I've only experienced Switzerland in its winter period so far, and the weather in Basel has been quite warm lately. I was wondering how do people normally regulate their apartment temperature, especially without air conditioning units?
My apartment has 2 rooms, 75 sqm, and gets quite a bit of sunlight during the afternoon.
1. Should I install curtains, I already have that metal shutter? (I didn't during the winter because it wasn't really necessary.)
2. Should I invest in a stand alone air conditioner?
3. Should I just buy a fan, if so are there any recommendations?
First of all, you need to determine, what is the comfort temperature indoors for you. And how undressed can you be at home. If you want it at +65F (~+18C), then you will have get an AC anywhere in the world. If +80F (~+27C) is still OK, then you won't need anything.
Personally, even during the previous year's heatwave I was just fine without any AC unit: taking a shower or swimming twice a day, natural ventilation with open windows (unless your neighbors are heavy smokers, then you may be deprived of that opportunity) and a couple of local fans were more than enough combined with silk or sport clothes.
There are only a few nights per year I can't sleep in the bed. I bring a camping pad to the balcony (loggia) and sleep there until I feel cold. Return to bed between 2-3 AM.
No matter how warm the day has been, you'll feel cold if you sleep outside.
Everyone's apartment can be different depending on the age and size of it. I live on the 3rd floor and it gets almost unbearably warm in peak Summer. To deal with that I have installed ceiling fans in my living room and bedroom and I also have a portable air conditioning unit for cooling my bedroom so that I can actually sleep more than a few hours a night.