Summer Alps - but where?

[tentative3]

We are toying with a trip to the Alps for a June holiday. 2 adults, no kids. No idea where to start, haven't even narrowed down a country! Can anyone help? We'd like walks, OH would like mountain biking, I'd quite like horse riding but could go to a spa for the day if no option for that. We'd probably also like a lake or river or something, and a spa/thermal centre. We love a good mooch around a town or city and markets. I think we would prefer not to have to hire a car and would want a hotel rather than self catering I think but could be persuaded either way.

I realise there's an awful lack of focus in this but I'm struggling to find a starting point, there seem a lot of options! I'd really appreciate some pointers of places you've either been and loved or been and disliked!

Have a look at Stephans Hof in Villandro

Zell am See /Kaprun?

Decent bus/ train service to get around. Lovely walking, beautiful lake, decent enough sized town. Close enough for the train to Salzburg for a day out.

Do you mean for this summer? Most ideal places for this summer will have sold out already.

Tegernsee? You fly into Munich and can take a train or hire car from there.

Plus point, you get a Tourist pass for public transport....
Minus point, it's expensive during peak season.

Just a little taster....

Thanks all, I'll check out the suggestions. I do mean this summer, I suppose I was hoping that going outside holidays might mean it wasn't all booked up but perhaps that is wishful thinking!

south Tyrol - it’s in Italy, you can fly to Verona or Innsbruck and cross the border. Lots of lovely places and perfect for moutain biking. Merano has a famous thermal bath/spa. Alpe de Siusi is very famous for climbing, mountain walks, has lakes and amazing scenery. Food is fantastic.

Or stay in North Tyrol (fly to Innsbruck).

Merano has lovely Hotels or you could look at Quellenhof or Andreus (both have a spa and horse riding and stuff for kids). Both are 20min from Merano, you can take a bus to Merano for walking around and shopping. It’s a quaint town with shops, gelato places, restaurants and a big thermal spa.

Aosta and the Italian Alps - the Gran Paradiso National Parc. Gorgeous!

We had a great holiday in Solden in Austria in the Oetztal a few years ago. Flew Easyjet to Innsbruck, and then did train and bus to get there. Our accommodation (basic apartment) came with a Summer Pass which included bus and lift travel (unlimited) and one day at a nice spa place down the valley. It's famous for its mountain biking - take bikes up on the lifts, bike down. Not for me - but I enjoyed an easy 20 mile ride down the valley floor (off road), then putting the bikes on the bus to come back - bike hire also free. There were plenty of lift and bus options for different days out and we never missed having a car. Not so much in the way of city mooching, but we did a night in Innsbruck at the start, which I enjoyed a lot.

@Caspianberg

Do you mean for this summer? Most ideal places for this summer will have sold out already.

This sin’t true!… Loads of campsites and Air BnBs still available during the summer hols… there’s bound to even more in June.

OP… The ski resorts are good for mtb biking as there’s uplifts… Morzine, Chanonix, Tignes

Zermatt is gorgeous in the summer. Car free as well.

@Annoy - well it is in some areas. I’m in the alps. Our holiday let has been fully booked for this summer since last year. Anyone local we know in B and B, hotels, holiday let’s are also booked for the summer.
Maybe beginning of June is ok, and maybe premium hotels or the other end very basis accommodation will be possible. But no, ‘most’ accommodation isn’t. In general 9-12 beforehand. We are booked up for next year ski season already also.

Lauterbrunnen!

Zermatt is lovely but pricey and its high so can be cold in June. Chamonix valley is nice, the town itself is busy but there are lots of smaller towns and villages nearby, nearest airport is Geneva. Morzine is good for mountain biking. I agree about Aosta being a good option too although public transport in Italy isnt as good if you are set on being car free.

We had a great holiday in St Gilgen in Austria one summer. It's real 'Sound of Music' scenery with lots to see and do. I didn't want to drive so we took a coach from Salzburg and walked, cycled or caught buses for the week. It was near the edge of the lake (Wolfganzee), so we also went across on the boat (including with the cycles) and sunbathed and swam.

We had a day out at Bad Ischl - a spa town - and visited the spa and the Kaiservilla (which was the summer residence of the Austro-Hungarian monarchs. On another day, we went into Salzburg, visited the castle and took a boat along the river, as well as pottering around and shopping.

It was a really lovely week with lots to do. We were mainly self catering but there are lots of restaurants and cafes in the area. I recall that there is horse riding in the area too.

It’s not the alps but lovely…lake bled or bohinj.

Morzine / Les Gets for mountain biking

There’s obviously loads of other stuff to do there too

We’re going to Morzine in August and I can’t wait. There’s good mountain biking, a lovely lake, walks, climbing. We only booked recently for the summer holidays so you should be fine for June.

Chamonix. It’s a proper town with lots to do and offers everything on your list plus easy to get to.

We had the best summer holiday ever in Wengen (Switzerland). Plane to Zurich then caught the train round - the last bit is a mountain train . There was just so much to do - train up the middle of the Jungfrau, cable car over to a James bond site on the top of a mountain, fabulous walks and lakes as well if you need a change from mountains. The village itself is as chocolate box as you can imagine. Wonderful. It is a tad pricey though - we went half board which was a good call.

Leukerbad in Switzerland has lovely thermal baths. Good walks, biking etc too

Chamonix is lovely in summer

We have visited Morzine several summers. As it's a ski resort you have great infrastructure, for a small daily fee you can buy a pass that covers lifts, buses, local pool, small train and more. All the lifts are open in the summer so navigating the resort is simple from Avoriaz down. Hiking, mountain lunches, swimming, a Mecca for mountain bikes. Another plus is the quality of accommodation. As a winter ski resort you have an excellent choice of chalets with views and facilities. Personally I would stay in Morzine itself so you are walking distance to lifts and restaurants. I've stayed with Simply Morzine and Treeline Chalets.
Lake Montriond is pretty and makes a nice run as it's flat! You can hire canoes too.
Driving from the UK is easy, we stop in Dijon on the way out to break it up but do in one trip on the way home.
Chamonix is also beautiful...but prefer Morzine in the summer.

Switzerland has brilliant public transport, and so does South Tyrol.

Merano is fabulous, one of my favourite ever holidays. The town itself is really lovely, and you can travel along the nearby valleys by train or bus to get a real variety of places to visit/walk. Riding is avilable nearby - www.suedtirolerland.it/en/leisure-activities/other-sports/horse-riding/in-merano-and-surroundings/, and there is a spa. If you need a hotel recommendation, I had a lovely time at the Meranerhof - very centrally located, and lovely staff, a very nice indoor pool too. Merano itself is in a valley, and much warmer than most of the Alps, but very easy access to the mountains.

For a pure Alpine experience maybe Switzerland would be better for you. For a first visit perhaps somewhere near Interlaken (though not staying in Interlaken itself - Wengen as someone else suggests is a good option, we stayed in Bonigen on lake Brienz which was very pretty but perhaps quieter than you might like) or in the Graubunden region would be good (I stayed at Klosters - gorgeous scenery and every pretty villages).

Inghams still has availability for June this year for a number of Alpine destinations, and I'm sure others will too.