9 Day Switzerland Itinerary- Need Help

Is Zermatt set on that date? I’d play it by ear, checking MeteoSwiss app before going to make sure you had good weather.

I’m confused as to the last two nights? Where are you sleeping? And what time does your flight leave?
Bern is definitely more worthwhile than Montreux itself, but chateau de chillon is a lot of folks’ highlight, and that’s by Montreux. Also by Montreux is chaplin’s world. We loved it.

Re: taxis— you’ll just be taking trains, so no worries there. Very easy.

Re: harder Kulm: I hear it’s skippable. Do the north face trail above Murren or piz Gloria/schilthorn instead. If you’re a nerd who likes stuff like plimouth plantation like me, check out ballenberg outside Brienz.

Thank you for the reply! I have a hotel booked in Zermatt, but it is refundable. I just want to book a night to stay there, which is difficult if playing by ear.

Why do you want to stay in Zermatt as opposed to someone else? To pack, unpack, check in etc will take time. So here’s how I would calculate it: it takes like 3+ hours to travel to Zermatt from most places in Switzerland. It takes 1.5 hours to check in and out of most places to stay in terms of packing, unpacking, finding it, etc. plus there’s the hassle of schlepping your luggage to a place for just one night. But also, let’s say the one night you pick (and day) is bad weather. There’s no amount of time saved in my eyes that makes that worth it. So you might save 1.5-2 hours, but the hassle plus risk of maybe not even being able to see the Matterhorn makes it a tough pill for me to swallow. Does that make sense?

Im confused - where are you staying?

It's so hard to choose between Bern and Montreux, both towns are great but from different points of view. Montreux is fun to visit especially because of the lake scenery and Chillion Castle. Lots of artists, writers, musicians were here over the centuries, while Chillon is the most visited medieval Swiss castle.

On the other hand, Bern is the federal city of Switzerland, a more vibrant and full of life town, not only during the touristic season. The architecture and the food are Swiss German, the Parliament Building can be visited free of charge if they have guided tours when you're in town. Not to mention Albert Einstein's little apartment transformed into a nice museum.

Best of luck with your choice and enjoy your Swiss adventure!

Chillon Castle near Montreaux really was a worthwhile visit, and along the nice lakeside walking area is the big statue of Freddie Mercury and a few other Freddie Mercury things to see.

Bern is very nice, and you can take a bus from the HBF to the Ault Tram Depot (next to the Bear Pit), and have a meal outside, good view of the town. Then a nice walk back to the HBF.

I just want to emphasize what has already been pointed out. The Matterhorn is frequently obscured by clouds, and Zermatt is out of the way. To go there for one night is not a great idea IMHO.

I really liked Bern. I did not spend any time in Montreux (I stayed in a Vevey), but I loved Chateau Chillion and Lake Geneva. I would probably choose Montreux, but either option is good.

Also note that rail travel Into and out of Zermatt just resumed yesterday, after flooding.
Many hiking trails and the Gornergrat are still closed.

Likewise the trail Maennlichen to Kleine Scheidegg is closed as of 6/24 due to rains with rockslide.

I would recommend reading the thread "Zermatt flooding 21 June", pretty active thread about what is going on at Zermatt currently..

We are in a similar quandary. This query might help you too.

This is part of our itinerary right now:

2 nights in St. Moritz, then take Glacier Express train to Zermatt
1 night Zermatt
2 nights Montreux
1 night Bern
1 night Zurich; meet up with friends
4-5 nights -- Lucerne and Bernese Oberland
1 night Zurich; fly home at noon

I'm considering skipping Bern and staying two nights in Zermatt to better our chance of seeing the Matterhorn and explore Zermatt. This would also give us one less stopover to eliminate packing/repacking. We enjoy hiking, the outdoors rather than museums. Thoughts? Thanks so much!