Summer Holidays in the MountainsOne glacier, two kids and a husband with high culinary standards.
Escaping the heat
Down in the lowlands it was simply too hot, and we just had to get away. Simple? It’s not quite that simple. My husband is half Italian, prefers to cook himself every day, and for years our summers have belonged to the sea and the beach. The mountains were never the plan.
After the obligatory beach holiday, it was still too hot for us back in Switzerland. We needed a short stay higher up. Mountain air. Cooling off. A short break in the mountains. Ideally in a rustic mountain hotel with some history?
We don’t really like hotels. Too sterile, too impersonal. And my husband and the kids are, let’s say, «demanding» when it comes to food.
Finding a place that makes the kids happy and where nobody sends their plate back after the first dinner because it’s «just not good»: about as hard as finding a parking space in Zurich on a Saturday afternoon.
Searched and booked.
Hotel and Restaurant Alpfrieden on Bettmeralp
On social media we stumbled across an offer: anyone who books at least two nights at Hotel Alpfrieden on Bettmeralp travels there free of charge by public transport. For the four of us, that was a saving of over 300 francs (the offer is valid until the end of October 2026).
Neither of us is
a public transport person.
We usually drive, out of convenience and habit.
On the way
Three hours forty from Zurich to the Bettmeralp valley station in Betten, then up by gondola. The kids read, played and looked out of the window. We have rarely had such a relaxed train journey.
You arrive,
and it’s simply quiet.
A "detail" you only notice once you’re up there:
Bettmeralp is car-free. You hear the cowbells and smell the fresh, clear air.
The welcome committee
was waiting outside.
You get off the gondola, walk two hundred metres, and there are cows. Not behind a fence in an enclosure, but simply in the meadow in front of the hotel, with bells, chewing, completely unimpressed. Our kids stopped, said nothing for a while and just stared wide-eyed.
The mountain hotel Alpfrieden is very centrally located on Bettmeralp, and everything can be reached on foot in 10 to 20 minutes.
At home
within five minutes.
We were welcomed by Silvia, the owner, personally and with a genuine warmth that can’t be faked.
The whole staff treated us as if it wasn’t our first time here. Very family-like, attentive and friendly.
The room for families
The Suite Solana has two separate rooms. Anyone who has ever slept in a single hotel room with two kids knows what that’s worth. One for us, one for them, and a door in between that you can close. Bingo.
Both rooms with a panoramic TV
Even in the evening, the view from the bed was much more interesting than the TV. The kids had direct access to the bathroom.
No minibar.
But plenty of wood.
This is exactly what we had been looking for: a house that has been family-owned since 1948, lots of wood, flowers on the balcony and a view that is second to none. Almost a little kitschy.
We had a large balcony with two chairs, so we could enjoy the view even more.
At eye level
with the peaks.
The first thing we did after taking our luggage to the room: sit straight down on the terrace. Not in a valley below the mountains, but at eye level with them.
What came to the table
Schnitzel with fries – six times in three days.
The rope park.
The first highlight
We had expected to have to march uphill for half an hour somewhere, with all the tough negotiations that go with it.
Just around the corner
From the hotel along the edge of the forest, 10 minutes on foot, without a single metre of ascent worth arguing about.
Tip: on the way you pass the medicinal herb trail with its information boards. You take it in as you go, without it feeling like a planned activity.
Secured by professionals.
Our kids had never done anything like this before. They were put in harnesses, given helmets and carabiners, and after a very professional yet child-friendly introduction, the adventure began.
And then they were gone.
From tree to tree.
Balancing, swinging, clipping in, switching over. Both of them immediately understood how the system works, and then we were "unemployed" for 2.5 hours. Had we known, we would have brought a small bottle of chilled white wine and two glasses. Note to self for next time.
Different courses for every age group.
You pay 13 francs per child once and can then go round as often as you like from half past nine until five. Our two needed two and a half hours to make the most of both rounds.
From a height of 130 centimetres, the long, challenging courses for adults and teenagers open up. We’re saving those for next time. We agreed on that surprisingly quickly.
Around the rope park
The kids are harnessed and ready to go – and we’re ready for some well-deserved parent time.
Good morning!
Great choice, everything just right.
