Recommendations for long (1month+) European summer mountain vacation

[jadedaid]

Fellow paceliners, I was hoping to crowdsource some inputs for a cycling and family holiday. The last couple of years we've done Tenerife in January and then some variation of Spain mainland around Easter (Girona, Granada, Malaga) to get in some sun whilst NYC was dreary.

This time round we were thinking of taking refuge in the European mountains, with the missus having a particular fondness for Italy - but we're open to any suggestion with a preference for Italy, France and Switzerland. We've spent enough time in Spain . We'd like to go around June/July and places like Andalucia or Tuscany would simply be too hot I fear. I've not been to the European mountains for a long long time (and definitely not in the summer) so I don't have much of a reference point to build off of anymore.

What we'd be looking for is a place where I can do some interesting bike riding in scenic scenery (ideally road, but open to gravel), hiking options with the wife and our infant and close to something resembling a town for restaurant options and a general sense of life. I'd also prefer quieter roads so that I can put the little one in a Thule chariot and pull her up the mountain. In terms of timeframe, I'd be looking at a 4-5 week stay, and open to moving around but ideally being in one spot for at least 2 weeks at a time. I worry that the classic ski villages might be cost prohibitive in terms of hotel cost even in the summer if we need a space big enough for a family of 3 (2 adults and one infant), so good air-bnb options would probably be important.

Before I dive deep into the annals of the internet for tour recommendations, I'd be gratetul to hear from anyone on here who has done a similar trip and have any concrete recommendations (or warnings about where not to go)?

Thanks in advance!

[Plum Hill]

Interlaken, Switzerland.
Stay in Bonigen, Wilderswil, or Brienz to get away from tourists if desired.
Plenty of ‘flat’ riding east or west. Regional and national cycling routes in the area.
Hop on the BOB train for the mountains. Left turn to Grindelwald, straight ahead to Lauterbrunnen. Connect the two towns via train or lifts.
English fairly universal ( many Brits in Lauterbrunnen).
Get tired of the area, hop on a train and head somewhere else for the day or week.

[donevwil]

Switzerland would be hard to beat for no other reason than everything is accessible via train and/or Postauto, but yikes CH is expensive.

Alleghe, IT would be near the top of my list. Right in the Dolomites, small town in truly beautiful setting. Stayed there while doing a Cinghiale Alps & Dolomite tour. Alp segment used Bormio as a base, but wife and I preferred Alleghe and the Dolomites.

[tv_vt]

Not Interlaken, and definitely not any place near Grindelwald, unless you want NYC crowds.

But if that area intrigues you, check out Meiringen. It is on the other side of Grosse Scheidieg from Grindelwald and is much quieter. You would probably go crazy in a month, though. And there are some serious mountain climbs nearby, but not much else.

How about St Moritz? Livigno would also be a place I'd check out, too. From Chiavenna, IT to Livigno is a nice stretch of country.

I'd suggest the Dolomites (Corvara, etc) but it can be really busy and crowded in summer.

[Ken Robb]

What is Merano like these days?

[texbike]

Not to be a broken record but how about Annecy, France? Fantastic riding and hiking out the door, great food, a beautiful lake, and plenty of stuff to do in the area. Plus, it's super easy to get to and not too far from Italy or Switzerland if you want to see a few other places.

Outside of that Martigny could be another interesting base.

Texbike