alternative to Interlaken

Yes, add the two days to Berner Oberland (Interlaken). However, my advise would be to look into staying in Lauterbrunnen, Murren or Wengen,

I don't think St Moritz fits your description for what you like, unless you're looking at Rolexes. If you want to sleep in that area and not be surrounded by high-end shops that are in every big city, try Pontressina.
In my mind, there's no substitute for the Berner Oberland. Spend as much time as possible, as no one is ever ready to leave. Perhaps look at Murren OR Wengen. After all, Switzerland is know for the Alps. Also, Interlaken is a transit center, not a charming Swiss village.
As presented, your itinerary is very heavy on cities.
I'd also suggest Lucerne as your final destination, as it's so easy to take the train from Lucerne directly into the Zurich airport.
Book accommodations asap, as September is very popular time to visit.
Have a great time in my favorite country!

This appears to be an itinerary based on riding scenic trains, starting with the Glacier Express from St. Moritz to Zermatt. Honestly, that is not the best choice for people who enjoy hiking. You are sitting on the train for around 8 hours—-basically all day. As an avid hiker myself, I can tell you it would break my heart to ride past all those mountains while looking at them through a train window, without stopping to hike. And as Pat mentions, St. Moritz is not exactly a charming little village.

How are you getting to St.Moritz in the first place? It is not all that easy to reach, and that will involve more time on trains. It pretty much only makes sense in an itinerary if you are coming from the Varenna side of Lago di Como.

And then you must be taking the Golden Pass scenic route from Montreux to Luzern. You will pass right through Interlaken on the way, go to Luzern, and then 2 days later turn around and come back to Interlaken. A better way to do this, and still take the entire Golden Pass route, would be to split it into 2 segments—-Montreux to Interlaken, spend 4 nights there (actually in one of the nearby alpine villages), then travel from Interlaken to Luzern at the end of your trip. With a 1 pm flight out of Zurich you can spend the last night in Luzern, which is just over an hour from the Zurich airport. No need to move to a Zurich hotel.

If you would like some help adjusting your itinerary to address these issues, please let us know.

In the meantime, to answer your question: with all those 2-night stops, you should definitely add the extra days to the Berner Oberland. And do not stay in Interlaken if you like small charming villages. The carfree alpine villages of Wengen are much-loved here, and both offer beautiful views and fantastic hiking.

Thank you everyone! Much appreciated. We're meeting up with friends mid-trip so have a disjointed itinerary, which I'm trying to fine tune. Right now itinerary: fly into Zurich, immediately go to St. Moritz (2 nights), then Glacier Express to Zermatt. I love train trips so that's my choice. Zermatt (1 night), Montreux (2 nights), Bern (1 night), **Zurich (1 night), Luzern, (1 nights), Interlaken (2 nights), Zermatt (1 night), Zurich (1 night) and fly out.**

It seems silly to go to Zermatt twice. So am considering: St. M (2 nights), Zermatt (2 nights), Montreux (2 nights), then with friends: Zurich (1 night), Luzern (1 night), Interlaken (2 nights) ..... then I'd like skip Zermatt and Zurich at the end and spend extra time in Lauterbrunnen valley.

SO the question is:
1. Stay 4 nights in Interlaken? OR
2. Stay 4 nights in Wengen or some other cute town? OR
3. 2 nights in Interlaken and 2 towns close to Interlaken?

Thoughts? Thank you all!

Four nights in Wengen or Mürren. Once you get there, you won’t want to leave. And you will be happy to stay in one place for 4 nights and not have to change hotels each day or two.

But do yourselves a favor and spend the 2 nights before the Glacier Express in nearby Pontresina, 10 minutes away by direct train. You can see how close they are on the Swiss rail map:

https://www.travelswitzerland.com/en/download/swiss-travel-system-map-en-2023/?wpdmdl=14294&masterkey=63a023c8da36c

Yes, drop Interlaken and stay the four nights in the breathtaking views of Wengen or Murren. Or Lauterbrunnen if the other two don’t have any available reservations. Have a wonderful time hiking here!

I agree with the others..... skip Interlaken and stay four nights in one of the towns in the Berner Oberland, either Lauterbrunnen, Mürren or Wengen. Which of the three to choose will depend on what you want to do in that area. There are some interesting sights there and a few possibilities to consider.....

• Hiking - you won't have any shortage places to hike in that area as there are many trails of different abilities. *THIS BOOK* provides some good ideas.
• This is related to hiking - https://muerren.swiss/en/discover/experiences/via-ferrata-murren-gimmelwald.html .
• Schilthorn - a revolving restaurant on top of a mountain. It was used in the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service many years ago. It's a bit pricey but worth a trip (IMO). If you want to see that, staying in Mürren will be a bit cheaper for the cable car ride.
• Jungfraujoch - Another mountaintop sight on the other side of the valley, and the highest railway station in Europe. Quite expensive but very unique.
• Paragliding - offered in a few places in the valley but the flights from Mürren are quite reasonable in cost and about 20 minutes long as i recall.

Whatever you decide, be sure to budget accordingly as Switzerland is expensive. You may find that you can save some money with one of the Swiss Passes. You may find this helpful - https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes .

Well you could try somewhere like Maienfeld (https://www.myswitzerland.com/de-ch/reiseziele/maienfeld/). I spent most of last week there. Very few tourists - one American couple, one English couple, the locals and me!

Lots of nice walks, scenery etc... and good public transport.

I think the standard recommendation is, either Schilthorn or Jungfrau but not both?