6 Night Itinerary in Switzerland/Italy in July

Can I ask where you are coming from? What time is your flight from Malpensa and where is that going?

Looks busy, but doable. Keep in mind that the weather will dictate some activities. The logistics of spending a night on Lake Como concern me. I don't see there will be much time other than say "Look, Lake Como!"

Lausanne station should have plenty of luggage lockers.

How kind of you to help out! I think you can accomplish this itinerary better by taking out the overnight stays in Montreux & Luzern & just seeing those spots along the way. I’d narrow down to 2 bases (Murren + Lake Como) or 3 at the very most (add Montreux). Your current plan doesn’t allow for even 1 full day in Lake Como, which very much defeats the purpose of the hassle of going. And Pilatus isn’t worth it when you’re already seeing amazing spots around Murren.

I’d recommend one of these 3 scenarios. Personally I like the last one:
MURREN - 3 nights / LAKE COMO - 3 nights
Monday - immediately to Murren (4 hrs via Bern, 4.5 hrs via Montreux regular trains or 5.5 hrs with Golden Pass Express) If it’s really important that they see something in Lausanne or Montreux, store luggage, see that and then move one. Arrive in Murren, check in & dinner

Tuesday - Schilthorn first thing in the morning, back down to Murren, ride the Allmendhubel up and do the North Face hike counterclockwise (detour to Sprutz waterfall). Option walk or cable car down to Gimmelwald from the end of hike & have dinner at the Pension (fixed menu with reservation) or the Hostel (wood fired pizza)

Wednesday - Murren > Grutschalp > Lauterbrunnen > Wengen > Mannlichen > walk to Kleine Scheidegg > train to Wengen > train to Lauterbrunnen > rent bikes from Imboden in Lauterbrunnen > bike the valley and return to Lauterbrunnen > Grutschalp > Murren

Thursday - Travel day via Luzern/Gotthard tunnel to Lake Como - if they want to see Luzern they can store luggage there to walk around for a couple hours before continuing on - arrive on Lake Como for dinner

Friday - Lake Como area

Saturday - Lake Como area

Sunday - Lake Como + Fly out

MONTREUX - 1 night / MURREN - 3 nights / LAKE COMO - 2 nights
Monday - immediately to Lausanne, store luggage to see art museum, then continue on to Montreux. Check in, walk the lake front promenade to Chateau de Chillon and then boat Montreux for dinner

Tuesday - Morning Golden Pass Express + on to Murren - explore village for the afternoon, optional easy walk down to Gimmelwald for dinner

Wednesday - Schilthorn/Allmendhubel/North Face hike/Sprutz waterfall/Gimmelwald

Thursday - Mannlichen/Kleine Scheidegg/Bike Valley

Friday - Murren > Luzern/Gotthard tunnel/Lake Como

Saturday - Lake Como area

Sunday - Lake Como + Fly out

MURREN - 4 nights / LAKE COMO - 2 nights
Monday - immediately to Murren (4 hrs via Bern, 4.5 hrs via Montreux regular trains or 5.5 hrs with Golden Pass Express) If it’s really important that they see something in Lausanne or Montreux, store luggage, see that and then move on. Arrive in Murren, check in & dinner

Tuesday - Schilthorn/Allmendhubel/North Face hike/Sprutz waterfall/Gimmelwald

Wednesday - Mannlichen/Kleine Scheidegg/Bike Valley

Thursday - Flex weather day for all the above activities plus additional options in the area - Schynige Platte, Boat ride on Lake Brienz (hike to Giessbach waterfall) or Boat ride on Lake Thun (castles on Lake Thun at Spiez, Oberhofen & Thun as an alternative to doing Montreux/Chateau de Chillon)

Friday - Murren > Luzern/Gotthard tunnel/Lake Como

Saturday - Lake Como area

Sunday - Lake Como + Fly out

@Sam I haven't decided where the home base on Lake Como will be yet, probably Bellagio or Varenna. Their flight is leaving Malpensa that evening headed back to the states.

