I agree with PalenQ that Gimmelwald is not a good base to explore the Jungfrau region. You have to hike to Murren or take a gondola every time you want to eat—no restaurants in Gimmelwald. Lauterbrunnen is in the valley, and I like being in the mountains for the incredible views. We enjoyed staying in Grindelwald—good transportation and varied restaurant choices. Other options would be Wengen or Murren.

Thanks , i did not know that you ll need a Swiss motorway vignette !

If you drive, you won't be able to appreciate much of the scenery (you'll have to keep your eye on the road) and you'll be less able to enjoy the few places that you actually stop (because you won't have had the time to relax while on trains). In contrast, Swiss trains are comfortable and convenient.

I agree - taking public transport here is easier than driving. I own a car but mostly use trains when I travel to other places in Switzerland. For one I do not have to park a train AND it gets me right into the centre of the town I am visiting.

Autoroute vignette - cost is 40frs and you MUST have one stuck on your windscreen to drive on our autoroutes/autobahns/autostrade. Signs for those are white on green. Normal road signs are white on blue and those roads are free BUT they wend their way through towns and villages. Speed limits drop to 30km/hr and in some places 20km. Priority changes depending on the speed limit as well. 30km/hr - traffic coming from the right has absolute priority. Pedestrians have none but you are encouraged to stop to allow them to cross anywhere on the road (pedestrian crossings on 30 and 20km/hr roads have been eliminated aside from some places near schools and hospitals). 20km/hr pedestrians have total priority anywhere. traffic coming from your right does too. Probably you are not used to these things - nor to the difference when the speed limit is 50km/hr!! And there are roundabouts everywhere. Some have two lanes and entering and exiting those depends on where your exit is to be. They are very complicated and fines for not sticking to the rules are high - in Solothurn someone was fined 2000frs for failure to be in the correct lane for the exit he wanted to take! So - all in all - public transport is a LOT easier !

I'm completely confused by this chaotic itinerary, so I'll just add that I don't know a single European who goes to Switzerland for a vacation and drives.

Tons of Europeans drive in their own car from their home to Switzerland for tourism.

I very much enjoy driving in Switzerland, although I have promised myself that some day I will actually buy the Swiss Pass for a trip there.

Ouch!

Just a comment on the topic of driving....

It seems to me somewhat cavalier to drive where there is, arguably, the best public transport network in Europe. Especially these days when we know so well the effects of auto pollution. I get the need to drive in rural France and Italy... but not in Switzerland. And as kja notes, it is actually more fun -- everyone can enjoy the scenery; it's prime people-watching time; you can eat in the bistro car, read, nap, or even mix with the locals on the train with you. You won't be locked into your private moving bubble....

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As others noted, it's a lot to fit in. I can't imagine doing all locations in 17 days, given how much stuff there is to do in each location. Considering the mobility issues and the lack of hiking, you may wish to adjust your itinerary. If she can handle the thinner at elevation, there are a number of trains, cog wheels and cable cars that will give you some of the sights without the exertion. The car will also help. May is more challenging, as well. (I used to live in Lausanne)

I would not base the first leg in Geneva. You can make a stop while en route to either Lausanne or Montreux (or Vevey). You can then hit the Lavaux from here, dip down to Geneva, and even day trip to Bern and Neuchatel (and Gruyeres). That being said, Neuchatel has a lovely lake, the watch makers, and castle but is a bit of an outlier. Make time also to take the ferry ride, perhaps as an alternative to driving between the two and/or the Chateau du Chillon. You can also take the cog wheel train to Rochers de Naye.

I would base either in Interlaken or in the Jungfrau and use Lucerne to daytrip into Zurich. You can hit Zermatt on your way to that area or as a daytrip from Lausanne/Montreaux. While Lugano and the lakes are beautiful, it's really tough to include that as well. Basel has a slighly different flavor but also adds a lot of driving (onward from Basel/Jungfrau) and that road is just not that interesting (but fast). You could conceivable exit over to the French side from there and route down to Marseilles . Or you could ditch Basel and head to Lugano, and then route to Marseilles through Italy instead. St Moritz is quite far away -- unless you take the special train I would drop it. Conceivably you could go to St Moritz after Lugano but then you'd end up very far away from Marseilles.

Unless you are very far west in Switzerland - Geneva for example - the quickest route to the French coast is indeed via Italy. Either St Gotthard road tunnel OR Simplon or St Bernard passes (tunnel in the latter case) and then down via Alessandria and Savona OR if on the St Bernard, around Torino and down to Savona. From there it is an easy and very scenic drive along the coast. Marseilles is quite far to the west though...

From all places in Switzerland, except the Cantons of Uri, