Touring Switzerland in 8 days

sc, IMHO, your proposed Itinerary is FAR too ambitious for an eight day time frame. If I read correctly, you're planning to visit 7 cities in 8 days? There was no mention of travel times, which will require at least half a day each time you change locations. My first suggestion would be to focus on perhaps three or four locations that are in relatively close proximity. It may not be necessary to use a flight from Switzerland to Salzburg. Depending on the last location you visit in Switzerland, it may be just as easy to travel by train, as the travel time will be similar. For example, the trip from Lucerne to Salzburg is as short as 6H:23M, with one change. I doubt that air travel will be any quicker, when all factors are considered. Regarding budget flights in Europe, it is NOT a good idea to wait and book when you arrive in Switzerland, as the cost will be rather "steep". The airlines often use a "sliding scale", with the prices increasing as the flight fills up. If you wait until the last minute to book, you'll pay the MAXIMUM price. If you've never travelled with European budget airlines, be sure to read their Terms & Conditions carefully. They often have very restrictive baggage limits, with expensive surcharges for those who don't travel light. Carry-on items are often restricted to ONE item of the approved size and weight.

Are you, as it appears, traveling through Interlaken but not going up the mountain? I'd skip French Switzerland because I think you get more bang for your buck in the east. Instead of going via Bern you could take the Zentralbahn train from Luzern to Interlaken over the Brunig pass. Very scenic whereas Luzern-Bern-Interlaken is on the flat. Agree that you could consider train Luzern-Salzberg.

Feasible perhaps, but certainly not enjoyable. Too much hopping around in different directions. You need to rethink your plans.

Thank you all for your sound advice!

You are going to love Luzern! If you like hiking go to Mount Riggy and Appenzell is beautiful too near Zurich.

Our new plan now is to visit Zurich for a day, then Luzern 3 days, then finally Bern 3 days. Are there trains that go from Bern to Salzburg?

sc, Yes, there are absolutely trains from Bern to Salzburg. There are numerous trains every day; travel times and other details will vary according to which train you choose. The train I'd prefer on that route has a travel time of 6H:26M, with one change in Zürich.

Honestly, that was absolutely exhausting just reading the itinerary! <GRIN> Let me suggest this instead: - Train to Lucerne for a couple of nights (one day in Lucerne, one day to do Mount Pilatus, Rigi, or cruise the lake) - Train to Interlaken and use that as a base of operations for several days. Train ride up to Grindelwald/Kleine Scheidegg/Lauterbrunnen is a great day-trip. Also you can go to Bern for the day (by train) from there. Can do another day on either Lake Brienz or Lake Thun with visits to Thun or Brienz. Also, the hiking in this area is stunning!
- When you're done, take the train back to GVA or ZRH for your flight (Interlaken is about half-way between the two airports, but slightly closer to ZRH). Bottom line, what you originally asked about is WAY to much moving from point A to point B to be able to have time to actually do anything unless your priority is riding Switzerland's great trains!

Jonathan's suggestion are excellent....similar to what I did and you'd be very pleased...