French Riviera, Genoa and Switzerland

Sounds lovely. What time of year? Might be a bit rushed, but doable. Given your timeframe, I'd stick to just one location in Switzerland and then possibly do some day trips. If it were me, I'd base in Lauterbrunnen, in the Berner Oberland, Switzerland, for at least 3 days. If you have additional days, you could consider a day trip to Luzern. I'd leave as early as possible in the morning, because there is a lot in Luzern. A day trip to Bern would also be nice. Maybe look at flying out of Zurich.

In Barcelona, you would want to prebook many of the tourist sights--Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, etc. My daughter-in-law, enjoyed Nice very much. She did some day trips from there. If you choose to go to Monaco and want to see the church where Grace Kelly was married, be sure to have covering for shoulders and knees.

Thank you so much for your input! We will be going around the end of April 2020. We love doing day trips so I think that is what we will try to do. Getting from Genoa to Lauterbrunnen - what transportation would you suggest - train or flight? Also, from Nice to Genoa? Barcelona to Nice?

I will make sure to pre-book all of the tourist sights as well! Thanks again for all your help!

Start in Luzern Switzerland and work your way to Nice. May I suggest staying in Antibes France as a base in the French Riviera. Located in the Alpes-Maritimes region of southeastern France, the city of Antibes sits between Nice and Cannes and includes the small town of Juan-les-Pins. It's a picturesque resort. It will be more of a bargain in accommodation then Nice. From Nice's train terminal, train to Genoa and visit Portofino. Afterward, Fly from Genoa to Barcelona. While in Barcelona, Look into staying at the Four Points Sheraton. It's in a great location and a very nice hotel. I have stayed there twice and really enjoyed the hotel and the surrounding area.

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bcnfp-four-points-barcelona-diagonal/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2

April in Switzerland? You will have snow, will need different clothing from your other locations.

If the plan is April, I agree, Luzern would be a better location than BO. I don't think clothing would be a huge problem, it would just take some planning. i went to Europe in January with just a carry on for a month. We were in Barcelona, in shirt sleeves. You could just add carefully planned layers in Luzern, even in January, Luzern ranged between 34 F and about 45 F, at least for us. A raincoat over a heavyish fleece jacket or top, with long sleeved shirt and possibly thin long underwear would be enough. If you choose to go to the top of a mountain (like Rigi, Titlus or Pilatus) just have some gloves and a hat. I would start in Barcelona and end in Luzern since the weather would warm up as your vacation goes on.

Not sure why Genoa makes the list unless it's a good train stop/station to get other places. I might suggest
Barcelona
Nice (but I like Antibes better for a base)
Lake Como (Varenna or Menaggio for the train)
then Switzerland

Trains are great, but flights can be cheaper for long distances, with both rates somewhat dependent on how far ahead you book. Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the Deutsche Bahn train schedule link and tips for using it; try a schedule for sometime this summer. If you're not thrilled about train schedules, then also see www.skyscanner.com, which reflects most European budget airlines.

• Barcelona-Nice, for instance takes 8.5 hours by train with 1-2 connections.
  
• If you're on the Italian Riviera, then Pisa is an airport option, in addition to Genoa.
• Train vs. plane timing becomes more similar if your actual destination is the Berner Oberland or a smaller town that still requires a significant train ride from any airport.

If you are flying into Barcelona, then fly to Nice next. Nice in April is the better choice for a base than Antibes or worse yet, Juan les Pins. April can have highly variable weather and rates are still off-season rates. Then you can take a train in about 3 hours or drive in even less to get to Genoa. That is the only leg where the train will be shortest. You can then fly into Zurich from Genoa or Pisa -- and you can hit the highlands, but keep in mind you may want to head down to towns like Lucerne, Bern or even Gruyeres.

I would definitely not start an April trip in Switzerland, which can be very chilly and wet much later in the year than that. I like to maximize my chances of decent weather.

April is off-season for the Riviera, so lodging rates should be low unless you hit a special event. Check the websites of any Riviera museums or historic sights you want to visit. Some may be closed 2 or even 3 days a week.

Nice is the transportation hub of the Riviera, but that is important only if you want to visit a bunch of places up in the hills. The coastal towns have frequent rail service. However, there's a lot to do in Nice if you're unlucky with the weather.

I do think you're trying to cover too much ground and will be spending too high a percentage of your time in transit. Keep in mind that in Europe there's nearly always something interesting to see within 5 miles of where you are. I feel like you're really going to have to cut short your time at every destination in order to include Switzerland at a time of year that is very non-optimum for that country.

I agree with acraven's thoughts, though I will add some that might impact decision making. I'm not sure if budget is a large consideration, but when you go to many places not only is it costing you time but also money for transportation. I hate to put a lot of money and effort getting to a certain place and then finding out I don't have near enough time to enjoy it. However, depending on where you leave from and your airport, it can be cost effective to go to a city just for a better airport. For example, Zurich often is an airport that shows up on my searches from my home to be lower cost. We're going to Italy in October and actually flying into Zurich. It saved a fair amount of money so we made it into a little "treat" on the front end. We fly into Zurich and out of Rome. You might play with airline itineraries, if you do choose some time in Switzerland, put it at the end up your trip. At your age and your activity level, if Switzerland doesn't work this time, I could imagine that a future trip to Switzerland for a couple weeks in summer would be very enjoyable. Lots of hiking and many interesting things to do. You might just want to concentrate on Barcelona/Catalunya (where I could spend a couple weeks) and Nice. I like to go to cities and cover most everything of interest so I'm not hoping all over on a future trip trying to pick up bits and pieces I missed.