Travel b/w Switzerland and Italy- itinerary for 6-7 days

One week is not much time but this is doable. If you want to include the Bernina Express, you can do something like this: From the Zürich airport head straight to Pontresina for your first night, a little over 3 hours on the train. The following day, take the Bernina Express to Tirano. Change there for the train to Varenna insead of completing the BE route to Lugano. Spend 2 nights in Varenna. From there it is a 4+hour ride to Monterosso al Mare, via Milan. At Monterosso you change to a regional train to the Cinque Terre village of your choice. With 2 nights at CT you have only 2 more before your flight, so you should work your way back toward Zurich. The train from Milan to Zurich takes 3 hours 40 minutes. You could spend a night in Florence or someplace else on the way back to Milan, then go from there to Zurich for your last night (assuming you have a morning flight from Zurich). You can also spend the night before your flight in Luzern if you prefer.

Thanks Lola, that's a great itinerary. I was beginning to get overwhelmed with the endless possiblities so I like your plan. I like the idea of sleeping Luzern the night before rather than Zurich. So if I did Florence, should I do one day instead in Verenna so I can get 2 in Florence? Or if I skipped Florence altogether and went from CT back to Switzerland, could I do anything else in Switzerland the night before Luzern? Should I try Interlaken or is that too out of the way? And to get back from CT to Luzern, do you go via Milan? Also, the type of railpasses available are a bit confusing in Switzerland, is there a certain type I should get for this itinerary?

You could also go the other direction, heading straight to, say, Verona from Zurich ( via Milan) for your first night, then Florence, Cinque Terre, Varenna, and Bernina Express to Pontresina. You may have trouble finding lodging in some of the smaller places, like Cinque Terre, so you should decide on the plan and look for lodging ASAP. July is very much high season in all of these places.

We were posting at the same time so I did not see your response until after. Yes, you could certainly spend one night in Varenna and two in Florence if you like. And if you want to skip Florence, I can suggest a place in Switzerland that is right on your way back to Zürich if you go the route through Brig. You will have to pass through Milan in any case. From there you can either take the Gotthard route via Lugano to either Luzern or Zürich, or you can take the Simplon tunnel route to Brig and from there to Bern and Zurich. The little town of Kandersteg is right on this route and is one of our favorites. We stay up at the lake in a rustic mountain inn: Www.oeschinensee.ch Check the train schedules, using the Siwss site rail.ch. I believe the travel time from Kandersteg to Zurich is about 2 hours, so depending on the time of your flight you could spend your last night here instead of Luzern.