Help us find a home base in Switzerland for non-hikers

Hi there—-here is a trip report by Carrie from her 2022 trip. She gives good detail on things you can do from 3 different bases which might be mentioned as possibilities for your group: Montreux in the French-speaking area of Switzerland; Wengen, a small alpine village in the Berner Oberland; and Luzern, which you have already asked about. You could see if something there appeals to your group.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-in-switzerland-my-trip-report

She mentions the train excursions from Montreux, and the Mt. Rigi train-boat-cablecar excursion from Luzern. From Wengen, one popular excursion (which she did not do) is the Jungfraujoch “Top of Europe” excursion, a train ride through a tunnel in the mountain to a viewing platform and observatory at the “Joch” (a saddle between mountains). There are a variety of activities up there that many people enjoy, which you can explore on the website.

https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/jungfraujoch-top-of-europe/

From Montreux, additional options would be an excursion by train to Geneva, and the option to visit to CERN:
https://visit.cern/

We have been trying to incorporate that into our Swiss trips but have not yet managed it. for some time they made it rather difficult to visit, but now it is not. There is a tram from Geneva.

The sports fans might like the Olympics Museum in nearby Lausanne:

https://olympics.com/museum

And if you visit Gruyères you might like to include the Chocolate Train:

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/experiences/chocolate-train/

Montreux is 3 hours or less by train from the Zurich airport, with a single change along the way, at Zurich main station or Lausanne. The trains originate right in the airport terminal, so it is easy. If you choose to stay in Lausanne instead, there are direct trains with no change necessary. These towns—-Montreux, Lausanne, Geneva, and more—-are all right on Lac Leman. Some like to take a boat ride across the lake to Evian in France. I know you said you were not interested in lake cruises, but this is a short trip across the lake from Lausanne. Here is a rail map of Switzerland that shows the boat connections as well:

https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/internet/sbb/en/freizeit-ferien/inspiration/internationale-gaeste/Geltungsbereich-Swiss-Travel-Pass.pdf.sbbdownload.pdf

When is this trip?

Early July 2024

Take a look at Basel - it may tick your boxes. It’s a lovely city in its own right with lots to do and well-positioned for day trips, as well as your return to Zurich for your flight home.

This past fall, my husband and I (non-hiking, 60 something, museum hounds) spent 5 nights there. We day tripped to Bern and Zurich. We considered easy side trips to Colmar, France and Freiburg, Germany but enjoyed Basel so much we scrapped those plans.

I would highly recommend the daytrip to Colmar in Alsace for someone staying in Basel.

https://www.tourisme-colmar.com/en/

We spend two nights there in an apartment which is just out of sight on the left side of the photo on the main page. We were looking directly across the canal at the blue and yellow half-timbered houses you see on the right side of the photo. One evening we happened upon a local celebration going on in the main town square, with music and grandparents dancing with their small children grandchildren, young couples dancing with each other, and older men dancing with anyone (including me). It was great fun.