that aren't marked on that map, but that is all part of the fun. Using those maps is WAY cheaper than buying the 1:50,000 maps for each region that you want to hike in.

In addition to the maps, I often check out the area by flying around it in Google Earth to decide exactly which trail to take. One more web resource is SwissGeo, which has the SwissTopo maps online (just type in a place-name or post-code) but you can only see a small section of map at a time. However, you can use the site to zoom in and get details that you cannot see on the 1:100,000 or 1:50,000 maps, so that can also aid route planning before leaving home.

Also, you need to quantify what you want from your 3-7 day hike. Is it:
a) to see as much of the countryside as possible
b) strolls between restaurants
c) some good hard exercise, with the idea of pushing yourselves as far as you can go
d) to look at some famous touristy areas
e) to walk as much as possible, but with the occasional possible cable car option to ease the knees
f) to see some snow?
?

What's your level of experience? Are you used to walking on flat paths, or are you ok using the red/white/red marked tracks, or are you ok with the blue/white/blue tracks, or ?

Meiringen - Grosse Scheidegg - Grindelwald - Kleiner Scheidegg - Wengen - Murren is a good multiday hike. You walk along the edge of the Eiger and get to see some amazing mountains. There's big towns (Meiringen, Grindelwald, Wengen) with lots of hotels to stay in along the way, and there's railway connections everywhere. It's not a hike to find solitude on though...

Another option is around Appenzell and Santis area - maybe walk up to Meglisalp one day from Wasserauren (via Mesmer, just to make it interesting...) and then up to Santis the next day?

Yet another option is to go up to Zermatt and have a hike or two around there.

Just some ideas...

Also, as I don't know your experience level, I have some advice for you:
1. Tell someone where you are going, and when you will get back
2. Check the weather forecast!
3. If there are any snorers in your group then don't stay in a dorm...

Thanks for the good advice !
We are all exprienced hikers - so as long as no glacier crossing or sheer face climbing i think we'll be ok.

I was also thinking about doing something in Ticino (good Italian food after a good day's hike, doesn't get much better than that !). Any ideas ?

I've done this one three times with boy scouts and I like it:

Miglieglia - Monte Lema - Monte Magno - Monte Pola - Monte Gradiccioli - Arosio - Mugena - Breno - Miglieglia.

Horizontal distance: 21 km
Total altitude difference (upward): 1300m
Highest point: 1935m above sea level

The route starts with the climb to Monte Lema, which also can be done in a cablecar. There's a restaurant and a small hostel on the top. Then you follow the ridge which is over the tree line, the sight is nice and sunscreen a must. The descent isn't marked as well as the other parts of the route but once you're on the road there are some possibilities to take the bus instead of walking back to Miglieglia.



The ascent to Monte Lema and the cablecar