Switzerland: is it good
for a family trip?

About 7.2 hours nonstop from Boston. We score every flight the same way: start at 10, take off half a point for each hour beyond 4 (a quarter point per hour past 10), and a point for each connection. SWISS flies Logan to Zurich nonstop, twice a day, year-round, and the train network picks you up right at the airport.

The Swiss are so child friendly. There were playgrounds and parks everywhere, trains everywhere, and it is all so clean, so nice and so safe.

You can take a train anywhere you want, which means you can walk anywhere you want. The trains are so clean, so on time and so easy to use.

Switzerland's cost of living index is 109.8 (Numbeo, mid-2026, where New York is 100 and the US overall is 69.7), about 58% above home. We score value the same way for every destination: costing the same as home is a 5, and every 10 points cheaper or pricier moves it a point. It is a country-wide average, so big cities and tourist hot spots run higher and small towns and villages lower. The most expensive country in our guides by this measure. Plan for it, because the trip is worth it.

Cheese fondue and chocolate everywhere, and beyond those, the food was incredible anywhere we ate.

Sunny summers, cold snowy winters. We went in July and it was so beautiful: we spent our time in the Lauterbrunnen Valley and stayed in the little town of Wengen, up the cogwheel train. The views were spectacular, and we loved getting around by lift and train to the neighboring villages, playing on the playgrounds and having lunch.