Christmas in Switzerland Itinerary

This is way too rushed for my taste. Not counting arrival and departure days, you have 6 full days. I would pick 2 or at most 3 locations and stick with those. During the warmer months I would pick Lucerne and the Lauterbrunnen or somewhere nearby. (Not sure what Lucerne is like in winter). Keep in mind that daytlight hours are going to be relatively short so less time to see the scenic beauty of tne country.

If you decide to go with your itinerary, I’m not sure that day 2 is doable. Ride up to Jungfraujoch is at least a half day trip by itself. Also as a broad generalization weather in the mountains is often nicer in the morning so it’s best to head up first thing in the morning. (Once again weather patterns maybe different in winter).

I would strongly advise you to rethink your plan and cut it down to 2 locations.

I’m exhausted just reading your itinerary! With only a week I would limit your stay to three spots max, Switzerland is a small country, but it takes longer than you think to get from one site to another, and a “train” could include five transfers.

I don’t see Zermatt on your plan, which is the place I would go if I could pick only one spot, especially over Christmas. You don’t have to ski to enjoy the village, and it’s magical that time of year. The gondola ride up to the Klein Matterhorn is beautiful.

I also wouldn’t try to do Lucern to the BO to Lugano in a day. That’s three days worth of travel. You could end up with a cloudy day and exhaust yourself without being able to see much. As a side note, the Jungfrau is uber expensive, whereas the Schilthorn is included if you get a Swiss Travel Pass, and has equal or better views.

I would spend a couple nights in Zermatt, at least three nights in the Berber Oberland / Lauterbrunnen Valley (we love staying in Wengen), and a couple more nights somewhere else. Either Lugano or Montreux, but not both, and I would try not to zigzag between destinations and waste time traveling.

Go to Milan and Lake Como another time. Coming from NYC, I would also skip staying in Zurich. You can lock up your baggage at the airport, stretch your legs in the city for a few hours, and still have plenty of time to catch a train out. If you really want to stay there I would save it for the last night at the end.

Thank you soo much. This helps as I'm traveling solo a d jts my first second time to Europe. I want the most beautiful scenery possible! New itinerary below: 2 I have 2 bases Lugano and Montreux.

Here is the itinenary:

1) Day 1: Dec 25 – Dec 26

a) Take a flight NYC - Zurich on Dec 24 2015

b) Arrive in Zurich at 8 AM CH time Dec 25

c) explore Lucerne 3 mountains Mt Pilaus etc then just train to lugano or just train to Lugano.

d) Overnight in Lugano. Dec 25

2) Day 2 : Dec 26

a) Explore lugano ...Como is 30 minutes and Milan 45 so take a train there.

B) overnight in lugano

3) Day 3 : Dec 27

a) Train from Lugano to Montreux 3.6 hours
B) overnight in Montreux

4) Day 4 : Dec 28

a) train to Gruyere and Gstaad day trips 
b) Overnight in Montreux

5) Day 5: Dec 29

a) Take train to Chillon castle then Chamonix for the day to see Mont Blanc and Matterhorn.

6) Day 6 : Dec 30
a) Train to Lusanne or train to Zermatt if I dont see Matterhorn from Chamonix.

c) Overnight in Montreux

7) Day 7 : Dec 31

A) Train from Montreux to Zurich. New Year in Zurich.

8) Day 8 : Jan 1

a) Flight back to NYC. The flight is at 12pm