The Swiss alps in February offer a plethora of activities for travellers to indulge in. There are adventure sports to be played in the snow and carnivals to be enjoyed. If you are in the town of Lucerne or Basel during the month of February, get ready to be involved in a host of activities that would satiate the traveller in you.
Weather
February is the middle of winter for the country, with all the towns and villages that lie above 5,000 feet (1,500 m) almost certainly being covered in a thick carpet of snow during this month. With daylight hours increasing during February, the colder nights are also shorter, but weather in the lower altitude towns is unpredictable.
The Carnival
Although rates are at their peak in January and February in the country, several fun carnivals take place in a number of cities, particularly in Lucerne and Basel, that you can enjoy. These festivities, depending on the date of Easter, are held in late February. People are dressed in flamboyant costumes with colourful props and headgear there are numerous parades and parties in these two cities, because of which they are pretty popular destinations among tourists this month. While Lucerne&rsquos striking parades are worth experiencing, in Basel, you can witness the carnival as being a Protestant event instead of the usual Catholic one, which is how carnivals in Switzerland work.
Snow Sports
If you are in the mood to hike across the snowy terrain, then head over to the Upper Engadine, Upper Rhône, Lower Engadine, or Matter Valleys. With well-marked trails, these are some of the few places where you can hike safely in winter. Skiing enthusiasts can head over to St. Moritz (in the southeast) and Zermatt (in the southwest), which offer some of the best skiing and other winter sports facilities in all of Europe.
The Information
Getting there By air you can choose between city EuroAirport and nearby Zurich Airport. From Basel, you can take a train to Lucerne which will take you a little over an hour to reach.
Stay It's best to book a hotel in Basel and then travel to Lucerne and back from there. There are a number of Bed and Breakfasts in Basel that charge somewhere around INR 5000 onwards.
RELATED 5 Top Train Rides In Switzerland