At eight in the morning we sat almost alone in the dining room, watching the sun rise over the ridge. Sure! No, of course not. We slept through until 9:30 and then hurried off to breakfast.
Good bread, fresh croissants, cold cuts, lots of cheeses, nuts, cereal flakes and a good fruit salad. Coffee and Ovomaltine... what more could you want?
From the buffet
Bread and croissants, the buffet, muesli and the fruit salad.
Steep, steeper, Bettmerhorn cable car
Then we headed up the Bettmerhorn, because we really wanted to show the kids the Aletsch Glacier. Return trip by gondola for the four of us for a reasonable CHF 17 (with Half Fare travelcard).
Fear of heights? What’s that?
That’s probably what the technician in the picture is thinking. On the last stretch just before the station, it gets much steeper than we had expected. I admit that at times I deliberately looked ahead instead of down.
On the other hand, we saw chamois on the slope and, further down, hikers tackling the route on foot. The kids thought it was great.
On the way up
The steep route and the view back over the sunny plateau.
At the top it’s ten degrees cooler and even quieter.
The Bettmerhorn mountain station sits right on the ridge. A few steps, and the entire Aletsch Glacier lies before you.
The same building houses the glacier museum, the glacier exhibition. Admission is free.
And then we stood there,
and the kids were silent.
Both of them. At the same time. In our family, that happens about as often as a full moon in the afternoon. It sounds corny, but this sight taught us all humility, and no photo can capture the impression.
Good enough
for the family album after all.
At some point you just have to hold up your phone and accept that the glacier in the background looks smaller than it really is.
Strength lies in stillness
A few steps from the platform there is a sign marking the spot as a place of power. Next to it are benches. We sat down and for quite a while simply enjoyed the view in silence.
At the power place
Below, the Rhone Valley.
Above, nothing
but wind.
From the bench you look over the ridge down into the valley, and on the other side lies the glacier. You sit right in between.
For the first time, the kids voluntarily sat still for ten minutes. Whether it was the mountain air or the view, I can’t say.
Free,
and better than expected.
Less well known, but an absolute must: at the top of the Bettmerhorn there is a glacier exhibition, the glacier museum.
A bit spooky,
say the kids.
The exhibition features historical figures with faces projected onto them, who then tell stories from times gone by.
Twenty kilometres of ice
on a three-metre table.
This puts it all in a different perspective. A miniature model shows the entire Aletsch Glacier with the surrounding peaks.
Equipped like a hundred years ago,
and still made it to the top.
In a display case stands a mountaineer with rope, ice axe and equipment that makes you wonder how anyone ever made it to the top back then.
Our ten-year-old stood in front of it for a long time and then said his trainers were better. He’s probably right.
Not quite as cold, but just as impressive
The reconstructed glacier with a light installation that you can walk through. Blue light, cold walls, a narrow passage. Adventure!
Afternoon at Lake Bettmer
After the ride back down from the Bettmerhorn, we had lunch on the Alpfrieden terrace, with a panorama for starter and dessert. Then off to Lake Bettmer.
The kids would have
loved to do it
three times.
You can easily walk to Lake Bettmer, or take the very long conveyor belt, a kind of escalator intended for skis and sledges in winter. Of course we took the conveyor belt. Naturally, our kids would have loved to romp around on this cool conveyor belt for hours. Once at the top, it’s about another five minutes on foot.
Rent a pedal boat,
then have a drink.
At the boathouse there is a small restaurant with a terrace right on the water. Whether you "just" want to admire the lake, go swimming, explore the middle of the lake by pedal boat or take a leisurely stroll around it... there’s something for everyone.
All the way round,
without a single
«How much further?»
The path around the lake is flat, wide and well maintained. With kids you can easily do it in half an hour – with frogs and stones along the way, more like two hours.
Around the lake
The lakeside path, the lake panorama and the rocks above the shore.
Nothing is as refreshing as a glacier stream
Instead of swimming, we dipped our feet in one of the many streams that feed the lake. We couldn’t stand it for long and had to get out every now and then, because the water was really quite cold.
Ice cream time on probably
the most beautiful bench by the lake.
Under a large tree on the west side. From there you can see the whole lake and the mountains in the background.
There are several benches and picnic spots along the shore, but this one bench is the best.
About two
centimetres long.
