Swiss hiking and strolling
 

My fiancée and I are looking for the best town in Switzerland to serve as our hub for great summer hikes by day, and nice late afternoon and after-dinner strolls in town peeking in and out of shops, etc. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

One option: The Bernese Oberland, possibly staying in Wengen.
Another option: The Lower Engadine, possibly staying in Scuol.
BUT it depends on when you plan on going....

Yes, Berner Oberland sounds great and sounds like you are looking for a larger town to come back to for night strolling and window shopping - Grindelwald may be that town. Or Interlaken for a much bigger offerings of apres-hiking activities. Trains from Interlaken easily take you to higher climes and climbs.

Do you want Alpine hikes or lower elevations - Lucerne may be a good base for the latter-take lake boats and trains to neat hiking venues.

But it's a pretty wide-open question and so many areas of Switzerland could fulfill those wishes. Montreux for one on Lake Geneva.

We plan to go start of July. We enjoy level to moderate hiking terrain, above and below the tree line. A challenge is always nice too — climbing over boulders, hopping rocks across a river, etc. but definitely nothing to entails risk of falling from a height. 😉.

We enjoy level to moderate terrain, both below and above the tree line, perhaps 4-6 hours hiking a day (including an hour for a packed lunch). A nice challenge is always fun too — climbing over boulders, hopping rocks while crossing a river, etc — but nothing that involves risk of fall from a height. 😉. I don’t think we want a very large town as a hub, but certainly one that will keep our interest over a few days for an hour or two each day — even if that involves sitting in a cafe and people watching or strolling from shop to shop. We are not looking for any major shopping. Thank you.

Then you might also consider the Upper Engadine, perhaps basing in Silvaplana or Pontresina.

Or St Moritz - great for strolling and window shopping.

In July, most places in the Swiss Alps match your interests:
Verbier, Crans-Montana, Leukerbad, St. Luc, Zermatt, Saas Fee, Riederalp, Kandersteg, Wengen, Grindelwald, Engelberg, Andermatt, Flims, Arosa, Klosrters, Davos, Scuol, Samedan, St. Moritz, Pontresina, Sils Maria.........
May be you hvae a look at https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/home.html

Public transports are great in Switzerland - trains to get you to a base and mountain trains, gondolas and lifts to get to hiking trails. check out the Swiss Transfer Ticket to get to a location from any airport or border train station and then back to any airport or border station and you get 50% off everything that moves in Switzerland for all the time in between. Good if going only to and from one base not traveling around the country - for that look at half-Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass, etc. For lots on Swiss transports and where to go www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts.

Grindelwald in Berner Oberland may be a good choice as it is a more sizable town but stll a village with more shops and restaurants and a night life with a pulse.