Ahead of a tough autumn agenda, May will escape to a country that she previously praised as a place where one could get some peace and quiet.

“The prime minister will be taking a holiday in Switzerland and will be returning to the UK on August 24th,” her office said in a statement on Thursday.
      
Switzerland is held up by some Brexit advocates — perhaps wrongly, one commentator told The Local — as a model for Britain's future relationship with the European Union.

And the prime minister's chosen destination — a non-EU country in the geographical heart of Europe — has not been lost on British media.
   
The Guardian said she would be flying to “neutral ground”.
   
“The neutral symbolism may appeal to May for her first summer break since the EU referendum, though the strenuous walks and Alpine scenery are likely to be the main pull for the prime minister, a keen hiker,” the newspaper wrote.
   
May in 2007 told The Telegraph she first visited Switzerland 25 years earlier and found it “a wonderful summer destination” for walking.
   
The newspaper on Thursday noted May would be the first British prime minister to holiday in Switzerland since Margaret Thatcher.
   
“Mrs May and the late Baroness Thatcher's choice of holiday destination is in stark contrast to that of former Prime Ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair, who preferred warmer climates,” the newspaper wrote.
   
Cameron was photographed last week holidaying in Corsica, after resigning in June following the EU referendum.

Britain's parliament resumes on September 5th with a debate on an online petition calling for a second referendum.

Switzerland's own discussions with the EU regarding how to implement immigration quotas are on hold until after the summer break.