Hi! I’ve been wanting to visit Switzerland (haven’t decided on exact regions, but likely Zurich, Lucerne, Bern) for years and I might finally have the opportunity this summer.

I’ve always wanted to see the wildflowers and beautiful scenery, but really don’t want to rained out. Though late June may be better for wildflowers, I heard that June is more likely to be rainy which would be a bummer.

That said, am I better off visiting in late June or early September? Any and all advice appreciated. Thank you!

We went in mid September two years ago (Wengen) and it was spectacular.

How long will you be there? If it's a short trip, say less than 10 days, I'd go in September. For a longer trip it won't matter. You can deal with a couple of days of rain. We went for three weeks in September two years ago and had great weather the whole time.

It's not too early to start planning your itinerary too. The cities you mention are worth seeing but Switzerland is all about mountains -- your wildflowers and scenery. Time to pick a region and start planning.

Weather is non-predictable that long in advance. I went in late August and got snow, early July and got snow - and another year gorgeous sunny weather. If you want to see wildflowers (and that is really a good reason to visit!) you must go in late June.

Early September can still be hot and humid, it depends on where you plan on going. We tend to avoid holidaying around that time (or even spending much time outside in Basel, where we live) because I don't like wasps and they can be feisty at that time of year. At any rate, we prefer to do our Swiss holidays in late spring (going to the Ticino again soon), mid autumn (mid October to early November) or winter.

I spent some time in Luzern last October and the weather was perfect. Sunny, dry, warm but not hot during the day and crisp and cool at night.


flowers can be beautiful in autumn too!


along the lake

Both late June and early September can be very nice, weather-wise, but it's impossible to be sure. In June there will still be snow at high elevations, so if you want to hike very high trails it's better if you go in early September; if you don't care about that, but do care about the flowers, go in June.
If you want to minimise your changes of being rained on (especially in late June; September is more variable), don't go north of the Alps, but south, to Ticino and northern Italy.

Weather is ALWAYS unpredictable in the Alps.
The Canton of Valais (Sion, Brig, Zermatt, Saas Fee, Riederalp-Aletsch) is usually drier and more sunny than the Northern slopes of the Alps (Bernese Oberland, Lucerne area). The alpine flora is also much richer there (in June).
Weather in the Southern Canton of Ticino is a diferent weather zone and it's mountain valleys are full of flowers from mid May until end June.
As neither June nor September are high season, you could spend your first nights at a transport hub like Lucerne or Brig from where you can easily reach all the other areas and plan the next stays according to the SWISS weather forecast.

Hello, Would July be a good time to travel in July. I am thinking of going that month. Thanks Larry

July can be HOT. And AC is not common. I can sweat at home ;-)

July can get hot in the Swiss lowlands, butg not in the mounttains