Summer in the alps ideas please.

[Lifeisforlivingkatie]

Please give me ideas of a great summer destination in the alps with a seven year old. My DP is a keen athlete and does not fancy a lazy beach holiday. It does not need to be a budget holiday. Help

Which part of the alps?

France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria??

Eurocamp have some lovely sites in all of the above which would give you a good base for hiking?

We don't mind were, it's about doing something different

Have you thought/heard of Esprit. They do skiing in winter and also a couple of places for summer: Belle Plagne is the Alpine resort they use in summer www.espritsun.com/summer-holidays/savoie-alps-belle-plagne-france/

Les Deux Alpes is good in the summer.

We went to the Austrian Tyrol in Aug 2008. Lovely place. Lots of places to visit, including Salzburg and Innsbruck. Both great cities.

We stayed in a little town called Jenbach which has 3 types of railway, and we got there by train having got the Eurostar to Brussels, stayed o'night in Cologne and then onwards on the ICE - InterCity Europe.

A brilliant way to spend a 10th wedding anniversary.

Chamonix is lovely,

glaciers to see, mount Blanc lift open, lots of walking, lovely town, para gliders to watch.

Thank you everyone,Yes, we have used esprit for skiing, they are great with kids.I would like a bit of luxury, even if its self catering I would like the accommodation has to really good.

We went to Austria in August 2012. We drove going via Eurotunnel, taking 2 days so stopped over in Germany on the way and rented a large house in St Wolfgang. The weather was absolutely scorching while we were there so spent more time than normal splashing about in the lakes but also did cable cars and ice caves, walking, boats, water park etc. My boys (13 and 6 at the time) also loved the sled runs.

How about Zermatt? It's great in summer. There are lots of adventure activities, including glacier skiing, downhill 'monster scootering', climbing, walking, zip wire-type courses etc. It also has really really good restaurants for eating out.

I can highly recommend this place for really nice self-catering accommodation. They provide a really great breakfast too. We can't afford to go there any more since the swiss franc went bonkers, but wish we could...

We've been to Naturno (in the German-speaking part of northern Italy) and Zell am See in Austria,both are suitable for both hiking and leisure holidays.

Very good ideas everyone, please keep them coming. The link for Zermatt is very nice.

Have you looked at Chilly Powder or Simply Morzine?

I have these bookmarked for future reference

Morzine is great in the summer - loads to do for athletic types. An Olympic sized pool, great cycling roads, mountain biking, hiking, summer luge, paragliding.

Wow, apermanentheadache - that place in Zermatt looks fabulous. But c. £400 a day for a two bedroom place! Blimey! I guess I won't be going there in the near future! Shame cos it looks lovely.

I'm also investigating self-catering places in the Alps/mountains summer and definitely finding them pricier than I'm used to for self-catering. Or if they are less that £1,000 a week, they look really grotty. I guess skiing in the winter puts the prices up even in the summer?

We had a weekend in Chamonix in May - it was fab! I met someone who owns Black Lodge Ski Chalet there - looks amazing on the website (certainly not budget!).

We usually go further south - we have a small house in a town called Embrun. There is loads to do there, although quite low key. We do lots of swimming, sailing, cycling, mountain activities (climbing, hiking etc). There is a triathlon there in August (google Embrunman). My boys are 7 and 9 and love it! No recommendations re accommodation there, but the Tourist Office in Embrun is helpful. Also try Guillestre and the Queyras. The prices in southern Alps are a lot cheaper than places like Val d'Isere / Zermatt / Chamonix!

Yup, Lovage, really really expensive. When we went, it was about 7 years ago and there were 2.5 swiss francs to the pound. Now it's more like 1.5, so makes a massive difference. We had a one-bed place and it was expensive then, but definitely plenty big enough for two adults and one or two children.

All these great ideas, it's so difficult choosing, I must say chamonix and the Zermatt is very tempting. 400 per night?? Tempted really tempted

Have you looked at the Kinderhotel and familotel chains? They're excellent for children and lots of then have family suites with proper bedrooms for the kids. Mayrhofen in the Austrian Tyrol is great if you're active.

anyone been to the grindelwald/murrren area?

We're off to Lauterbrunnen on Saturday.Can't wait!
The whole Bernese Oberland area is fantastic for scenery, adventure sports, hiking, cable cars etc and suitable for the whole family.

Allina we've just gotten over a hideous 39 degree heat wave (after a month of sideways rain ) this week, and now have a week of mid to high 20's to look forward too!

But there are some spectacular thunderstorms, mainly at night luckily, so do bring rain jackets.

My sooper-dooper Jack Wolfskin jacket is safely packed Wally

So many lovely places, can someone just tell me where to go as I am so indecisive chamonix, Zermatt or Bernese Obaland area. Couple with 8 year old boy, in august

Interlaken. You can travel out to lots of places on the trains. A trip up to the Eiger and ice palace. Paragliding off the mountains. Tis fab

We did it with DD when she was 7