where should i go if i want to fully experience the alps? switzerland, austria, france...etc??

While the Matterhorn may be the most spectacular mountain in Europe, I vote for the Berner Oberland -- Jungfrau, Schilthorn, etc. Go to Murren, Grindelwald, etc.

Sorry, I assume you know those are all in Switzerland.

There are many places in Austria and Switzerland where one can enjoy the alps. The fact that the areas in Switzerland have a few more feet of altitude does not seriously detract from the scenic beauty of the Austrian and Italian Alps. I have spent quite a bit of time during the last 4 years wandering about the Alps.<BR>In Austria, the Gross Glocker Hochalpin Strasse is a marvellous drive of great scenic beauty. The ?tztaler alps are scenic, too, with valley roads leading to glaciers and high alpine scenery with hiking trails to about any thing you want in mountain scenery. In September we rented an apartment in L?ngfeld, west and south of Innsbruck, and toured the area. Had we been skiers we could have had fun sliding around on the slopes above S?lden, which has numerous resort facilities. <BR>I have particularly fond memories of the weeks we spent in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, which has M?rren on the west side of the valley shelf and Wengen on the east side, with the Jungfrau, the Breithorn, Gspaltenhorn, and the Eiger looming above the terrain. <BR><BR>Also don't overlook the scenery along the Valley of the Rhone. Drive over the Grimsel and Furka Passes for auto access to high alpine scenery at its finest.<BR>Then continue to Visp on the Rhone River and turn south to Saas Fee and Saas Grund for views of the incredible, mind boggling Mischabel Range. The Dom in particularly towers to nearly 15,000 feet and rises some 9,000 feet or more above the valley. I felt totally dwarfed by that awesome sight. Various mountain lifts take you higher. The full awesomeness of the Dom and the Linspitze became apparent when we ascended several thousand feet above Saas Fee and the summit of the Dom did not appear any closer than we started.<BR>A vertical rise of 9,000 vertical feet is difficult to comprehend.<BR>In the next valley over, you can explore the wonders of Zermatt and the surrounding valleys. The scenery there is beautiful, too, with the Monte Rosa,at more than 15,000 feet, looming high over the Gorner Glacier which flows from its flanks, with the Matterhorn rising majestically to the west-northwest and the Rothorn and Dente Blance providing the background.<BR>The Turtmental is the next vally over, but it offers much less in the was of tourist facilities. South of Sion, Val d'Anniviers feeds into the Rhone.<BR>The villages of Zinal and Grimentz are located high above the Rhone with glorious scenery all around. We particularly enjoyed an excursion along a trail that led to awesome overlooks of the Glacier de Moiry that feeds Lac de Moiry, which resides in a pastoral alpine setting. As we hiked up, we could hear ice cornices toppling over with a resounding crash. And once we even caught the plume thrown up by the melting and crashing ice. <BR><BR>On the north slope of the Rhone Valley, there are other valleys to explore, particular those near the L?tschental. This valley is on the other side of the ridge from the incredible peaks around Kandersteg, one of the most underrated areas in the Berner Oberland. <BR><BR>So before you commit to a Lauterbrunnen Valley only excursion, consider more fully the options that surround you.<BR>If you plan it carefully, you will have a vacation trip that leads you to places of incredible grandeur. <BR><BR>I hope you are into hiking, because nothing gives a better view of the inner secrets of the high peaks than a few miles along a scenic trail. <BR><BR>There are many vacation opportunities that abound in the Swiss and Austrian Alps. Plan it right, and you will remember the trip forever.

I skiied the Alps in the late 80's so I don't know how this would be in the summer but I visited the region of Italy where Switzerland/France/Italy merge north of Valle d'Aosta. You fly into Milan and go north towards Torino. A truly beautiful hotel, The Gran Hotel Billia lies in the Aosta Valley, the gateway to the alps...<BR>The food is really the best of all the regions, and this is where the dish, <BR>Veal Valdostana reigns from. <BR><BR>A very pretty mountain town with great hotels and bars, little shops and friendly people is Courmeyer. I also liked Cervinia. Cervinia is where you can see the Matterhorn from. I really believe in all my travels in the fourteen years that I was a travel agent that this was the most beautiful terrain I have ever seen...<BR><BR>The Italian tourism board would have up to date hotel information or try a travel agent in an Italian neighborhood that would have very specific information on that area...Good Luck!!<BR>and Ciao!!

Looks like the Fodor's text editor has struck a blow for English only!! How quaint on the European forum where we have many contributors from Europe whose native language uses accents, umlauts, and other markings.<BR>Those ? signs above are substitutions for letters in German that use an umlaut. The first ? is the O with two dots over it. The ? in L?ngenfeld is the small o with two dots. And so on.<BR>I did not type those ?, the editor program substituted them!!<BR>While I am at it, let me correct my mutilation of the high mountain highway in Austria. It is written<BR>Grossglockner-Hochalpenstrasse.<BR>The double ss is the German ?, which may suffer the same fate as the ? and ? characters.

The Serre Chevalier ski area in the Hautes Alpes in France is a wonderful valley with traditional villages, the largest town being Briancon, which has an "old town"a charming place. One of France's best kept secrets; few American or Brits go there. Not great for international apres ski scene, if that's more to your liking.