The visitor season
Moderate season, nationally.
January records 57% of July's overnight stays. This measures overnight demand, not queues or day-trippers.
A good place. At the right time.
Switzerland
in January.
Is January a good time?
No scored region rates very good or better for weather this month.
National overnight stays are 57% of the July peak.
- Regional afternoon highs
- 40–46°F
- Very good weather
- 0 / 7 regions
Weather falls below the very-good band in 7 scored regions.
Find your January baseBased on 7 statistical regions. Typical conditions, not a forecast for individual towns.
One month. 7 possibilities.
Choose your January base.
The useful differences, side by side. Open a region for its full month guide.
What matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
Trip focus
Overall scores use the Balanced mix. Choose a different priority to order the regions by that mix.
MountainsTicinoLugano · LocarnoRead the January guide ↗
Overall5.6/10#11 month here · Balanced
Weather5.5/10Good46°F afternoons · 4 rain days
Visitor seasonLow seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level
MountainsZurichRead the January guide ↗
Overall4.4/10#12 month here · Balanced
Weather4.1/10Fair43°F afternoons · 13 rain days
Visitor seasonSteady all yearsimilar all yearNear usual price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level
CountrysideBasel & northwest SwitzerlandBaselRead the January guide ↗
Overall4.3/10#12 month here · Balanced
Weather4.0/10Fair43°F afternoons · 15 rain days
Visitor seasonSteady all yearsimilar all yearNear usual price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level
MountainsBern & the Bernese OberlandInterlaken · Grindelwald · Jungfrau · Bern · LauterbrunnenRead the January guide ↗
Overall4.8/10#12 month here · Balanced
Weather3.9/10Fair42°F afternoons · 15 rain days
Visitor seasonModerate seasonvs its own yearNear usual price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level
MountainsLake Geneva & ValaisGeneva · Lausanne · Montreux · Zermatt · VerbierRead the January guide ↗
Overall4.1/10#11 month here · Balanced
Weather3.9/10Fair43°F afternoons · 14 rain days
Visitor seasonBusy seasonvs its own yearHigher price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level
MountainsEastern Switzerland & GraubündenSt. Moritz · Davos · St. GallenRead the January guide ↗
Overall3.9/10#11 month here · Balanced
Weather3.9/10Fair40°F afternoons · 12 rain days
Visitor seasonBusy seasonvs its own yearHigher price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level
MountainsLucerne & central SwitzerlandLucerne · Engelberg · Mount Titlis · Mount PilatusRead the January guide ↗
Overall5.0/10#12 month here · Balanced
Weather3.8/10Fair42°F afternoons · 13 rain days
Visitor seasonModerate seasonvs its own yearNear usual price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level
No regions match these filters. Try another place or reset the filters.
Cost words compare a published regional accommodation level with Switzerland's typical level, or describe a region's price season against its own year. The Cost score still uses Switzerland's price level on the Europe scale; where regional money levels are unavailable, a cheaper season does not establish which region has the cheapest rooms.
What goes into the scores?
Overall combines weather, crowds and cost. It is not a weather rating. By default, the list ranks weather first and shows Balanced Overall scores (50% weather, 30% crowds, 20% cost). Other priorities order it by your Overall mix. Missing cost is excluded and the available parts are reweighted.
Visitor season compares each region with its own year. A higher crowd score does not establish which place has fewer people in absolute terms. Regions cover whole statistical areas; open a guide for its geographic scope. Read the scoring method.
Weather across the country
January weather & packing.
Regional averages vary; check a forecast closer to your trip.
- Typical afternoons
- 40–46°F
- Typical nights
- 26–31°F
- Rain days
- 4–15 days
Ranges span available regional monthly averages, not daily extremes. A dash means a measurement is unavailable or withheld; individual guides explain the gaps.
What to bring.
Afternoons around 46°F (8°C): a warm coat; nights around 31°F (−1°C): a winter coat, hat and gloves.
Weather, region by region Afternoons, nights, rain & weather
| Region | Afternoon | Night | Rain days | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ticino | 46°F | 31°F | 4 | good |
| Zurich | 43°F | 29°F | 13 | fair |
| Basel & northwest Switzerland | 43°F | 30°F | 15 | fair |
| Bern & the Bernese Oberland | 42°F | 28°F | 15 | fair |
| Lake Geneva & Valais | 43°F | 28°F | 14 | fair |
| Eastern Switzerland & Graubünden | 40°F | 26°F | 12 | fair |
| Lucerne & central Switzerland | 42°F | 29°F | 13 | fair |
Before you go
Check the trip details.
Hotel prices
About usual.
+3% on Switzerland's historical national hotel-price index, versus its usual month in 2024–2025. This describes a price season, not a live room quote.
The national index cannot tell you which region has the cheapest rooms.
Events & holiday dates Check the year against your trip
Holidays: Public holidays: 1 Jan New Year's Day. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)
Same country. A different chapter.
Dates still up in the air?
January is fixed, but the destination isn't? Find somewhere else in Europe ↗
How we know Sources, scope & limitations
Each row is a statistical region (NUTS 2); open it for the full month, the sources and what moving your dates would change. National lines are built from the regions: season is Switzerland's total tourist nights this month against its busiest month (Eurostat, primarily 2024–2025; earlier published years where needed); weather counts regions whose displayed Weather score is at least 7.0/10 (very good or better) rather than averaging across the country; visitors ranks overnight visitors per resident against all Europe's regions (for a region) or the other countries (for Switzerland) that month.
A regional accommodation level is shown only where publishable money data exists; elsewhere the cost words describe a regional season against its own year, and the score starts from the national price level. Separately, Switzerland's 2024 restaurants-and-hotels level is well above EU average (171 where the EU average is 100). Full method.