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Major mountain range in Central Europe
Photo: Terra (EOS AM-1) satellite, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The Alps are a range of mountains in Europe caused by uplift in the European Plate as it is impacted by the African Plate moving north; they stretch from Italy through France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, and into Slovenia.
A region which is one of the most recognizable symbols of Switzerland. The region covers around 65% of Switzerland's surface area (41,285 km²), making Switzerland one of the most alpine countries. The highest point of the Swiss Alps is Monte Rosa which rises to 4,634 m above sea level. The region is also notable for containing around 1,800 glaciers, also including the longest glacier in the Alps - the Aletsch Glacier.
The highest point of the Austrian Alps is Mount Großglockner which rises to 3,797 m above sea level.
The region is also noted for its stunning beauty, including many Alpine lakes, the largest being Lake Geneva, Lac d'Annecy and Lac de Bourget; these lakes are year-round attractions for their beauty and access to numerous water sports. This region is also home to famous resort towns Chamonix, St. Gervais, Albertville (1992 Olympic Winter Games), Grenoble (1968 Olympic Winter Games), and Annecy with its old city and lake. The highest point of the Alps is Mont Blanc, which rises to 4,810 m above sea level on the French and Italian border.
The highest point of the Italian Alps is Mont Blanc which rises to 4,810 m above sea level.
The region, which only comprises less than 3% of Germany's total area, is considered one of the most beautiful landscapes in Germany and ranks as one of the most scenic places in all of Central Europe.
A large part of the Julian Alps is included in Triglav National Park. The highest point of the Julian Alps is Mount Triglav which rises to 2,864 m above sea level.
By train
While the Alps are rather centrally located within Europe, they have been a barrier to all types of travel for millennia.
By bus
Long-distance buses are still mostly a new concept west of the former "iron curtain" and thus getting into the Alps from outside the area can be difficult and expensive.
By train
Like elsewhere in Europe, train may be the best kind of public transport. If you like rail travel through scenic landscapes, the Alpine countries are certainly worth considering.
By bus
Smaller places, especially in Switzerland, are often connected by (post) buses to larger towns.
By plane
Flying may be an option if you want to get between the largest cities and time is important.
Alpine pearls
Alpine Pearls is a consortium of 22 tourism municipalities in 6 alpine countries.
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Bad Gastein is a small city in the eastern part of the Alps, in the Salzburg region in Austria. It is located in the middle of the Hohe Tauern National Park in the Salzburg region, and gets visitors all year around.
Innsbruck is the fifth-largest city in Austria and the provincial capital of Tyrol, as well as one of the largest cities in the Alps. It is in a valley of the river Inn between mountain ranges of above 2000 m above sea level, halfway between Bavaria and northern Italy, and is a hub of a region popular for skiing and other mountain-related activities and a busy tourist destination.
St. Anton (Sankt Anton, St.
Schladming is a small former mining town in the Enns valley of Styria (Austria), that is now a very popular large winter sports resort. It has a great view on the Dachstein mountains.
Zell am See is an alpine city in the Zell Valley in Salzburg, Austria, and the capital of its own administrative district. Its name refers to the 68 m deep lake (See in German) with which it shares the valley.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is in Upper Bavaria. Garmisch-Partenkirchen lies at the foot of the Zugspitze in the Werdenfelser Land in Upper Bavaria and is Germany's most important winter sports metropolis, Olympic venue and important international winter sports center in the entire Alpine region.
The Allgäu is the south-eastern part of Bavarian Swabia at the northside of the Alps. The biggest part of it is located in Bavaria, a smaller one in Baden-Württemberg, but also on the borderland of Austria with the Kleinwalsertal belongs to Allgäu.
Chamonix (officially Chamonix-Mont-Blanc) is a resort in the Haute-Savoie region of France, bordering Italy, at the foot of Mont Blanc. It's regarded as the birthplace of mountaineering and as one of its capitals.
Haute-Savoie (Upper Savoie) consists of the small nook of France, bordering Switzerland, across Lake Geneva to the north, and Italy to the east. It is a department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Portes du Soleil is the name for a massive international ski area that straddles the French and Swiss borders.
Tignes is a famous resort in the French Alps linked to Val D'Isere. Tignes is a winter resort for skiing, and a summer one for hiking, mountain biking, and summer skiing on the glacier.
Seiser Alm (Italian: Alpe di Siusi, Ladin: Mont Sëuc) is the largest alpine plateau in Europe in the South Tyrolean Dolomites in Italy with a size of 57 km². At an altitude of 970 m, it is one of the largest closed high plateaus in the Alps.
Courmayeur is a skiing and mountaineering resort at the head of Valle d’Aosta, in northwest Italy. At 1224 m elevation, it has a spectacular location near the foot of Mont Blanc (called Monte Bianco in Italian).
The Valais (German: Wallis) is exactly that: a long, narrow, L-shaped valley in the Swiss Alps. The main cities in this region are along the river Rhone which cuts through the bottom of the valley, between its source at the Rhone glacier in the east and its temporary destination of Lake Geneva in the west.
Davos is a winter and summer resort village located in the heart of the Graubünden in the east of Switzerland. In the early 1990s, Davos became famous for hosting the World Economic Forum, an annual winter gathering of international politicians and financiers who represented a transnational elite.
Grindelwald is a mountain village in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. It's in the valley from Interlaken up to the pass of Grosse Scheidegg, a traditional cattle trail, and in Old High German grintil walt meant "barrier forest".
Gstaad is a mountain resort in the Bernese Highlands (Berner Oberland) in Switzerland. The village is at 1050 m altitude, with local skiing only up to 2200 m, but it's linked by ski-lift to the higher areas of Les Diablerets.
Saas-Fee is the biggest town in the Saas valley in the Swiss canton of Valais. The valley is a destination for winter sport, with the slopes in Saas fee being one of the few places in the region where skiing in summer is possible.
Samnaun is a city in Graubünden, in Switzerland. It is close to the Austrian border and is a separate duty-free area, which means that you might be controlled by the Swiss customs as well when going to or leaving Samnaun.
St. Moritz (German: Sankt Moritz, Italian: San Maurizio, French: Saint-Moritz) is in the Upper Engadin in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.
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