6 cool things to do in Switzerland this summer

A major highlight of the Lucerne Festival, Switzerland’s classical music fest, is its Summer Festival which takes place in August and September. The four-week festival includes over 100 events across various venues in the city with longest name of Lucerne. The program includes everything from Mozart to the Modernists, and has been an annual event for the past 75 years. Expect an exciting slate of performances this year between 13 August and 15 September, including the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, as well as soloists. There will also be seminars and discussions with composers. Book here

Food

Try cheeses you’ve never had at local cheese festivals

Spring and summer are also when cheese-makers across Switzerland celebrate their delicious creations with visitors. Cheese and dairy are integral to the Swiss experience, so don’t miss out on sampling a variety of local cheeses. The cheese festival in Gruyères is scheduled for 5 May and will see cheese makers from the French-speaking part of Switzerland and from beyond the Sarine region present their cheeses at a special market held in Rue du Bourg. The Frauenfeld Cheese Festival on 9 July will include cheese displays by local brands Käsekult AG and Castle Cheese Dairy. In September, you can attend the Huttwil Cheese Festival (21-22 September), which features over 20 exhibitors, or the Thun Cheese Festival (28 September), where you can discover varieties like the full-bodied Schönreider Mountain Cheese or the semi-hard Hornberger Mutschli. More information here

Dig into a hearty Swiss brunch at The August 1st Brunch

Swiss National Day falls on 1 August and celebrates the historic alliance concluded in 1291 by the three cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. On this national holiday, locals celebrate with what is known as ‘The August 1st Brunch at the Farm’. The brunch—that interested folks can register for—has been a yearly tradition for 30 years and about 300 farming families in Switzerland open their farms to visitors for this. You can pick the farm you want to brunch at and enjoy a range of homemade, regional products and foods, such as fresh bread, grilled meats, rösti or Swiss hash browns, local cheeses like Sprinz, Camembert and Tête de Moine, strawberry and plum jams and Bircher Müseli. Register here