Switzerland-France-Italy

It would be helpful if you told us a bit more about what you are interested in, what you like to see and do, and made you choose these countries in the first place.

But reaching northern Italy is easy from Switzerland. Milan is very close, and so is lake Como. Both popular destinations. And France is also easy to reach, you can consider Lyon, Colmar or Strasbourg e.g.

Switzerland is the main destination with wanting to hit the “main attractions in each place. I’ve done research on each place and figured
Zurich land and then walk around
Next Day..Day trip to falls
Lucerne …for the day
Next Day….Mt. Rigi
Lauterbunnen…(Murren?) Staubbach Waterfall, Wengen?
Zermatt…Matterhorn ..village
Gruyère….sites and tour cheese place
Montreux…Chocolate train?

I want to make sure Im staying enough days and going in the right direction. Hence not knowing what direction to go and where to stop and then head in to Italy or France from there etc.
ANY help is awesome. I’m serious about the Venmo for serious help! I have had a near panic attack planning. Lol 😂

Step one: Take a deep breath and relax.

There are many things to see and do and you won't be able to see everything in a fortnight. Trying to do it will only lead to stress.

But an option could be.

Land in Zürich, take the train to Luzern and see Luzern and Rigi.
Luzern to Milan, maybe stop in Como on the way.
Milan to Berner Oberland.
Berner Oberland to Zermatt
Zermatt to Montreux, see Montreux and Gruyere.

If you want to add France after Montreux there are a couple of options. You can continue to Lyon via Geneva, and maybe see Geneva as well. And from Lyon via Dijon or Colmar back to Zürich. Or maybe Montreux-Basel-Colmar and then back to Zürich.

Thank you so much. If I take out France where would Lauterbunnen fit in?

If I take out France where would Lauterbunnen fit in?

Lauterbrunnen is in the Berner Oberland. The Berner Oberland is quite large, actually, but the Lauterbrunnen Valley, including Mürren, Wengen, and environs, is what a lot of people on this board think of when they think Berner Oberland.

Ahhh ok…yes….saw that on a YouTube. Which I have stopping in Lauterbunnen and hitting Wengen etc.

We combined Switzerland and northern Italy, but we were there 2 weeks. Don't try to go to too many destinations in your time frame, you'll spend most of your time moving from place to place. Can you fly into Zurich and out of Milan? Or into Geneva? If you're set on flying into Zurich (which we did), would fly into Zurich and take the train to Lake Geneva. I like to go on to my farthest destination and work our way back. Stay in Montreux or Vevey. Buy a boat pass to see the gorgeous lake, Lousanne, Chateau de Chillon, even take the boat across the lake to Evian les Bains for lunch. Then you can say you have been to France! You can do a day train trip to Gruyere from here. Then move to the mountains. With your time frame I wouldn't stay in Lauterbrunnen, pick Murren or Wengen and get on up in the Alps. You won't be sorry. Then train to Lucerne for a couple of days. Take the boat around lovely Lake Lucerne for a day trip to Vitznau and cable up to Mt. Rigi. Enjoy the covered bridges in Lucerne. From there a train to Lake Como for a couple of nights. then train into Milan for a flight home - possibly have to spend the night in Milan, if its a morning flight. If you're set on in and out of Zuruch, I'd save Italy and France for another trip and just savor Switzerland.

Given you have anxiety over planning, I would highly recommend mirroring the destinations included on organized tours such as Rick offers. They plan destinations together for ease of travel and quality of experience. No sense in reinventing the wheel.

As much as it is making me a bit overwhelmed…I always plan myself and don’t really love not having the flexibility to change our mind. Hence why coming to the forum is always SO HELPFUL!

You have a nice list of places to visit in Switzerland, and 14 nights on the ground. With 2 or 3 nights in each place, that can easily fill your time with plenty of variety —- lakeside promenades, alpine scenery, charming villages, famous cities.

You need to think about what you want to gain by adding either France or italy (no time to include both, without dropping some of your Swiss spots). Is it simply to set foot in another country? Or do you truly want to experience a bit of that country’s ambiance and flavor? If so, I can think of a couple of options.

