Bern, Luzern, or Zurich

I can't comment on Luzern, but I have spent time in both Zurich and Bern.

Zurich is fairly nice, especially near the lake. I prefer Bern over Zurich myself. The river is beautiful, and there is a really nice garden at the top of the hill (near the bear pits I think) with amazing views of the city.

Plus, Bern is slightly closer to Paris, which will make your trip about an hour shorter than Zurich.

Luzern. http://wikitravel.org/en/Luzern

But, a lot of the popular hiking routes in the BO, are very easy to do. They're not rugged wilderness trails, but rather service roads with incredible views. In fact, you don't have to do any hiking. You can see quite a bit from the trains/cable cars and the observations decks at the Schiltorn and Jungfrau. It would be a crime to head into Switzerland without checking out the Alps; one way or another.

I agree -- skip all 3 cities and head to Lauterbrunnen. At Lauterbrunne take the gondola up, then the train to Murren -- wander thru the cute Murren -- then either go up to the Schilthorn from there if it is a nice day or take the gondola down to Gimmelwald ( or walk) look around Gimmelwald , thake the next gondola down to the valley floor -- get on the post bus and drive back thru the valley. Amazing scenery. You will be sick that you don't have more than one day -- but at least you had one! All this will have been done with not so much walking. -- all easy, fairly flat and blacktopped paths. Stay in Lauterbrunnen -- or Murren if possible.

I also vote for the Berner Oberland. My husband and I were in our late 50's when we spent a week in Lauterbrunnen. The trains and gondola's enable anyone to see the area with a minimum of hiking. I echo the comment that you will be sorry you only have one day!

Of the three cities - I thought Luzern was the prettiest and nicest. I would suggest Luzern - just more to see and better scenery then the others

Thank you all so much for the advice. We will be visiting Luzern as well as 2 days in Berner Oberland. We can't wait!

Great decision! Do you have places to stay? Have fun making lifetime memories with your parents!

Since you've chosen Luzern ( a great choice by the way ), I highly recommend the "Golden Round Trip" which is a package deal that starts with a boat ride up Lake Luzern to Alpnachstad, from there a tram ride to the top of Mt Pilatus, then a gondola ride back down to Luzern. A great way to spend the day, and if the weather is nice, the scenery will be spectacular.

You would need not more than 2 hours to walk Lucerne old town , which is the most typical. That would be some 3 hours for Bern, and Zurich you would need 4 hours and a taxi to see it all. Watch stores are better in Lucerne, but very expensive staff is in Zurich. And if you need to open an account , any of the 3 would do would do....

Go to Lucerne hands-down.From there you can decide something.These other cities cannot compare to Lucerne.My wife and I have been many tiomes and have just returned!