Some like to actually earn their boozy lunch, and for those
people, we recommend this epicurean hike, which will take you 5km
up hill and down dale along the Bisse de Clavau and through Sion’s
noble vineyards, on a one-and-a-half-hour march that takes in the
area’s 2,000-year-old grape-growing history. Your prize? A
three-course meal with six accompanying wines to taste at one of
the region’s charming guérites.

You’ll want your camera for the famed Riffelsee Lake, which
performs (on calm weather days) as a perfect mirror for the
pyramidal Matterhorn that looms above it. Our suggestion: take the
iconic Gornergrat Railway from Zermatt to Rotenboden and combine
your visit to the glassy lake with a one-hour hike from there.
Plough on a little further to witness a second, smaller (quieter)
lake, which is just as photogenic.

Don’t just admire the largest glacier in the Alps from a
distance – get to grips with it on a thrilling guided hike. Welcome
to the Great Aletsch Glacier, a 20km-long, 800m-thick,
10-billion-tonne hunk of ice that’s the undisputed jewel in the
crown of the Aletsch Arena. A variety of tours through this
Unesco-listed spectacle led by experienced mountaineers are
available every day from June to October, from Fiesch, and from
Riederalp, every Wednesday.

Strap on your best boots for a rewarding voyage through the
panoramic Nendaz region – a slice of the Alps overlooking the Rhone
Valley that’s as sunny as the French Riviera. Best for moderately
experienced hikers, three and four-day treks can be taken at a
leisurely pace, with vistas galore along marked paths by day, and
overnight stops at cosy cabins, under skies peppered with countless
constellations of twinkling stars. What better way to spend a long
weekend getting back to nature?