We wanted to go on a little holiday in February and our son was 16 months old – wanting to walk everywhere and explore – but not yet old enough to ski! We wanted somewhere quiet, with beautiful scenery and pleasant family friendly walks. The answer to this was Sigriswil – a tranquil village overlooking Lake Thun in canton Bern.
We found the perfect chalet for us – Otium. This chalet has 3 double bedrooms, provides a cot and a highchair for children, and importantly, during covid times with restaurants being closed, has a fully equipped kitchen with everything you would need.
The best part of this chalet though – the hot tub and the view!
I could have watched the view all day long – it was spectacular! Relaxing in the hot tub once the little one was in bed, after a long day of hiking was bliss!
Sigriswil itself is a beautiful village on the hill side. There is a Coop, a bakery and a few restaurants (which we unfortunately couldn’t sample). There are many farms in this area and lots of options for buying local milk and cheese. Sigriswil is probably most famous for it’s Panorama Bridge.
This is a 340m long pedestrian suspension bridge over a deep gorge, with stunning views of the Bernese Alps and Lake Thun. Not one for people who suffer from acrophobia!!
We followed the ‘panoramaweg’ and walked along enjoying the views and then down into Gunten alongside the gorge. Stopping at playgrounds along the way of course!
In Sigriswil itself there is also a play area, with a sandpit and toys. Jack loved exploring this area the best!
We are still using our trusty Ergobaby to carry Jack around while we are hiking. We have a Deuter kid comfort, but none of us have found it especially comfortable – perhaps it will be more useful when Jack is bigger.
We loved staying here with the vast number of walks from our doorstep, with guaranteed beautiful views. Another walk we enjoyed was from our chalet along and down to Merligen.
This path could have been done with an all terrain pushchair, because the paths were wide and relatively flat.
When you stay here you also get a visitor pass, which gives you discounts on attractions, as well as free public transport in the area. This was handy for after a long walk, we could hop on a bus back to the chalet from most of the surrounding villages.
So, if you want a peaceful break with your baby/children in Switzerland, look no further than here. We visited in February, and I am sure that this would be an excellent destination all year round.
Baby Steps 