Looking at these cities and wondering if the seasoned veterans that have traveled to Switzerland could suggest a good ordering of our itinerary with recommended # of days. We are leaving Paris from Dijon and either go into Bern or Lausanne to start. The cities/areas we want to see are: Bern Lausanne Luzern Zermatt
<Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen and that region..> We can end either in Bern or Lausanne as both have trains back to Paris (which we are flying out from back to the USA).
Posted by
Columbia, SC
389 posts
Bern is a nice little city but doesn't compel you to stay like the others. I spent about half a day there and felt ready to move on. I might say two nights each in Lausanne, Luzern, and Zermatt. Maybe three nights in the Lauterbrunnen Valley (I'm partial to Wengen); depends on how much hiking and stuff you want to do-- and you may never want to leave. I don't think it matters too much whether you begin or end in Lausanne or Bern; all these places are kind of equidistant to each other (die Schweiz is not really a big country). Probably most logical to go Bern-Luzern-Interlaken-Zermatt-Lausanne or the reverse of that.
Posted by
Dallas, Texas, USA
501 posts
Are you commited to flying out of Paris?? If so ,to bad, possibly consider an open jaw flight in the future. Luzern, 2 or 3 days, my favorite, Murren and surrounding area, 3 or 4 days. This is based on summer weather conditions, you didn't state when you were going. Haven't been to the other cities. You might also consider using Tripadvisor.com forum, lots of good reports as well. I see that you have several posts on TA. I like a careful planner!
Posted by
TO
110 posts
You have choosen great places to visit. If you must return to Paris after visiting Switzerland I'd try to end my sightseeing in/near Zermatt, from there I'd take the train to Milan and fly to Paris instead of taking a train to Paris. You have two options if you choose this if you have to time make a detour and take the scenic longer route between Zermatt and Milan via Chur/St Moritz to travel on the Bernina Express it is one of the best trains journeys I've been on and well worth the extra two days I added to my itinerary.