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14-day Northern Italy and Switzerland family trip itinerary questions

Posted by (SF Bay Area) on

We were hoping to go to Italy this summer (Florence, Tuscany, Rome, Cinque Terre), but after reading so much about the sweltering temps, we have decided to limit this trip to Northern Italy and Switzerland instead, and maybe do southern Italy another year in the spring. This will be an approx 2-week trip with a 10-year-old and my husband and I.

Here are my current thoughts, can you please tell me if this is doable and what we should focus on?
-Fly into Venice - 3 nights
-Lake Como - 3 nights
-Lake Lugano?
-Switzerland - 7-8 nights not sure what is best to focus on here - Lucerne, Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, Interlaken, Zermatt, Geneva, Zurich? Would love some suggestions for highlights to hit in this region that don't involve lots of travel time so we can see the sights and not be on the go for the whole week.
This trip will be end of June and early July. My son is not a huge hiking fan (unfortunately) so want to try to balance hiking with culture, sightseeing, good meals, and other kid-friendly activities. Thank you!

Posted by
11794 posts

We stayed on Lake Como and one day went to see Lake Lugano. It had a more sophisticated vibe but wasn’t as pretty as Lake Como.
We loved our week in Grindelwald with many options for hotels, dining, activities.

Posted by
5422 posts

You don't have to hike to enjoy the mountains--would he be into taking the lifts and cog wheel trains up? You can do that in the Bernese Oberland area as well as from Lucerne. Lucerne has a castle, an atmospheric old town--I think a kid would dig it.
Where are you flying out? A week split between the BO and Lucerne would be great, and with a not too early flight out of Zurich, you can stay in Lucerne the last night.
I don't see the need for lake overload if you are not doing outdoorsy activities--maybe some of the smaller cities near Venice might be worth looking into?
It's a side trip from Milan, but I always thought Turin sounded like a great place for kids. https://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/visiting-turin-kids

Posted by
905 posts

A visit to the Lauterbrunnen valley does not necessarily require hiking. The transport system in the Jungfrau region is excellent. If you buy a regional pass you can explore a wide area for a single price over several days. Start here and see the costs as well as the areas covered. https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/jungfrau-travel-pass/

Zurich & Geneva are a snooze. Lucerne is wonderful and offers many options in the area for museums, lake cruise, etc. Interlaken is a tourist town, I can only recommend it as a site where you can access cruises along the lakes.

3 nights would be bare minimum for Venice. Travel via train from Venice to Lake Como will take up 4-5 hours (Varenna). Train from Varenna to Lauterbrunnen will be 6*7 hours. Keep this travel time in mind. Also search both Swiss Rail and Trenitalia for best prices on that journey.

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