Lakes in the Alps in Switzerland: the five most beautiful panoramas

Let's discover the lakes in the Alps in Switzerland. The five sites with the most beautiful panoramas.

A lake is beautiful. The light shines on the ripples on its surface, the breeze refreshes the skin and lowers the noise level of the city or village bathing in the lake.

Nature is omnipresent, flowers and lush vegetation on the banks, the growth of which is facilitated by the mild climate typical of lake shores, and by the dense forests that climb the mountains surrounding the alpine lakes.

Because yes, and this is the specificity of an Alpine lake, they are often bordered by high ridges, and it is from up there that we can admire the most beautiful landscapes.

Here are some ideas for marveling at the most beautiful panoramas of alpine lakes from easily accessible viewpoints.

The Niederhorn from Beatenberg above Lake Thun

Lake Thun at the gateway to theBernese Oberland is an ideal destination for those who love to spend their holidays by a lake in the Alps.

The towns of Thun, Spiez and Interlaken offer beautiful walks in very different urban settings. A little further away, Lake Brienz, with its very blue waters, completes this idyllic landscape.

We gain height on the Beatenberg side, accessible from Interlaken or by funicular from Beatenbucht on the north shore of Lake Thun.

Up there you can reach a magnificent natural balcony from which you can not only admire Lake Thun, but also the mountain landscape of the Jungfrau region.

We can see the dizzying wall of the Eiger, and the ice caps of the Jungfrau and the Mönch. A white patch shining in the sun above the darker landscape of the lake at our feet.

Just a few kilometres further on, you can take the gondola up to almost 2000 metres above sea level to the summit of the Niederhorn.

The panorama then opens up over the entire Bernese region. A real breath of fresh air and a feeling of flying.

Pilatus between Lake Lucerne and Alpine peaks

Almost in the centre of Switzerland, from its 2100 metres above sea level, Mount Pilatus offers the best view of Lake Lucerne. Probably the most photogenic lake in the Alps in Switzerland.

You will see this beautiful lake as if you were an eagle in full flight.

A gondola from Kriens, a village on the outskirts of Lucerne, takes tourists directly to the summit. For good hikers, the ascent or just the descent on foot is also possible.

Overlooking almost sheer over some branches of the lake, from up there you can admire towns and villages like Lucerne and Weggis, other viewpoints, a little lower down, like the Rigi and the Bürgenstock, as well as all the mountains of central Switzerland.

A “must” when staying in this region of Switzerland.

The Rigi, facing Lake Lucerne, in the Swiss Alps

Facing the Pilatus, we find the Rigi and its little red train.

At an altitude of 1800 metres, this summit which dominates the eastern shore of Lake Lucerne and which offers a panoramic view of practically all the branches of the lake is also accessible by train.

You can reach the Rigi Kulm (the summit) by train from Vitznau or Goldau. By cable car from Weggis you will arrive directly at Rigi Kaltbad, a station almost on the summit ridge, also served by the other two train lines.

It's not just the summit that's worth the detour: there are a large number of viewpoints on this mountain that you can describe as you hike and depending on your departure station.

The Rigi is a great adventure playground that will delight all types of walkers of all ages, from the most tired to the most athletic!

The Rochers de Naye, belvedere on Lake Geneva

The little train leaves from Montreux, on the shores of Lake Geneva, and takes its passengers to the top of the mountains that border the lake to the far east. What awaits you at the top is one of the most beautiful panoramas of a lake in the Alps in Switzerland.

At an altitude of 2000 metres, more than one thousand five hundred metres above the surface of the lake, the Rochers de Naye reveal a breathtaking panorama of the Vaud Alps and the first peaks of the Valais, Chablais and practically the whole of Lake Geneva. We can see Evian, Lausanne, the Lavaux vineyards.

Of course, from the arrival station at the summit, you can plan to organize hikes on the neighboring ridges to enjoy new breathtaking landscapes, or why not go back down by the paths so as not to take your eyes off the blue color of Lake Geneva.

Photographers beware, the sun sets opposite the Rochers de Naye overlooking the lake, the afternoon is not conducive to photos... it is better to come early in the morning when the sun is still behind you.

Monte Bré, view of Lugano and its lake

This article on the belvederes overlooking the lakes in the Alps, Switzerland, could not end without mentioning the lakes of Tessin, . We could have chosen viewpoints overlooking Lake Maggiore on the Ascona or Locarno side, but I preferred to present Monte Bré, located in Lugano.

It is very easily accessible by funicular, or by paths, or even the road.

Access is easy and it is a very popular walk both among the people of Ticino and among the many Italians who come to spend a day in Lugano from neighbouring Lombardy.

During the climb, you can see the roofs of the city moving away and you can admire the curve of the gulf drawn by the shores of Lake Lugano on either side of the city.

Like a humped silhouette, Mount Sant Salvatore stands on the opposite bank overlooking the village of Paradiso, which is aptly named as the landscape is so beautiful.

You can follow the entire southern branch of the lake, crossed by the motorway and the railway on a bridge that gives the illusion of floating on the water, and which is lost in the mists of Monte San Giorgio from where the branch of the lake starts, on the shores of which we find the charming and colourful village of Morcote.

Towards the East, the gaze is lost in a wooded fjord in which the lake holds its place. At the very bottom, where the lake ends, is already the Italian shore. In this direction and just a few kilometers further, the road would take us to a new adventure right in the middle of the shore Como lake.

Seeing a lake from above always gives a soothing feeling. The still expanse of water, barely streaked with a few almost invisible motorboats, contributes to this feeling of letting go. The sounds are distant, the wind blows regularly, the sun warms the skin and the hearts.

An experience that should never be missed when visiting a region with lakes in the Alps.

In Switzerland, we have chosen to mention only a part of the multitude of lakes, which leaves us the pleasure of writing a new article soon with other exceptional viewpoints.

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