Via Alpina

A network of trans-alpine trails, the Via Alpina links the entire alpine arc across eight countries through a series of colour-coded routes totalling around 5,000 km. Its best-known line, the Red Trail, runs from Trieste on the Adriatic to Monaco, while Switzerland's own national Via Alpina crosses the country from Vaduz to Montreux in about twenty stages.

The Swiss route is a highlight of the whole system, crossing fourteen mountain passes and some of the country's grandest scenery — the Klausen and Grosse Scheidegg passes, the Bernese Oberland's snow peaks and the green foothills above Lake Geneva. Each stage is designed to end at a village with lodging and transport.

Difficulty is moderate to strenuous by alpine standards, with sustained daily climbs but no technical ground, and the waymarking is meticulous. Walkers overnight in mountain inns, dairies and village hotels rather than carrying tents, and the dense Swiss transport network makes single stages or short sections easy to arrange. No permit is required.

Launched in the early 2000s as a cross-border cooperation project, the Via Alpina was conceived to promote sustainable tourism and shared alpine heritage among the eight countries it crosses. The Swiss stages are reliably walkable from July to mid-September, once the passes are clear of snow; late summer offers the most settled weather for the higher crossings.