Is my 18 day Switzerland itinerary okay

Hi! I would make a few small changes, as follows:

• If possible, stay in Wengen, Mürren, Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald, rather than Interlaken which is mostly a transit hub and only at the foot of the mountains.

• Head to the Lausanne area after that, using the scenic Golden Pass railway. Rather than Lausanne, look at staying in Vevey or Montreux, it is a bit more charming.

• Head to Bern after the Lausanne area.

• Bern does not deserve 3 nights. Remove a night there and add one to Lucerne (where you only stay 2 nights in your original plan).

• Zürich does not deserve 3 nights either. Remove a night there and add one to the Interlaken area.

No experience travelling with toddlers so can't help with that aspect.

Interlaken is a great location based on what you said you would like to do and the time of year. Many hotels and businesses in the mountain villages like Lauterbrunnen and Wengen will be closed until mid Dec. It can be a very quiet place at this time of year and is very different from summer or winter ski season.

Interlaken gives you easy access to trains and boats in many directions, the buses are free for tourists who stay there. It is flat and easy to get around with a stroller, etc. There are nice walks along the river Aare, you can walk to Bönigen on the Lake of Brienz.

Kid stuff (you will have to check dates for these events to see if they work for you):

Christmas market and outdoor skating area in Interlaken


Dec. 6th is “Samichlaus Tag” Santa Clause day - in the past Interlaken had special events for kids

Kambly (a cookie company) has a very family friendly Christmas market and also offer cookie decorating or gingerbread house making for kids. Plus - all the free cookie samples you can eat 😄
https://kambly.com/en/kambly-experience/events-with-kambly/

Christmas Path in Aeschi - walk along the path to visit stations that tell the Christmas story. Last year they had donkeys, sheep and lamas at various stations as well as Santa’s house that you could look into. All in a country setting with mountain and lake views.
https://www.aeschi-tourismus.ch/en/events/highlights-of-the-year/christmas-path-wiehnachtswaeg-aeschi

In Bern there is
Dählhölzli Zoo
https://tierpark-bern.ch/en/

The Natural History Museum

Gurten park has a great playground, view of the city and distant views of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau
https://www.gurtenpark.ch/en/

For hiking you can check out
https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland.html

Take a look at the Obstacle-free routes if you want to be able to push a stroller. I really like #441 in Kandersteg for beautiful mountain, river, waterfall and farmland views.

You can also try the app Family trips

https://apps.apple.com/ch/app/family-trips/id588419227

Just a few thoughts. You have obviously already put some time into your planning.

The Zurich main train station has the largest indoor Xmas market in Europe. It's worth a wander.

The Bern Xmas markets are nice, and my fav is the one straight ahead of the main train station entrance, walk two blocks. The have a pond with a waterfall that is beautifully lit. The TI will provide Xmas markets map.

If you have enough time, when you're in Basel, train across the border to the Strasbourg Xmas markets. I have never seen a town that decorated so elaborately! I was in awe even as a senior, my reaction was almost child- like. Of course, Colmar is cute and a little closer to Basel, but Strasbourg is special.

Mt. Rigi is completely covered by the STP, Pilatus only partially covered. You should have snow to play in at Rigi. The boat ride to the cogwheel train is delightful.

Have a magical trip!

Just adding to Pat’s comment. When I was in Switzerland last year I stayed in Basel and made day trips to both Colmar and Strasbourg. Both are very easy. Just note that those trips would not be covered by the Swiss Travel Pass and the trains to France do leave from a separate area of the main Basel SBB train station. There is a special ticket machine for those trains that we had a hard time with. So, I’d suggest that if you do decide on either or both of those places, buy your tickets from the ticket counter. You can buy the night before if it’s more convenient.

Another great day trip from Basel is Freiburg, Germany which we all loved. It looks like they also have a Christmas market:

https://www.carnifest.com/christmas-market-weihnachtsmarkt-in-freiburg-2022/#:~:text=Christmas%20market%20in%20Freiburg%20is,decoration%20to%20the%20charmed%20market.

Be sure to check the dates for Christmas markets. They usually open the last week of November.