In August the shallow shore is teeming with tiny frogs. Both kids spent a good hour finding them, carefully picking them up and letting them go again. We simply soaked up the mountain feeling.
Better than any theme park.
Kids’ paddling area.
A separate, very shallow part of the lake, specially signposted for small children. You stand ankle-deep in the water.
Nature is
the real luxury.
We sat next to them on a rock and watched. No admission fees, no time slots, no registration.
Anyone who has ever had to schedule a family holiday down to the minute knows how rare that is.
The mutual interest
was limited.
For "city kids", seeing their first cow from two metres away is quite an event. For the cow, not so much.
In Love with Bettmeralp
Instead of taking the conveyor belt again, we walked right across Bettmeralp. Picture-book scenes: little streams running through the village, tiny one-room cottages and stylishly arranged front gardens... What a place.
Picture-book Bettmeralp
Valais wooden houses, a stream running right through the village, and in summer a sledge waiting for winter.
The Maria zum Schnee chapel in summer
Valais wooden houses, flower boxes, and between them the white chapel on its hill. For us, a real hidden gem when it comes to holidays in the mountains.
And suddenly, a mini golf course.
The course is right in the middle of the village and is the perfect end to a day when everyone has already walked enough.
After a lot of back and forth,
our eight-year-old won.
The evidence was thin, the referee was biased, and nobody kept score. Her big brother still sees it differently to this day. We let it stand anyway.
Bad weather programme on Bettmeralp
We had three days of pure sunshine and never needed Plan B. Still, we took a look at it, because with kids you never know. The Bachtla sports centre right next to the conveyor belt.
Indoor pool
A heated pool right in the sports centre. After three days of a 19-degree mountain lake, that was quite a tempting argument for our kids.
Indoor playground
Right next to the pool. Climbing, sliding, romping around. Easily enough for a rainy afternoon.
Climbing wall
Also under the same roof. For the older ones who got a taste for it at the rope park.
Pump track
Right in front, outdoors. When it’s just cloudy rather than wet, the kids do their laps here on scooters or bikes.
The location
The Bachtla sports centre is right by the conveyor belt that leads up to Lake Bettmer. So you pass it several times a day, whether you want to or not.
She didn’t have to.
That’s exactly why
it stuck with us.
On the last morning we had a lie-in and another hearty breakfast. Afterwards, we had the pleasure of being driven to the gondola station in the hotel’s electric vehicle. Many thanks once again to Silvia, who gave us and our kids an unforgettable stay.
Four pairs of eyes
met, and the
matter was settled.
Of all times, just before leaving, we discovered that you can rent scooters on Bettmeralp.
What families want
to know beforehand.
Around three and a half hours to the Betten valley station, then about five minutes up by gondola.
Very much so. The village is car-free, the paths are mostly flat, and there is also a conveyor belt up to Lake Bettmer.
Ten minutes on foot, flat, along the edge of the forest. The medicinal herb trail is on the way.
We went without booking. On site you get a harness, helmet and carabiners as well as a short safety briefing.
Yes. In August the water was 19 degrees, there is a shallow kids’ area, and pedal boats can be rented at the boathouse.
With the Half Fare travelcard, we paid 17 francs for all four of us together, return. With a family card you can save even more.
No, the museum at the mountain station is free. The walk-through ice tunnel was the highlight for our kids.
The Bachtla sports centre is just a few minutes from the hotel and offers an indoor pool, indoor playground and climbing wall under one roof.
Almost outrageously
good for families.
Three days is short. But they were three days full of new experiences and sights we had never seen before. There’s plenty to do on site, all within easy walking distance. Together with the scenery: simply wonderful.
Everything can be reached on foot, there are no cars, and the highlights are so close together that you don’t constantly have to negotiate distances with the kids. Rope park, lake, glacier, museum, mini golf: everything is within fifteen minutes or one cable car ride.
For typical beach holidaymakers like us, that was the surprise. We had expected an emergency programme because it was too hot at home. What we got was a holiday that really felt like a holiday.
The Alpfrieden is not a luxury hotel, nor does it want to be. It is an honest mountain hotel with simple rooms, an exceptional terrace, excellent cuisine and friendly hosts who welcome you as friends.
That’s exactly why we ended up here, and exactly why we’ll be back.