Help with July 2016 Itinerary - our first time in Switzerland

This is difficult because you must strike a balance between keeping things easy/reasonable and seeing what you want to see. And experiencing what is best about Switzerland---which in my mind is the mountains and views.

Geneva is to me a big city with more international/business character than Swiss. So I much prefer version 2. Gstaad is a nice small town, expensive but you can find reasonable lodging. We were there for the Swiss Open ( tennis) 8 years ago and enjoyed our stay at Posthotel Rössli. it is on the border between French-and German-speaking areas so interesting, but "thank you" is always Merci.

Mürren is a treat and will get you up into the mountains and beautiful views without challenging your Dad's mobility or endurance too much. Pick a lodging along the main street which is a level walk from the train station, not oneon the upper road. Unfortunately this will rule out Hotel Bellevue but there are other good choices. If your budget is tight look at the ground floor apartment at Chalet Fontana.

In Luzern a boat cruise might be a highlight. Hotel Waldstätterhof, close to the train station, might be a good option.

I'd much favor option 2 over option 1. Lucerne-Mürren is about 3 hours by public transport or about 1 hour by car. So unless you've got wheels a day trip from Lucerne is questionable in my opinion. Then again you're saying that you've got an elderly person with limited mobility. I don't know Mürren and how suited it would be for someone like that.

It's been ages since I've been to Geneva but a friend of mine grew up there and says it's nice. A quick google search suggests that there's definitely a selection of sights to take in but overall it's my impression that Lausanne would be the nicer place. Though that probably depends on what you're interested in.

Under option 1 you could easily substitute the day trip to Mürren with a trip on the Pilatus or Rigi maybe with a boat trip on lake Lucerne. And if you feel you've had enough of Geneva after two days you could make a stop in Lausanne on your way to Gstaad.

Rei,

I agree with Lola's comments regarding Geneva and therefore my suggestion would also be Option 2. You could also consider taking a train direct from the airport to Lausanne which is a beautiful smaller city (the trip is only about 40 minutes from the airport). Lausanne is also slightly closer to Gstaad so that will make your onward journey a bit quicker.

The trip to Mürren is relatively easy so shouldn't be a problem for an "elderly parent with limited mobility" and it's mostly flat. Lucerne is also quite flat and easily walkable.

Thanks all! Honestly we are really confused. Now we are looking at Wengen since the hotel (Hotel Schoenegg) look nicer instead of staying in Murren. Our hotel stay in murren (if they have availability would be Hotel Eiger). Do you know if Wengen is similar to Murren in terms of easy to walk around? (Some flat streets in main area of stores and restaurants?). Also, we will have a car for most of the trip and would probably park it in Lauterbrunnen if we go to Murren or Wengen for 2 days.

Thanks!

Rei,

Given the fact that you'll be driving, you could also stay in Lauterbrunnen and take day trips to the other locations. It's the most central location to both sides of the valley, and some of the hotels will have parking. You could have a look at THIS hotel as they provide parking.

Wengen is larger than Mürren so I'm not sure it would provide easier walking. Some of the hotels are uphill from the rail station, and the distances will also be longer.