CoolingSpots
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For hot days in Switzerland

In the heat what counts is shade, water and altitude. The places here are noticeably cooler on a hot day.

Find cool places in Switzerland when it is hot

CoolingSpots shows forests, water, gorges and higher ground that stay noticeably cooler on hot days. Every place comes with a coolness level and its reasons in plain words, computed from open map and satellite data - free, no account.

Where are you headed?

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  • 15'334 cool places
  • From open data
  • Free, no account
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One place for every kind of cool

From gorge to mountain lake: eight hand-picked favourites across Switzerland - with the coolness level each place actually has.

Cool places by region

9 regions, each with its coolest rated places - from Lake Geneva to Graubünden.

Why these places are cooler

The factors that matter most, all from open map and satellite data, calculated place by place.

  • Shade from above

    Dense tree canopy and slopes that take the sun away. The strongest factor: without direct sun the ground stays noticeably cooler.

  • Water nearby

    A stream, river or lake cools the air, but only for some 150 to 250 metres. Further away, water no longer counts.

  • Elevation

    Higher up the air is cooler. Elevation starts counting at around 300 metres and counts fully from 1500 metres.

  • Little built-up ground

    Asphalt and walls hold heat well into the night. The less of it around a place, the better its rating.

What we do not know: the shade at a given hour, how crowded a place is, whether something is closed. In severe heat, follow official advice first.

How the coolness level is computed

Cool indoor places

Libraries, museums, pools and other cool buildings from OpenStreetMap, plus a few places we checked ourselves - four examples here, the map shows all the rest. Check opening hours with the operator.

All indoor places on the map

Frequently asked questions

Where is it coolest on hot days?
In gorges, caves and dense mountain forests by the water, where shade, water and elevation add up. On the map these places carry level 3, the highest of the three coolness levels.
Where does the data come from?
Places come from OpenStreetMap, the coolness factors from open satellite and elevation data (Copernicus DEM, ESA WorldCover). Every place shows its reasons in plain words.
Do I need an account, and what does it cost?
Neither: no account, no sign-up, no cost - just open the map.
Where is it cool indoors?
Libraries, museums, pools and other cool buildings are often among the coolest rooms around on hot days. A selection is above, the map shows all the rest.
Why is there no temperature per place?
Because we do not measure it: instead of a mock-precise number there are three coolness levels with plain-language reasons. What the data cannot know: shade by time of day, crowds, closures - and distances are as the crow flies.
Health advice for hot days: Federal Office of Public Health

Know a cool place that is missing here?

Tell us where it is. We take a look and add it if the data backs it up.

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