@wanderweg These are fantastic thoughts, thank you so much for your reply. It gives me a lot to think about. I see you're in Nashville.. that's where I am as well! Small world.

The reason I was trying to make Luzern/Mt. Pilatus work is because she really wants to do a mountain coaster while she's there. Are there any other options for me to include elsewhere? I've had a hard time making sense of an alternative.

Thank you again!

It is a small world! Hello from a fellow Nashvillian :) My husband & I work from home in Nashville, but spend our summers living in Murren. Your sister and her friend are going to be absolutely blown away by how amazing it is and not want to leave :)

There is a mountain coaster in Grindelwald (Pfingstegg). Personally I think they are a bit overrated, having done multiple, but I get the draw that it sounds fun. If she wants a thrill, honestly I'd recommend paragliding from Murren. It's such a cool experience. The Thrill Walk up at Birg (below Schilthorn) is also neat, as well as the via feratta in Murren. Considering all this, I'd suggest doing my last itinerary and adding a day on to Murren.

MURREN - 4 nights / LAKE COMO - 2 nights
Monday - arrive early AM and immediately head to Murren (4 hrs via Bern, 4.5 hrs via Montreux regular trains or 5.5 hrs with Golden Pass Express) If it’s really important that they see something in Lausanne or Montreux, store luggage, see that and then move on to Murren. Arrive in Murren, check in & dinner

Tuesday - Schilthorn first thing in the morning (optional Birg Thrill Walk), back down to Murren, ride the Allmendhubel up and do the North Face hike counterclockwise (detour to Sprutz waterfall). Option to walk or cable car down to Gimmelwald from the end of this hike to explore around Gimmelwald & have dinner at the Pension (fixed menu with reservation) or the Hostel (wood fired pizza)

Wednesday - Murren > Grutschalp > Lauterbrunnen > Wengen > Mannlichen > walk to Kleine Scheidegg > train to Grindelwald and bus/cable car to Pfingstegg for the mountain coaster > return to Murren via Grindelwald/Lauterbrunnen

Thursday - Options for paragliding from Murren (AirTime Paragliding), via feratta & biking

Maybe something like this:
Murren - paraglide first thing, land in Stechelberg > cable car back up to Murren to do via feratta from Murren to Gimmelwald (hire a guide and equipment from the Intersport Enzian on the main road in Murren) > cable car from Gimmelwald to Stechelberg > bus to Lauterbrunnen > Rent bikes from Imboden to bike around the valley

https://airtime-paragliding.com/
https://outdoor.ch/en/outdoor-activities/via-ferrata-muerren/
https://www.imboden-bike.ch/en/

Friday - Travel day via Luzern/Gotthard tunnel to Lake Como - if they want to see Luzern they can store luggage there to walk around for a couple hours before continuing on - arrive on Lake Como for dinner

Saturday - Lake Como area

Sunday - Fly out

The only evening flight to get back to Nashville from Malpensa is an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin with an overnight there before continuing to the States. That is at 10:15 pm, so you need to be at the airport by 8:15. That would indicate departing on the regional train from Varenna at 5:35 pm, arriving at Maplensa at 7:52 pm. If staying in Bellagio, add time for the ferry from Bellagio to Varenna.

At this point, with 3 people, you might consider a private transfer to Malpensa, especially if staying in Bellagio. Looks like it could be in the range of 150 EUR and take less than 1 1/2 hours. Also it would be safer than relying on trains, which are subject to strikes and other delays when you have to make a flight home.

Now I am thinking of the logistics of getting from Luzern to Bellagio/Varenna. Your original plan has you departing Saturday morning. wanderweg suggests Friday evening. Whichever, involves a train change at Arth-Goldau to the EC train to Como San Giovanni station. From there you could take a bus to Bellagio, or spring for another taxi for, I am guessing, 75 EUR. You could also take a fast ferry, but it still involves a bus or taxi from San Giovanni station, which is located on the side of the hill above Como, to the lakeside ferry dock.

PS rereading your post and replies it is unclear if this is for the 3 of you or just for 2 people.