Itineraries above have suggested heading down to Milan in between Luzern and the Berner Oberland. Possible, but that takes a considerable amount of train time. More importantly, you end up in a big, fast-paced, wealthy city; the center of Italy’s design and fashion worlds. Lots of concrete and traffic, like any American city. The biggest difference is that Milan has smaller cars and more motorcycles, and you might see well-dressed women riding bicycles in skirts and high heels (as we have). There is also a gorgeous cathedral, sitting in the middle of a large, empty hot piazza. There is little in Milan of “la dolce vita” that most people seek in Italy.

So—-If Italy is what you would like to include, I suggest you make your way to Stresa, a charming little lakeside town on Lago Maggiore. It is only 55 minutes by direct train from your route between Zermatt and your Berner Oberland town (Wengen or Mürren). You change at either Brig or Visp (an extra 10 minutes longer on the train).

https://mominitaly.com/stresa-italy/

It may look a bit like Switzerland, but it is 100% Italian in sound and senses. You could spend the day on a boat to the Borromean Islands (featured in the article above). Next day return to Brig or Visp (depending on your next destination, which can be explained further), one hour on the train, and resume your path around Switzerland

Here is a good rail map of Switzerland so you can see this:

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

Find Zermatt and Brig in the lower left quadrant of the map. The dashed red line going south from Brig shows the route. It is red as far as Domodossola because a Swiss rail pass (which you likely will want) will cover your train fare that far. Look closely and you will see the train line, now light grey, preaching down to Lago Maggiore and Stresa.

I will add here that I like the idea suggested above of an orderly loop around Switzerland to minimize backtracking. They suggested starting in Geneva (head there first by train from Zurich) and working your way back to Zurich, but you could just as easily go the other way, in a clockwise loop Zurich—Luzern—Lauterbrunnen/BO—-(Stresa)—-Zermatt—-Montreux —-Gruyères (could be a daytrip from Montreux)—-Geneva (actually I would skip this, but you may have something in mind there)—-Bern—-Zurich.

Here is where France can fit in, if that is your choice. I would suggest Colmar, a charming town in Alsace, with its own “little Venice” and a nice friendly atmosphere. For Colmar, you would leave the main route at Olten, on the main line between Lausanne, Bern and Zurich. It is only 1.5 hours to Colmar, with an easy train change in Basel. Strasbourg is possible if you prefer, but it is 30 minutes further.

I am posting a link to the apartment we liked in Colmar, not necessarily as a promotion, but because it has some nice photos of the town’s charming architecture.

https://www.refletssurlalauch.fr/page/Colmar

If you choose to do the clockwise route, I suggest you head straight to Luzern upon landing in Zurich—-only an hour away. The do your Zurich sightseeing (including the Rheinfall) when you return to Zurich before your flight home.

I hope others will chime in with suggestions, but I will just suggest a preliminary Itinerary, with days for each stop:

From arrival in Zurich, take the train straight to Luzern. Then,

Luzern, 2 nights. Spend the intervening day on the Rigi round trip (included with the Swiss Pass)

Next, Golden Pass scenic train to Interlaken Ost, change to Lauterbrunnen, and ride up to Wengen or Mürren, your choice. Stay 3 nights

Then, for the Italy option, take the train via Spiez and Visp or Brig to Stresa in italy, spend 2 nights. Your Swiss Pass will cover this journey as far as Domodossola in Italy. The ticket on a regional train will be about 5 CHF/€4,80.

Return to Switzerland (Brig) and transfer to the train to Zermatt. Spend 2 nights.

Then train to Montreux, 3 nights. Visit Gruyères, Chocolate train, Chateau de Chillon, etc.

From Montreux, take the train back to Zurich for the last 2 nights before your flight, Or, with your plan to visit the Rheinfalls, you could continue to Schaffhausen and overnight there, seeing the falls and enjoying the medieval town the next day, before heading to Zurich in the evening to be close to the airport.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/destinations/schaffhausen/

For the France option, go straight from Wengen/Mürren to Zermatt. Then, between Montreux and Zurich, change trains at Olten and head to Colmar for 2 nights. Then head to Zurich from there for the last 2 nights.

If you choose to skip Zermatt, add a night each to Luzern and Wengen/Mürren.

With your 14 nights on the ground, the 15-day Swiss Pass would be a good choice.