Travel between Dusseldorf and Switzerland

Big question that will determine the suggestions... are you a skier?

No, I do not ski

We've spent several Decembers in Switzerland and are not skiers but like the mountains. We have taken to a different approach for December than we take for warm weather visits. Rather than go to some mountain resort to stay which is always crowded with skiers, we prefer to stay in Zurich and take day train trips or 1 night trips to other cities and/or ride the trains through the mountains, stopping along the way, and then circling back to Zurich. The weather is variable in Dec and we adjust our plans accordingly. Also, Zurich is a nice place to visit at Christmas. It has a Christmas market and lots of related activities. And if by chance you are vegetarian (or even if you are not), Zurich has a great vegetarian restaurant that's over a hundred years old called Hiltl. Have fun.

Don, you get to see spectacular Black Forrest and Alpine panorama by flying (on a clear day). Check with airberlin.com, germanwings.com, swiss.com and lufthansa.com.If you take the train the fast and easy connections use the high speed route between Cologne and Frankfurt which is pretty much a several hundreds mile long underground railroad ;-). If you like it scenic make sure the train passes Cologne and Koblenz. Usually you're then required to change trains in Mainz, Frankfurt airport, Frankfurt Hbf or Mannheim to get to Basel, Switzerland. The route from Basel to Zurich goes thru the hill lands (no Alps yet) but you'll pass Lake Sempachersee. Google the battle at Sempach if you like ;-). If you like to see stunning Alpine panorama from the Zurich area take a regional train to Zug and walk down to the lake front. Mt. Rigi will present itself right in front of you!