Itinerary and Recommendation for Switzerland and Northern Italy (side trip) for 10-12 days in Summer

Welcome to the forum!

I am on my way out the door but will be back with more comments. But just wanted to quickly point out that the Asinelli Tower is closed indefinitely. I recommend climbing the clock Tower instead (advance reservations recommended).

https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/press-news/press-news-asinelli-tower-closing

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/29/bologna-seals-off-leaning-tower-fears-tilting-too-far

Also, taking a rental car from Italy to Switzerland can be very expensive due to drop fees across the borders. If you want a car to visit those places and factories in Italy, drop it off before taking the train to Switzerland. You will not need a car there.

Bologna- A wonderful city, a favorite of ours. There is lots of energy from the university students.
Lake Como- we prefer to stay up at the top of the hill in Bellagio away from most of the crowds. We have spent four wonderful vacations there.
Or look at Lenno across the lake. You can walk to Villa Balbaniello from Lenno.
Switzerland- We loved staying in Grindelwald where rented a chalet. Interlacken is more of a transit hub. Your child will love Grindelwald where you feel that you can reach out and touch the Eiger.
And yes, stay in Lucerne. It is on a beautiful lake with plenty of chances to go out in a boat. We did not leave the Lucerne area while staying there.
You are planning a wonderful trip!

There's been a lot of Swiss questions here recently, and many well-written answers, so I suggest you review the last month or two of posts under Switzerland section here on the Forum. You should find some helpful info. Many of us prefer to stay in Murren or Wengen in the BO. Many Swiss mountain villages are car free, so another reason to leave the car in Italy. And the Swiss rail system is unparalleled in efficiency and ease of use.
I'd minimize the time in Zurich and add it to Lucerne. If your flight out isn't early, you can spend the last night in Lucerne.
Since Covid, the demand to see Europe is very high. Lodging for the summer is already tight. I'd make finding Lodging in Lake Como a priority, and stay three nights. It's definitely my Happy Place. We love staying in Varenna at Hotel du Lac, in a room with a lake view and balcony.
Summers feels far off, but many travelers book accommodations 8-9 months in advance, so happy hunting and good luck!

I like Pat’s suggestion that you look around the forum for recent Switzerland posts, because there are a lot of them. I will however add some comments specific to itineraries for 11-year-old boys, since I have recent experience with that (a trip with grandchildren, twin boys age 11, in September).

Although the standard recommendation here is to stay in car-free Wengen or Mürren (which is what we do), think Grindelwald is a fine choice for the OP’s family. RS dismisses Grindelwald as “too touristy” ” but in reality Wengen and Mürren are tourist meccas as well. The difference is the cars and tour buses in Grindelwald. But if one can get past that, the views of the peaks around the village are very nice, and there are more activities of interest to “tweens” on offer there than in the quieter car-free villages. Of our 5 days in Mûrren with the twins and their parents, we spent 2 traveling over to Grindelwald for the First gondola and other things.

We did not go up the Jungfrau, but it is at the top of the OP’s list. It is easiest to reach from Grindelwald, especially with the new Eigergletscher Express. And then they could, on another day, take the First gondola for all the activities there—-zip lines, Trotti-bikes, and coasters (the twine and their parents did the Trotti-bikes, but first we had a nice lunch at the Bort restaurant, and hiked out to Bachalpsee).

Another thing they could do from Grindelwald is ride the gondola up to Männlichen—-it meets the cablecar coming up from Wengen. There is a great playground there that appeals to kids that age, with a slack line and other activities, as well as the big cow with a slide down the tongue.

https://www.maennlichen.ch/en/summer/experiences/alpine-herdsmans-playground.html

From there, walk the Panorama trail to Kleine Scheidegg, and either take the train back to Grindelwald, or walk up to Eigergletscher and ride the Express down from there.

It’s all good.

Thank you so much for your valuable information!

The best transportation in Switzerland seems to be train, but I am a bit confused with all train transportations:
1. Train from Lake Como area (which station is the best to drop off the rental car?) to Grindelwald, Murren, or Wengen. (ideally express journey: 4 hours is better)
2. Among Grindelwald, Murren, and Wengen, which area would you recommend to base (stay) for sightseeing, especially for attractions like Jungfraujoch?
3. From Grindelwald, Murren or Wengen to Lake Lucerne by train. Which train shall we use?
4. From Lucerne to Zurich - which train route should we take to Zurich?

Additionally, could you recommend a reliable website that comprehensively covers train transportation throughout Switzerland and Lake Como? I saw some discounted traveler’s train passes; Swiss Pass etc. Any guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Download the SBB app for Swiss train routes and times. Not sure you will find any express trains, nor a route under four hours, but the app can help. The Swiss train system starts at Tirano, Italy. Be careful about using theirs party train vendors.
Do a Search here for the previous extended Wengen vs Murren debates- they are numerous!
Have a great trip!

Thank you so much for your valuable info. My destination of itinerary is
Bologna - Lake Como - Grindelwald - Lake Lucerne - Zurich
One thing I am confused is

From Lake Como (Bellagio or Varenna Italy - wherever easy station to use express) to Grindelwald.
Como S. Giovanni Station nearby Bellagio or Varenna-Esino Station to Milan Centre (via RE80/EC 41min) ->
Milano Centrale Railway St. (EC50 towards Basel SBB) ->
Spiez St. -> (RE9)
Interlaken Ost. (R61) towards Grindelwald

seems to be the shortest way, about 6 hours. Is it worth scenery to take train? or
Is it better to rent a car from Lugano, Switzerland to Grindelwald (drop off car) 4 hours?

Thank you for your advice!

Maybe a map of the Swiss rail system will help.

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

Rail lines are red; roads are yellow; red dashed lines are long deep tunnels; dotted lines are mountain lifts. The highlighted rail lines, in different colors, are the named scenic routes.

Lake Como is the upside-down “Y” lake just right of center near the bottom. Varenna and Bellagio are not on the map, but are on the east side of the lake, just across from Menaggio which is marked. Varenna has a train station; Bellagio does not. Como (the town) and its station Como San Giovannia are on the west side of the lake at the south end of one branch of the Y. So Varenna and Como S. Giovanni are nowhere near one another; to go from one to the other by train you have to go south from Varenna to Lecco, then change to a train heading west and connecting with the line coming up from Milan.

Since you need to drop the car in Italy, if there is a rental car office in the town of Como that would be your best option—-drive from Bellagio or Varenna to Como town and drop the car, then take the train into Switzerland.

The question is which train? The route to Grindelwald you found (via Domodossola, Spiez, etc. ) is indeed the fastest, but it is by no means scenic. See those red dashed lines between Iselle and Brig, and between Visp and Frutigen on the way to Spiez? Those are long deep tunnels, the Simplon tunnel and the deep Lötschberg Basistunnel. They are the fast, efficient way to deal with the Alops—-by going under them.

But you have a good alternative. From Como, if you can drop the car there, you can take a train north to Luzern, using the Gotthard Pass route. This is highlighted on the map as a scenic route, designated as #5, the Gotthard Panorama Express, from Lugano to Luzern. But you need not catch that special train. Through summer 2024, all the fast trains between Milan and Zurich (or Luzern) will be using the scenic Gotthard pass route, because the deep Gotthard Basistunnel is closed due to an accident last summer. (You can see the tunnel route as a dashed line on the map).

So—-you could switch your itinerary to put Luzern ahead of Grindelwald. Take the scenic train from Como to Luzern, and then when it is time to head to Grindelwald you take another scenic train (#7 on the map) to Interlaken, where you change to the little train to Grindelwald.

following ... and gathering info :)