What are the top 14 things to do in the Alps?

1. Hike a Classic Tour from Chamonix 2. Indulge in a Delicious Rösti in the Hornli Hutte under the Shadow of the Matterhorn 3. Watch a Mountain Stage of the Tour de France 4. Ski-Tour or Snowshoe to the Grand St. Bernard Monastery 5. Take a High Alpine Cable Car to Meet the Giants 6. Drink Genepi in a Mountain Refuge 7. Via Ferrata in the Dolomites 8. Meet a 5,300-year-old Gentleman called Ötzi in Bolzano 9. Revel with Flower-Bedecked Cattle at the Désalpes Festival 10. Eat Snails Cooked by the Woman Who Raised Them at the Cormet de Roseland 11. Have Breakfast at the Malga Langalm Mountain Hut below the Tre Cime de Lavaredo 12. Swim in a Lake Surrounded by the Julian Alps in Slovenia 13. Watch the Combat de Reine 14. Hike and Raft the Soca River by Day and Dine at Hisa Franko by night

BROWSE ALPS TRIPS

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Top 14 Things to Do in the Alps

The ultimate insider’s guide to the peaks, traditions, and hidden gems that make the Alps truly unforgettable.

With its legendary peaks, knife-edge ridgelines, storied history, and countless cultural nooks and crannies tucked into every valley, the Alps are an explorer’s dream–an embarrassment of treasures both on and off the beaten path.

Creating a definitive list of the best things to do in the Alps might be a fool’s errand, but if anyone could craft a well-informed guide to the alpine world’s greatest hits, it would be our expert Trip Leaders. With decades of experience, they’ve been peeling back the complex layers of this mythic land longer than most.

We hope this list inspires you to move the Alps from your future bucket list to your immediate plans. Of course, no single guide can capture all the wonders of the region—many of which you’ll experience on a WT hiking adventure. And others? Those are yours to discover, guided by the spirit of adventure.

1Hike a Classic Tour from Chamonix

There are over 60,000 miles of trails across the Alps. So, where does the passionate outdoors person start?

They say Chamonix is where the sport of alpinism was born, and it remains for many, the center of the alpine world. It is also the starting point for two of the Alps’ most coveted multi-day treks, the Tour du Mont Blanc and the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt. These well-beaten paths are among the most famous in the world for a reason. They cut through some of the most iconic alpine landscapes under the watchful eye of the region’s emblematic mountains. They have become a right of passage for every hiker who seeks connection with the wildest reaches of the globe.

Trips to Book: Tour du Mont Blanc; Ultimate Haute Route; Hiking the Haute Route; Treasures of Mont Blanc

2Indulge in a Delicious Rösti in the Hornli Hutte under the Shadow of the Matterhorn

Anyone who has eaten a potato rosti high in the Swiss Alps will confirm that there are few better things in life. This Swiss delicacy, at its simplest, is crispy shredded potato cooked in more butter than is reasonable. It is everything but delicate.

Switzerland’s famed Hörnlihütte, built for hikers and climbers, sits perched on a promontory just below the Hörnli Ridge, which leads to the summit of the imperious Matterhorn. The five-and-a-half mile out-and-back hike from here takes you through 2300 feet of elevation and is a great challenge. All this effort means you can load up your rosti with cheese, bacon, and an egg guilt-free as you watch alpinists come down from the most famous of peaks.

Trips to Book: Ultimate Haute Route; Hiking the Haute Route; Tour de Monte Rosa

3Watch a Mountain Stage of the Tour de France

The Col du Grand Colombier, Alpe d’Huez, and Cormet de Roselend are hallowed names for anyone with even a passing interest in professional cycling. Each summer, these alpine passes fill with a sea of jerseys, caps, and banners as the Tour de France blazes through pavements mottled with the chalked names of the fan-favorite riders.

The energy is electric: cowbells ring, crowds roar, and riders dig deep through the pain cave—all set against a backdrop of soaring peaks and verdant valleys. It’s a spectacle that must be seen to be believed. And then you look around and realize: it’s all unfolding in one of the most stunning settings on Earth.

4Ski-Tour or Snowshoe to the Grand St. Bernard Monastery

The Grand St. Bernard Monastery has lived in the minds of alpine dreamers for over a thousand years. The history and spirituality of this place are undeniable. As children, many of us heard tales of the legendary St. Bernard dogs saving lost pilgrims in deadly blizzards–tales that sparked a lifelong fascination with these jagged snow-covered lands.

