Make you base somewhere on the lakes, not in Milan.

What mode of transportation do you anticipate?

You need to add a couple of days to London and Paris each if you haven't been there before.

Plan to travel by train/ferries. We can add a day or two in London /Paris itinerary. But can't figure out the best n shortest route from Milan to Salzburg covering the lakes, intralaken to Salzburg.

I agree with kybourbon - if you have not been to Paris or London before add at least a day to each - and perhaps cut some time off the lakes - seeing them all is great but in some ways they are similar. Lake Garda is a bit off the main path you have as you have to backtrack from it to Milan to go to Switzerland.

In any case if doing that much by trains then by all means investigate some kind of railpass - and for a good fix on the European railways and passes, etc. check out these IMO fantastic sites - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. Passes are also valid on steamers on Lake Lucerne and Lake Thun and Lake Brienz - the two lakes bookending Interlaken - to me doing a boat ride on a Swiss lake is great!

Agreed, so far this is my itinerary, definitely will look into train/stream passes, lake Garda off now
3 days in London, 3 days Paris
Either we will fly out or night train from Paris to Milan
I hear lake Lugano or Bellagio is a good base and take a train from lake Locarno to Lucerne or intralaken,
I have an offer (almost free) to stay 5 nights in Milan 5 star hotel, that's why thought of Milan as a. Base
How long to stay in Salzburg? If we fly out of Vienna now.

yenisumit7, go and look at some commercial tour itineraries e.g.
www.globusjourneys.com. This will help you get an idea of how multi country itineraries in Europe are constructed. Be sure to pick a 'leisurely pace' itinerary. I am not suggesting you take a tour, only to get inspiration from the itineraries for planning your own.

You are too early in your planning, you need to think a bit about what you want to do, before getting into specifics.

I have traveled all across Italy independently by train. I searched extensively for my current trip. I need to figure out how to maximize my 3 weeks vacation without going over board. I have realized in past travel that hotels need to be booked early to get good location and price. London, Paris, Milan, Italian lakes, Luceren, Intralaken to salzburg is my plan of travel, I would stick to it. I can fly to Salzburg and fly out of London or vice versa. I'm still waiting for adequate response. thanks. hopefully I get one

Salzburg is your outlier that does not fit.
End in Luzern and the BO and fly home from Zurich.

take a train from lake Locarno to Lucerne or intralaken>

Yes take the Centovalli scenic narrow-gauge train to Domodossola, on the main line to Spiez, where you change for Interlaken. Centovalli bieng one of Switzerland's iconic tiny scenic trains plying a very scenic route - I believe railpasses are valid on that train as well.

I hear lake Lugano or Bellagio is a good base and take a train from lake Locarno to Lucerne or intralaken,>

If going to Lucerne you would not take the Centovalli or even go to Locarno to get a train but take the direct mainline trains from Lugano via the Goothard Pass route - really scenic in itself - especially by the Wiesskrichen when the tracks famously go inside and out of a mountain as they circle down to lower elevations (soon however the new Gotthard Rail Tunnel will remove most of the wondrous scenery as the tracks are put nearly all in tunnel.

<I'm still waiting for adequate response. thanks.>

Yes, ma'am. Will that be cash or Chargex?

My apologies, it does no good to respond to your rude post with rudeness of my own.

You have indicated at various points that you wished to return from Frankfurt, Vienna, or Amsterdam, and now Salzburg. Amsterdam in particular is a long way from the Italian lakes district. So I could see no clear pattern in your goals.

I may be wrong, but you bear some responsibility because you have been so vague. What do you mean by 'going overboard'? Do you mean in cost, in time, or both? What are you trying to maximize - the size of the area covered, the number of cities you wish to visit, the number of hikes you want to take, the number of museums you wish to see?

I did not make my remarks to belittle you, only to point out what I see as weaknesses in your planning. This presumably is why you started the thread. Try to be patient; I see you are new to the board, you need to give people time to get to 'know' you. So, let us try again.

What's your main objective? It's an adequate question.

Flying BO from Zurich.
Fly to London to Paris for 3 days each. Night train from Paris to Milan. From the Airport/ Train station to Lake Maggoire 4 days, includes day trip to Lake Otra, Locarnao, enjoy sight seeing around Stresa.
From there 4 days to Bellagio ^ towns, day trip to Lake Lugano, enjoy the lake.
Depending on weather I would like to spend 3 nights each in Lucerne and Intralaken each.
Should I take a train to Lucerne from Milan or follow Palen Q's itinerary.
I can make lake lugano as my last stop and go to lucerne from there.
Thanks for all your responses to make my travel more fun. thanks again.

either route to Lucerne from Lugano is very scenic - if going to Interlaken it;s quicker I think via Domodossola, Brig and Spiez - if to Lucerne it's quicker via the Gotthard rail line - change at Arth-Goldau for Lucerne if you are not on a train that goes direct to Lucerne - most go onto Zurich.

