Every year, a new location quietly yet quickly creeps up as the destination du jour, or should I say de l'année. Albania has had its moment in the limelight, as has Bilabo, and even Bhutan, which still sits at the top of my own travel wish list. But 2026 is ushering in a new contender, and Timothée Chalamet's own appearance only serves as extra evidence: everyone's heading to the Alps.
In winter, of course, this is far from news. The 750-mile stretch of mountains is home to over 1,15o ski resorts, many more than familiar to any winter sports lover. What is new, however, is the shift towards the Alps as a year-round hotspot. My Instagram feed now full of glacier swimming snaps, hiking videos and grass-verge stairlift scenes. So where should you actually venture when there's no snow? Six people who've just taken the trip share their secrets.
Journalist Alistair Charlton has been visiting the Alps for over a decade, his aunt and uncle very handily owning a chalet in Châtel that's rented out through winter yet surprisingly free in summer. On his agenda? Mountain biking, hiking and a dip in the thermal pools.
"We’ve been mounting biking as a big group. This works great, since the biking routes use the ski lifts so getting around is easy, and often quicker than driving. There are plenty of walking and hiking routes too, a cable car at the top of the village, a good amount of bars and restaurants (that are now always busy; a decade ago many wouldn’t even bother opening in the summer). There’s also stuff like mini golf, a cinema, a brewery with tap room in the next village, and an enormous zip wire called the Fantasticable," he tells me.
Add to that the thermal pools, such as Les Bains de Lavey, the 90-minute drive to Geneva, and numerous villages and lakes to explore (Lake Geneva and Lausanne, especially) and there's clearly no shortage of places to explore. His top tip to anyone else heading out? Pack properly. "The weather can be changeable. You’ll experience some incredible thunder storms rolling through the valley at night, but it's often warm and sunny each day."
Take note of this rental car advice, too: "car hire from the French side of Geneva airport is much cheaper than the Swiss side." And do your research before you head out: ski lift routes, road closures and resort opening times are all things to keep top of mind.
On a similar biking theme, journalist Amy Sedghi ventured to the Alps to catch the Tour de France, taking the gondola over from Méribel Mottaret to Chamonix. "It was fantastic; there was such a great atmosphere and vibe, plus the scenery was stunning," she says. "It was so nice to see the skiing areas in a completely different season. Instead of snowy scenes, it was lush with plants, trees and bright Alpine flowers," she adds, describing the mountainside as a "playground for those that love hiking, running, cycling and more."
It's a description brand builder Sarah Guild fits perfectly, venturing to Alpe d’Huez for a triathlon and the iconic climb, "which was incredibly humbling, but very beautiful, and for me delivered a lasting feeling of what it means to be alive," she tells me. "If you love to cycle, the Alps is for you. It just feels very stripped back. It's not glamorous, but I mean that in the best sense. It’s just somewhere you can truly just switch off, and really submerge yourself in nature, which I think is very healing." And after venturing to Annecy post-race for some much-deserved recovery, she's equally sold on the slower side. "Annecy actually felt very familiar. That was my overall feeling being there. It felt like somewhere I’d been before. Incredibly tranquil."
Her advice for any of us visiting, triathlon athlete or not: "pick a spot around the lake and base yourself there. Annecy is very accessible, but also I feel that you get the best of both worlds if you’re a little bit further out. The small beaches around the lake are beautiful and snack bars brilliant, bring some camping chairs and a towel and set up from the afternoon into the evening." Oh, and don't forget to bring bug spray, the humidity has them thriving.
Though if it's simply sights you're after, content creator Tia Dewitt says Alpe Di Siusi "is of the most beautiful places in the world, but you have to pick your time and place well, otherwise it can feel like a tourist trap." Pre-booking parking, early starts on day trips and making the most of each drive are her key tips to pass on to any traveller.
While Amy Li, a PR agency founder with three children under 12, makes the case for the Alps as a family holiday, Morzine and Lake Annecy especially. "You leave with so many more memories and new experiences than you could relaxing by a pool," she tells me. "The beauty of the area is unbelievable. You feel incredibly small amongst these huge, majestic mountains and vast lakes".
Her family trip highlights? Paddleboarding, swimming, boating and picnicking at Lac De Montriond and Lake Annecy, and taking the chairlift "all the way up to Pointe De Nyon where you feel like you're on top of the world and surrounded by mountains and a view of Mont Blanc, mountain cows with bells round their necks."
Amy adds an extra-handy tip: "if you're keen to get stuck into activities, you need to get the 'Multipass'. It is essentially a pass that allows you access to most of the chairlifts and tons of activities in the town and up the mountains. It's 15 euros a day; however, if your accommodation has a partnership Multipass, you can get it discounted to 4 euros a day per person so it's amazing value. You also have to visit Hôtel Le Tremplin Morzine's restaurant right by the Pleney cable car. We stopped for some drinks and our kids were delighted to find a slide taking you down to the toilets, and their famous disco toilet!"
So there you have it: where to go, what to do and practical tips to make the most of any upcoming Alps trip, from the people who have already fallen in love with the place. And if you're much of a planner, simply take Eyeam founder and Grounded Guest Editor Roxy Marrone's advice: "literally just go. That’s my tip. It doesn’t matter where it’s all incredible. I did the most beautiful hikes along the rivers and mountains anywhere from the 15 to 20K, eating fondue and fresh fruit, swimming in glacier water. It was just epic." she says, having visited both Gstaad and Verbier in the past few months. That's really all the convincing I need.