Today, the monastery remains a refuge for the soul. While the surrounding ski stations are packed to the brim with downhill skiers, this serene hospice stands as a beacon for those seeking something wilder and more contemplative.

If conditions allow, you can ski-tour or snowshoe to the monastery beginning in February. Upon arrival, the monks and their staff welcome guests with warm food and simple accommodations. Spending a night here, enveloped by sublime alpine silence, is a profoundly moving experience—no matter your beliefs.

5Take a High Alpine Cable Car to Meet the Giants

The transportation infrastructure of the Alps is remarkable. Thousands of lifts take skiers and hikers into the mountains throughout the year. However, only a few cable cars can bring people right up to the high alpine world of glaciers and jagged peaks and into a land of fabled tales of the most extreme adventures.

The Aiguille du Midi Cable Car and the Skyway Monte Bianco serve the French and Italian sides of the Mont Blanc massif and are connected by the Panoramic Mont Blanc cable car for a thrilling ride above the glaciers at 12,395 feet. Only by coming up to this altitude can you genuinely experience these wildest parts of Mother Earth without donning crampons and wielding an ice axe. It is truly mind-blowingly beautiful, but don’t take our word for it; go and find out for yourself.

Trips to Book: Tour du Mont Blanc; Ultimate Haute Route; Hiking the Haute Route; Treasures of Mont Blanc

6Drink Génépi in a Mountain Refuge

The alpine wild is home to a rich abundance of medicinal plants and herbs, and one of the most storied among them is the génépi plant. With its tiny yellow flowers, this stalk-like plant provides the flavor for one of the Alps’ most beloved liqueurs.

According to legend, the proper way to craft génépi is to place 40 stalks and 40 sugar cubes into a liter of raw alcohol for 40 days and 40 nights. Having divined the necessary “medicinal properties” from this most sacred of alpine customs, the génépi is now ready to cleanse the soul of the adventurers that consume it.

And where better to take part in this cleansing tradition than in one of the many hikers’ refuges nestled throughout the Alps—where one can raise a shot to the gods of mountain air, wild herbs, and good company.

Trips to Book: Tour du Mont Blanc; Ultimate Haute Route; Hiking the Haute Route; Treasures of Mont Blanc; Mont Blanc to the Mediterranean

7Via Ferrata in the Dolomites

During World War I, the Italian army installed many miles of ladders and chains into the steep rocky mountainsides of the Dolomites to facilitate the movement of their mountain brigades through this complex terrain.

Later, adventurous alpine enthusiasts updated the Via Ferrata (Iron Way) to create incredible mountain obstacle courses of ladders, tightropes, and cliffside platforms to give access to this high terrain.

Adventurers who take on one of these New Age “Via Ferratas” are kept safe by dual lanyards that clip from their harnesses to tough metal cables bolted to the rock throughout the cliffside course. Like skiing, these courses range from Green to Black in difficulty and are an incredible way to get into steep cliffs and wild places without being a climbing expert.

Via Ferrata has now spread and can be found throughout the Alps, but the very best ones are still found where the Iron Way was first imagined: the Dolomites.

8Meet a 5,300-year-old Gentleman called Ötzi in Bolzano

In 1991, as hikers were passing through the Schnalstal Valley in South Tyrol, they came across the perfectly preserved remains of a man who had been murdered there during the Copper Age, well before the pyramids were built in Egypt. With him were his tools, clothing, and equipment.

Today, he lies in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy. His story and this incredible exhibit shine a light on humanity’s long and storied history in these alpine regions.

Trip to Book: Treasures of the Dolomites

9Revel with Flower-Bedecked Cattle at the Désalpes Festival

The Désalpes Festival (French-speaking) or Almabtrieb Festival (German-speaking) is an annual cattle drive in which alpine farmers bring their cows from the high grazing pastures of the summer to cattle sheds down in the valley for the winter.

This is no ordinary cattle drive, however. The traveling cows are garlanded in blankets of flowers, and a variety of alpine folk music rings through the mountains.

Revelers drink schnapps and listen to the brass-heavy Oompa late into the night in Austria, while in Switzerland, revelers may happen upon the epic, ethereal sounds of the Swiss alphorn or of classical chamber music while sipping the local génépi or gentian.