Be sure to take a boat trip on Lake Lucerne, to me the finest of all Swiss lakes - especially the fjord-like eastern tip - a classic boat ride goes to Fluelen at the end of the lake from where you can take a train quickly back to Lucerne - but you can get off the boat at say Vitznau or Weggis and take a train or cable car to Mt Rigi, known as having one of the very sweetest vistas in all of Switzerland - a lateral view of the Alpine rocky spine of central Switzerland for miles around. Read about Mark Twain's ascent of Rigi to whet your appetite - I agree with Twain about the incessant blowing of Alphorns at the summit - as nauseating as bag pipers!

Depending on weather I would like to spend 3 nights each in Lucerne and Intralaken each.>

Well IMO the Interlaken/Jungfrau Region is both figuratively and literally the absolute highpoint of Switzerland - so so much to do there - boat rides on the lakes bookending Interlaken - the Jungfraujoch - Schilthorn - the tremendous Ridge Walk between Mannlichen and Kl Schiedegg - so so much to see - three days would be the tip of the iceberg, I mean glacier that you can also walk to easily from Grindelwald.

Lucerne is nice but the city is small and has very few main sights save itsself - yes a day out on Lake Lucerne or to Mt Titlis is nice but I'd argue the Jungfrau Region offers even more titillating sights.

Thanks a ton Palen Q/ you have been perfectly adequate in your responses for my travel needs. I have changed my itinerary and added southern France - Nice for my travel trip since I have taken off Salzburg out if the equation.
This is my final itinerary, 3 days London, 3 days Paris, 3 days Nice, 3 days bellagio, 3 days maggoire, 4 nights intralaken.
I'll be traveling by train from London to Paris to Nice to Milan to lake maggoire to bellagio to Lugano to intralaken and fly back home from Zurich. I believe it's doable in 3 weeks. Starting from major cities to small towns to the lakes and ending @ highest point should be fun.
If any suggestions on train tickets or sight seeing, you guys are wecome to inform me.thanks again
(Lake Lucerne/lake Garda/Dolomites, may be in 2014

Check out the 4-consecutive-day Swiss Pass that would cover all you basic transportation in Switzerland and also give 50% discounts on various gondolas to mountain tops in the Jungfrau Region. There is a current special if you buy a 4-day Swiss Pass you get a 5th day free - not sure when travel has to be completed however.

The pass would cover boats on either lake bookending Interlaken - I love each lake and a day out on either one is a good foil for the high Alps - and on wet weather days, not unusual here you could day trip to Lucerne or Bern, etc.

Actually Lucerne is a great day trip from the Interlaken area - ride the scenic Golden Pass route up and over the Brunig Pass - a narrow-gauge mountain train (Swiss Pass 100% valid) and down to Lucerne - look around that smallish town with relatively few major sights and perhaps hop on a boat to Alpnachstad to rejoin the Brunig Pass rail route back to Interlaken-Ost station.

Great! Thanks again.

Flying BO from Zurich.
Fly to London to Paris for 3 days each. Night train from Paris to Milan. From the Airport/ Train station to Lake Maggoire 4 days, includes day trip to Lake Otra, Locarnao, enjoy sight seeing around Stresa.>>

yenisumit - i'm glad that some of us have been able to help you. there are many people posting here who have loads of knowledge but we are not telepathic and it can be frustrating not to be able to work out what someone wants to know.

what I have noticed is that you aren't being clear about whether you are talking about days or nights which causes problems in trip planning ie to get 3 clear days in London will need 4 nights.

3 days London, 3 days Paris, 3 days Nice, 3 days bellagio, 3 days maggoire, 4 nights intralaken.

to take your final itinerary, it can be helpful if you lay out your trip like this:

Day 1 - arrive London
Day 2- London
Day 3 - london
Day 4 - London
Day 5 - train to Paris
Day 6 - Paris
Day 7 - Paris
Day 8 - Paris
Day 9 - train to Nice
Day 10 - Nice
Day 11 - Nice
Day 12 - Nice
Day 13 - train to Bellagio
Day 14 - Bellagio
Day 15 - Bellagio
Day 16 - Bellagio
Day 17 - train to Maggiore
Day 18 - Maggiore
Day 19 - maggiore
Day 20 - Maggiore
Day 21 - train to Interlaken
Day 22 - Interlaken
Day 23 - Interlaken
Day 24 - Interlaken
Day 25 - go home

see what i mean? that's 3 whole days in all of the places you mentioned and 4 nights in Interlaken, which of course amounts to more than your 3 weeks. you do have time for a couple of 4 nights stays, but you'll need to trim down to 3 nights somewhere.