6 Days Based in Zurich - Day trips/overnight trips?

My first question is “why Zurich”? If you’re just there to be a tourist then you need to bypass Zurich and choose Lucerne as a base instead. It’s 50 minutes from Zurich to Lucerne via the super efficient train network.

What’s your rationale for car rental?

Well we are flying in and out of Zurich, because we know we want to visit Switzerland and France (and Germany if time permits) but we aren't looking to make it our home base necessarily. We thought a car would give us the most flexibility for where we want to go, and since it would be split between two parties, we thought it might be cheaper than several roundtrip train tickets. I'm open to hearing about why train travel would be better! We aren't familiar with the area at all so we are starting from scratch. I've heard great things about Lucerne though, so good advice on making that home base!

Are you counting your arrival day in the 6 days? If so, you might do better to think of this as a five-day trip, because many people are walking zombies on their arrival day as a result of sleep-deprivation and jetlag. With just five days, I'd recommend spending the time in Switzerland rather than spending 4 hours in a car to drive to another country.

Judging by this forum, most folks traveling to Switzerland want to spend some time up in the Alps. If that interests you, you should plan multiple nights in the mountains. The weather is unpredictable, and giving yourselves multiple nights increases your chances of having a nice day.

Is yours a group of four adults?

Trains really are the way to go in Switzerland. The system goes everywhere with frequent departures and the rail cars are clean and comfortable. Rail passes can save lots of money, too.

The only time I'd recommend a car for Switzerland is if your party has at least 4 people, you're packing heavy, or you want to go to remote places not served by the rail system. Of course, you can always use mainly trains and rent a car for one or two days where it makes sense.

But first you should decide where you want to go. With 6 nights to work with you could do two places without making the trip too hectic. After arriving in Zurich hop on a train to Colmar to spend 3 nights. Then take another train to Luzern for the final 3 nights. Luzern has a direct commuter link to the Zurich airport, so there's not need to stay in Zurich unless you want to.

If you base in Luzern, you have a lot of choices from there, including mountain excursions and steamboat trips on the lake. We arrived in Switzerland via Basel, and took a train directly to Engelberg. We stayed in Engelberg for two nights (~1 hour from Luzern by train) and went to the top of Mt. Titlis - an extraordinary adventure for our family. Then we spent 3 nights in Luzern. Our day of departure, we took that frequent train directly to the Zurich Flughafen and caught our flight. It was very convenient.

I just watched a video today of a couple who took a day trip to Engelberg from Zurich, and went to Mt. Titlis. That would be a long day - but they loved the trip. This is their trip video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2VTiZBd8vA

We loved staying in Engelberg - it was so serene and gorgeous there. We got off the gondola in Trubsee on the way down from Titlis, and explored around the lake that you can see in their video. It was so beautiful, and we were surrounded by cows at one point! Then we just caught the next gondola and continued back down to Engelberg.

We found the Swiss trains to be very nice, reliable, clean and convenient.

Laurie

I just want to add to the "do not stay in Zürich" suggestions. Luzern is a better place to stay, and you can get to other plaxes the same or better than from Zürich.
Zürich is a big city, getting in and out, especially by car, is a waste of time and nerves.
Luzern is smaller, has a pretty old town, is on a lake. Click here for 360° panorama. It has boat trips on the lake, including all day trips. It has 3 local mountains you can go all the way to the top by train and cable car (Rigi, Pilatus and Titlis). If you stay in the centre of Luzern, all this is walking distance from your hotel.

If you want day trips to nice cities, you have Bern and Basel within your 2-hour limit (by train). Don't forget if you are using a car, cities do not allow cars into the centre, you need to park (pay) and walk or public transport into the centre. If you come by rail, the station is usually within walking distance of the old city centre. This also applies to Luzern.

If you want a scenic route through the Alps, go from Luzern to Interlaken via the Brünig Pass. You can do this by train, there and back.

If you really, really want Germany, you can do a day trip to Freiburg im Breisgau, but I think you won't have enough days. Again, easy by train, by car you need to park on the edge and get Public Transport in. If you want France, Colmar, same things apply.