Where to stay in Switzerland: the best cities, lakes and mountain resorts

Zurich has a reputation as a city of bankers, and it is true that money hums quietly behind the handsome façades of Bahnhofstrasse. But walk five minutes and you are in the old town, a tangle of guild houses and church spires on both banks of the River Limmat, and five more brings you to the lake, where on summer evenings half the city seems to be swimming.

It makes an excellent first or last night, as most flights land here and trains fan out to everywhere else. Stay on the river in the old town for atmosphere, near the station for convenience, or up on the wooded hill above the city, where one of the country's grandest hotels surveys the lake and the Alps beyond.

If you only have time for one stop, make it Lucerne. The old town gathers around the Chapel Bridge, a covered wooden footbridge that zigzags across the river, and the lake opens out from the quayside with Mount Pilatus on one side and the Rigi on the other. Paddle steamers leave from the centre of town; cog railways and cable cars take over where the boats stop.

The classic places to stay are the Belle Époque grand hotels strung along the lakefront, a few steps from the old town. For something more secluded, the Bürgenstock resort sits on a ridge about 500 metres above the water, reached by boat and funicular, with views that make conversation difficult. Engelberg and Mount Titlis are an easy day out.

The name tells you where you are: between the lakes, Thun on one side and Brienz on the other, with the white wall of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau filling the view to the south. Interlaken has been a base for mountain excursions since Victorian tourists arrived with alpenstocks, and it still does the job better than anywhere.

The town itself is small and a little touristy, centred on the Höhematte, a broad meadow where paragliders drift down to land in front of the grand hotels. What matters is what's on the doorstep: trains to Grindelwald, Wengen and the Jungfraujoch, boats on both lakes and every adrenaline sport going. For somewhere calmer, look to the spa hotels on the shore of Lake Thun.

To wake up in the mountains instead of merely looking at them, go one step beyond the towns. Wengen sits on a sunny shelf above the Lauterbrunnen valley and has no cars at all; you arrive by rack railway. Grindelwald spreads out beneath the north face of the Eiger. Both are in the Bernese Oberland, with skiing in winter and superb walking in summer.

Further east, Andermatt has reinvented itself from quiet garrison village to one of the smartest addresses in the Alps, and Engelberg, a short distance from Lucerne, sits at the foot of Mount Titlis around a Benedictine monastery. Grand old hotels with a century or more behind them are the thing to book here, many with serious spas.

You know the Matterhorn before you ever see it, and it still stops you in the street. Zermatt lies at its foot, a village of dark timber chalets where the only traffic is electric taxis and the odd horse-drawn sleigh. Everyone arrives by train, which rather sets the tone.

The skiing is among the highest and most extensive in the Alps, linking over the border to Italy, and in summer the same lifts open up days of high-level walking. The Gornergrat railway does the climbing for you if you would rather not. Hotels run from long-established grand hotels on the main street to chalet-style boutique places with private spas, and one historic house stands right on the mountain with ski-in, ski-out access.

St Moritz more or less invented the winter holiday, and it has never let anyone forget it. The town sits above a lake in the high Engadin valley, where the light is sharp, the sun shines a great deal and the hotels are palaces in all but name. In winter the lake freezes hard enough to hold horse races and polo matches on the ice.

This is not the place for a budget break. Come for the grand hotels, with their spas, tennis courts and restaurants by the handful, and for skiing, walking and people-watching of a very high order. Several hotels open only for the winter and summer seasons, so check dates before you set your heart on one.

Geneva feels more French than Swiss, which is no surprise when France surrounds it on three sides. The city curls around the western tip of its lake, where the Jet d'Eau fires a plume of water high into the air, and on clear days Mont Blanc floats above the far shore. The Old City climbs the hill on the left bank, all cobbles, antique shops and café terraces.

The landmark hotels line the lakefront, historic five-stars that have been hosting diplomats and royalty for generations. It is a natural start for a trip into the French-speaking west or over to the ski resorts, and the airport is only a few minutes from the centre.

Bern is the capital, though you would hardly guess it. The UNESCO-listed Old City sits on a tight bend of the River Aare, its streets lined with miles of covered stone arcades, painted fountains and a medieval clock tower that puts on a mechanical show every hour. On hot days locals jump into the river and let the current carry them downstream.

It is one of the most relaxed city stops in the country and a handy halfway point between Zurich, Geneva and Interlaken. Two historic five-star hotels sit in the centre, one next to the parliament building with views to the Bernese Alps, and there are good four-stars inside the old town.

Basel sits on a bend of the Rhine where Switzerland, France and Germany meet, and it has spent its money on art. The city has an extraordinary run of museums for its size, plus a sandstone cathedral above the river and an old town of steep lanes around the red town hall on Marktplatz. In summer people float down the Rhine with their clothes in a waterproof bag. Stay on the river for the grandest hotel in town, or near the station if you are passing through by train.

Davos is less a village than a small town in the sky, stretched along a high valley in the east of the country. The world knows it for its winter gathering of politicians and chief executives, but the rest of the year it belongs to skiers, hikers and mountain bikers. The slopes are extensive and the hotels have deep roots, several of them dating from the 1860s, when Davos was a health resort. Expect proper spas, ski shuttles and hearty dinners, without quite the price tag of St Moritz.