My wife and I have booked a 10 day rail tour around Switzerland for next July, we are considering extending our stay for a couple of days in either Zurich or Lausanne. We have never spent any time in either location other than to transfer through the airport or train station. Our rail tour will hit most of the top tier cities and some mountain towns. We would value your input, we would be using local transportation.
Thank you in advance for your input!
I would hang out in Zug, just to the south of Zurich.
Lausanne....
We were supposed to be heading to Switzerland this week for a 2 week group tour - now resked for next year - so have done a lot of reading. Our tour starts in Lausanne and ends in Lucerne. We had planned extra days in Lausanne and Zurich.
Main things I found to do in Lausanne: Chateau de Chillon, the Olympics museum, lake cruises, the chocolate train (one day tour from Montreux to Gruyere), a nice old town area with cathedral and some interesting art galleries (Collection de l'Art Brut which RS tours in one of his videos). There is also a wine region just east of the city. Lausanne is one of those Swiss towns that if you are checked into a hotel there, they give you a free transport pass for the local metro and some discounts at some sights. Here's a link I've found useful from their tourism office https://www.lausanne-tourisme.ch/en/lausanne-transport-card-and-more/
Everyone says Zurich is kind of boring and mostly business like. However, there are day trips you can take from there, there is the National Museum, short river and longer lake cruises, other museums, etc. We had planned 3 nights there including a day trip up north to the Rhine Falls area and I found enough to interest us. Advantage to it is good connections for flying out of Zurich and it's pretty easy to get to the airport from downtown i.e. the area near the main train station. I think Lausanne is probably more of a laid back scenic town vs Zurich.
Have you thought of Luzern? We have been to Zurich and Lausanne.......tho Zurich to me is a big busy city it is beautiful near the waterfront and the chocolate shops are nice.......we liked Lausanne and the Olympic Museum but found it a little harder to get around. We did have a car and traveled to the Calllier chocolate factory and Gruyere (charming little town).........if I compare the 3 towns I like Luzern the best........Mt. Pilatus, boat rides, the lion statue, the old bridge, beautiful waterfront with nice restaurants and charming streets to wander.
We spent a week in Lausanne in autumn of 2018 and enjoyed it very much. It is, to me, like a little Paris. Bustling but manageable, great transportation with the mentioned city pass and also connections for day trips along the lake by train. If we went back, we would probably stay in Vevey, a smaller, quainter town also right on the lake and with frequent trains.
