Hello all!

We have taken the decision to stay in Switzerland this summer.

We are planning a 2 weeks tour towards end July-beg August and have a 10 and 12 years old.

What are the best activities or places visited that you have done with children that age?

Mine are not really hikers but pretty active, like adventure trails, animals, water etc.

I am looking to build an itinerary where we move every couple of nights or maybe stay longer if the place offers good day trips.

Thank you for your tips!
K

Vallorbe should be fun for them.

Iron and Railway Museum
https://www.museedufer.ch/

Grotto
https://grottesdevallorbe.ch/

WWII underground fortress
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/...d-war-ii-site/

Underground mill at Le Locle
https://www.lesmoulins.ch/fr/

2 Sherlock Holmes museums
https://www.sherlockholmes.ch/

https://www.lucens.ch/sherlockholmes

In the same area as the things Medea posted

Juraparc in Valorbe

https://www.juraparc.ch/

Asphalt mines in Travers

https://www.mines-asphalte.ch/

Adventure parc Chaumont (near Neuchâtel)

https://chaumontaventure.ch/


There is loads to do in this area.

Just over the border in France there is the Sauts de Doubs.

The youth hostels are good bases, also suit your plan to do a couple of nights and then move - Klosters, Lenzerheide and St Moritz for example.

Rafting Ilanz to Tamins - park at Tamins, get the train to Ilanz, have lunch there then raft back: https://www.wasserchraft.ch/

Easy mountain hut just for the experience? Escha is a very easy walk and nice, but generally busy - there's a bit where people build those little stone stacks, you could probably waste an hour there with kids that age. Martinsmad is harder but still straightforward if you take the gondola halfway, stunning location, they have a zipwire which always seems to end in mud, ideal for kids!

Grindelwald has lots of things to do for kids.

Late July / early August is around the hottest time of the year, so anywhere the kids can go swimming is probably a good idea. That's also when kids in Switzerland are on there summer break from school and many families travel, so if you book anything, you'll want to do it well in advance.

If camping is an option, there are lots of great campgrounds all over Switzerland -- many with nice pools and/or beach areas on the lakes and with bungalows you can rent if you don't have a camper or a tent. Bring some board games and frisbees, etc. so the kids can keep themselves occupied while not swimming. We go camping every summer and our favorite campground here, so far, is Campofelice in the southern/Italian part of CH. It has a nice pool and beach area and paddle boats you can rent, etc.

If your kids enjoy amusement parks, there is a large one in Germany by the name of Europa Park, which is about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Zurich. Hopefully it will be open as normal this summer (last summer it was open but everyone had to wear masks while waiting in line).

Outside of Zurich is a nice area by the name of Rapperswil, which is on the shore of Lake Zurich. There are paddle boats you can rent there and also nice little swimming spots all around the shore of lake.

and the Lac St Point, with canoing, padelling, sailing etc, at the 'base nautique'.

and great walks like the Gorges de l'Areuse and the Gorges de la Poetta Raisse, visit of the Chateau de Joux.

Also near Jura: the thermal baths of Yverdon-les-Bains, a pretty town on the lake that boasts Roman ruins and a nature centre https://www.pronatura-champ-pittet.c...aktische-infos. Of course bathing in the lake is probably better in summer. It‘s just a quick hop to the Roman mosaics of Orbe, with family-friendly audioguides and intros, or to the music-box museum in Sainte-Croix, a picturesque train ride from Yverdon.

Still in Jura, in Porrentruy, you can hunt for fossils: https://www.site-of-the-month.ch/de/...ee-porrentruy/ and/or visit the natural history museum, which is surprisingly good for such a tiny place. Or do the „Secret Circuit“, which exists in a few other towns in the region: https://www.j3l.ch/en/P33659/circuit-secret-porrentruy

If you visit the region, don’t miss the Creux du Van, the „Swiss Grand Canyon“. Or canoe down the Doubs, though I dunno if it‘s doable with a 10yo since our offspring was a little older when we did that.