In my view, the Alps offer a perfect backdrop for a truly intimate honeymoon. This is not (necessarily) because they boast a substantial amount of posh hotels, chalets, top restaurants, and some flashy high-end shopping. It is due to the way the natural and cultural landscape melt together into a complex painting of which the couple is part of, rather than just a passive observer

Intimacy is not about isolation — it’s about space

Facts first: A honeymoon is not just another trip. As I wrote in my previous essay, it is the celebration of something new – which is two people in love as a couple. A honeymoon is also a test ground. How does living with the other, presumably and hopefully better half, actually feel? How does it feel when new sights and sensation are not only experienced by you as an individual, but by you who is now part of something bigger? How is the mutual resonance of new experiences?

There is at least two, but probably more, approaches to it. Since a few decades, the ‘freak out’ approach has gained some popularity: Sun, beach and party in well known resorts worldwide cater to this avenue. And it is an understandable desire to just enjoy and have fun before the day-to-day (the ‘train-train’ as the French like to call it) delights, responsibilities, and the offspring kicks in, all demanding time and commitment from you and the partner. Actually, such an approach is not so new after all, as also many European upper-class families used to send their young sons (less their young daughters) on a tour across-Europe to learn and enjoy life before commitment and responsibilities will take their toll.

However, there is also another approach which many couples choose, and this one value intimacy. Intimacy can mean many things, but here I refer to it as the opportunity to really focus on you two. If such a focus is supported by stillness, beauty, nature and discrete luxury which does not distract you – this can provide a very strong and unforgettable basis to your partnership. Intimacy in this sense is generated by space, rhythm, solitude and calmness. And this is something the Alps can offer in many diverse settings.

The Alps offer privacy without disconnection

Just think of an Alpine valley: Many of them are secluded, but not isolated (with exceptions of course). That means tranquillity is part of living here, especially in valleys where there is only one way in and out. Many hotels and chalets are situated above the valley ground, offering stunning views not only into the valley, but often also to the surrounding summits. And as so often in the Alps, things that we can enjoy now are rooted in culture and survival, rather than in touristic necessities:

The majority of hotels have their origin in local farms, which were built above the valley. The presence in above the bottom meant better access to the pastures, better protection against avalanches in winter (which drown everything at their ending point, which usually is the bottom of the valley), and also the possibility to note early on when something was about to happen, be it bad weather or maybe marauding soldateskas.

Space was and is limited, preventing the agglomeration of large resorts. And, from the beginning of Alpine tourism from the second half of the 19^th century onwards, travellers actually came to the Alps to enjoy the countryside, the mountains and the villages, rather than sticking exclusively to the amenities of the hotels. Hence, ‘enclave resorts’, that relate to their surroundings like an UFO in the desert of Nevada, and that can frequently be witnessed in resorts around the world never had any tradition in the Alps. And again, the fact that many hotels here are still owned by a family, often since generations, also promotes a healthy form of co-inhabitance of tourism and ‘natives’.   

Luxury yes - segregation no. This hotel is a typical example of the Alpine hospitality history: It developed over generations from a mountain farm into a high-class 5 star luxury hotel. However, despite the change, the hotel, its staff, the food - as well as the guests, are interwoven with their sorroundings (St. Cassian, Alta Badia, Italy, foto courtesey of Hotel Fanes)

A landscape that naturally slows you down

But lets have a look at the actual highlight of the Alps. The true star of this region of course is the landscape. Often breathtaking, frequently inspiring, always able to provide you with emotions and thoughts.

I myself for example have seen the summits that flock around my valley now thousands of times. In all seasons, in all times of the day, in splendid and gruesome weather. Nevertheless, whenever I am out in the nature, be it on a longer trip, be it climbing or on skis, or just out on a 30min walk with my dog – almost every time I stop and take in the view. Because in fact it is never the same. Precipitation, humidity, the exact position of the sun and the angles of the sunrays, all influence the particular painting you see – and then we have the seasons which equally astonish us every time they arrive. You’d be surprised how many grown-up locals make heir pictures on their mobile of a mountain that they know since childhood and which they have seen countless times before on the first day of snow in the season – because this ‘new’ costume is breathtaking ever again.