Trips to Book: Hiking the Heart of Switzerland; Hiking Switzerland’s Via Alpina; Ultimate Haute Route; Hiking the Haute Route

10Eat Snails Cooked by the Woman Who Raised Them at the Cormet de Roselend

Not all mountain refuges are the same, and atop the Cormet de Roselend plateau in the Beaufortain is a very special one. The Refuge de Plan Mya has received guests for generations.

Now, Alys, who was born in the refuge, serves some of the best rustic alpine food anywhere. Her family has been herding cattle at this place for over a hundred years, but more recently, she and her husband started farming snails in the valley below throughout the winter. (Reserve your judgment on eating snails until you have tried them here!)

You can get them in their shells (coquilles) or encased in a shell-shaped light pastry (croquilles). Either way, they are delicious, and if that truly is not your thing, she also creates cozy, home-cooked alpine recipes that have been filling the hungry bellies of locals and adventurers for a long, long time.

Trip to Book: Treasures of Mont Blanc

11Have Breakfast at the Malga Langalm Mountain Hut below the Tre Cime di Lavaredo

The Tre Cime di Lavaredo rises like a sentinel on the horizon in the Dolomites. Such a magnificent piece of nature’s bounty is, of course, unmissable, and needless to say, it can become crowded throughout the day.

It just so happens that in true Italian style, the Malga Langalm Mountain Hut below it serves great local yogurt, cakes cooked in a wood-fired oven and, most importantly, great coffee; perfect for a breakfast.

Get up early and walk about half an hour from the trailhead to this wonderfully placed rifugio. Then order breakfast and sit out on the terrace contemplating these awe-inspiring structures of nature, our place among them, and what we can do to help ensure they are protected. What a way to start the day!

Trips to Book: Hiking in the Cortina Dolomites; Ultimate Dolomites

12Swim in a Lake Surrounded by the Julian Alps in Slovenia

In a nation known for the clarity of its alpine waters, Lake Bohinj stands out as one of the most pristine. Tucked beneath Mount Vogel in the heart of the Julian Alps, this glacial lake offers more than just a view—it offers renewal. A swim here is one of the best ways to cleanse the soul anywhere in the Alps.

If you want the full Slovenian lake experience, take a steep hike from Lake Bohinj via the village of Komarca to reach the valley of the seven lakes. In a country of hidden gems, this place may be the most precious.

Trip to Book: Hiking in Slovenia

13Watch the Combat de Reine

The ancient agricultural heritage of the Alps is often overlooked. But long before hiking, skiing, and climbing arrived, people devoted their lives to raising livestock, growing fruit, and farming in this extreme geography. To this day, many communities continue this long tradition despite the challenges.

The Hérémence breed, known as the Swiss fighting cows, originated in the Valais region of the Swiss Alps and are thought to be a remnant of an indigenous cattle breed once common. They head-butt each other to assert dominance within the herd and move towards the top matriarchal position.

Each year, the alpine farmers choose the most robust members of their herds and bring them to arenas, where the cows naturally push each other like bovine sumo wrestlers until one turns and runs while the other moves onto the next round until a reine (queen) reigns supreme.

The local reine will move onto the regional, national, and eventually international stages, where the one true queen of the Alps reigns supreme amongst a herd of thousands. The victorious queens are adorned with a crown of flowers, and the community’s celebrations continue long into the night. It is truly an incredible spectacle in which the passion of this ancient group of agriculteurs is seen in all its historic glory.

14Hike and Raft the Soca River by Day and Dine at Hisa Franko by night

The turquoise waters of the Soca River meander through the karst landscape of Slovenia’s Triglav National Park. A hike into the Trenta Valley, where the Soca has its source, is a breathtaking journey in a limestone world brimming with waterways that flow intensely blue.

In the afternoon, suit up and hop into a guided raft for an adrenaline rush on the Soca rapids, which has become one of the world’s most sought-after rafting and kayaking rivers.

If that’s not enough excitement for the day, then treat yourself to a table at the three-Michelin-starred Hisa Franko, Slovenia’s most famous restaurant, which has appeared on the Top 50 Restaurants in the World list since 2017. This restaurant takes its ingredients from the rich, unique bounty provided by the Soca river and region.

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Our Europe Specialists know every detail about our Alps Tours. They will be happy to answer any questions and help you choose the journey that’s right for you. Contact us to learn more or book your trip today!

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