Zurich

My favorite Alpine town near Zürich is Flumserberg. It sits in a beautiful location on the side of a mountain. However, April is the crappiest time of year to visit the Alps... literally. There's note enough snow to ski, but too much melting snow and mud to hike. And the farmers use this period to fertilize the Alpine pastures, which involves a lot of liquified manure. It smells lovely. And before someone chimes in with "the Berner Oberland", the conditions will be the same there. Perhaps consider Luzern. It isn't a village, but at least you can get a little taste of the Alps.

Consider Rigi for a day trip and check out details at http://www.rigi.ch/en/welcome.cfm
On the top of Rigi it's a breathtaking panoramic view across the alps. You'd have the flexibility to go up by train or combine with hiking. Coming down with the cable car from Rigi Kaltbad to Weggis (down to the lake) is more than breathtaking, especially if the weather is nice. From Weggis you could take the steamboat back to Lucern, across one of the most beautiful lakes in Switzerland!

Donna , Jenny's advice about Rigi is great , we did this while in Luzern and enjoyed it immensely . One small point to add ; if you take this trip , not all the boats on the lake are steamers ( some are diesels ) confirm that one of the trips on the lake is on one of the five restored antique lake steamers . The regular motors will certainly be fine , but one of the real steamers is a once in a lifetime thrill . especially if you like engineering as an art form . We did the return to Luzern on the " Stadt Luzern " built in 1928 .

I agree, April isn't a great time. Luzern is one of the nicer Swiss cities and as long as you stay low in the alps you might be walking through some mud or wet pastures but you should be ok. The Rigi is relatively low and a steamer on the lake should give you crystal clear views of the alps. Another great trip is to ride the train from Luzern to Brienz and take a boat on Lake Brienz. Brienz is a pretty nice town in its own right.

We loved the small town of Stein am Rhein which is easily accessible by train-about an hour north of Zurich. The town, as the name indicates, sits on a very pretty stretch of the Rhine. The town has quaint painted buildings and an ancient farmhouse, now a museum, sits in the middle of the town. A half day would be enough time including travel.