These are the mountains at my doorstep. While a daily view, I never got bored - and I shoot photos at least weekly (near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria)

Apart from the endless diversity ,it is the stillness of the pictures you see, paired with a certain degree of aloofness of the mountains. Mountains fascinate us because there are huge, but also because they are old. They make everything we experience normally relative, and easily manage to minimize our hybris. They stood majestically above the valley long before we walked across the earth, and will do so long after we have gone. The combination of mountains, creeks, forests and pastures deliver a complete work of art that transports strength, health, universalism, belonging together. Inhale a few times, and it may change you more sustainably than a number of sessions with a psychologist.  



Serenity is another key characteristic that is rooted in the DNA here, and this level of serenity is seizing the traveller who comes here with an open heart and soul. It is this ageless composition of nature, the way the local people work with and of the nature since generations. Everything is in an harmonious, timeless and seemingly endless flow, and such insights are rare to find in our modern world.

The great thing about the Alps as a travel destination is however that these deep and priceless insights come with all sorts of comfort if you want. No one needs to refrain from internet access, luxury beds, high-end foods and top-notch wellness areas, as they often are integral parts of the hotels which are, as described above, themselves an integral part of the cultural landscape. But all of this comes without artificial entertainment. Your urge to watch Netflix in the evening will decrease day by day, because nothing will beat the sunset enjoyed from your infinity pool.



All this will make you slow down, will help you to focus on yourself, your partner. It will provide you with fresh and creative ideas about your new mutual future, and about the live that lies ahead of you.  

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Living moments instead of scheduled romance

Things tend to be less programmed in the Alps. Things happen, and they happen in the rhythm of nature and of how the locals live with nature, which used to be very unforgiving in the past.

Artificial entertainment is a form of consumption. While consumption is nothing negative per se, in my view it distracts from you as a new couple.  Spending one, or better two weeks in the Alps give the honeymoon couples plenty of opportunity to swing into this rhythm, and let go of any urgency, the need for scheduled entertainment and similar form of distraction. You will be the focus, you will be in the center, and the natural landscape provides both the frame as well as the canvas for this.



But what about when you fancy some entertainment? Some city-vibes? Some urban flair? Do you in the end have to decide between these two apparently antagonistic sides? The answer is a no, and the fact that it is a ‘no’ is another top-seller of the Alps as a romantic holiday destination. Because in the end, distances are manageable. There are numerous urban centers in the Alps which offer a fantastic combination of modern city live, and old-world architecture, alpine charme, and many cultural amenities.

Fully urban - fully alpine. Salzburg is one of many cities and towns in the Alps where urban and alpine falvour mix beautifully together.

Cities like Geneva and Munich are global centers of commerce and finance. Salzburg is famed for highest-level culture, and the north Italian cities of Bozen/Bolzano, Torino and Verona are true cities as they are true Alpine cities.

And there are many smaller urban locations in between, offering a unique combination of being parts of the Alps and being connected to the modern globalized World at the same time. Vaduz, the small capital of the equally small principality of Liechtenstein for instance is a global financial center, and many banks, funds and foundations have their headquarter here).   

Why alpine honeymoons feel deeply personal

All this provides couples with the option to experience a truly meaningful, personal and unique honeymoon, that will benefit your new togetherness long after it will have been completed. Chances are you will return to the Alps later, maybe with your kids. The opportunity for couples is that every honeymoon can be shaped highly individual according to your preferences. Do you prefer summer or a real winter? Traditional bulcolic food or international Michelin-level cuisine? An intimate chalet, or a historic castle turned five-star hotel? Spending your evenings in the pool while gazing at the star-covered night sky – or do you prefer the opera? Action and adrenalin while paragliding or skiing, or just deep relaxation by snow-shooing through a mountain forest covered in snow and calmness?



The alpine region offers all of that and more to you, but beyond all it offers meaning, and it will provide you with a space which with you can resonate.

Designing an intimate honeymoon in the Alps

Describing these opportunities, working with couples to understand what they’d like to take out from their honeymoon, and then helping and supporting you with creating a seamless dream-honeymoon is what we do at Mont-e-Val.  This is born out of our own appreciation and love for this region, and our conviction that it can be the ideal place for young couples to grow their seeds of their new future life.

Because the intimacy that the Alps can serve you can be a great start into your new life. They offer the space and various opportunities to find your true self, and invite you to more profound and pioneering ideas for your future life.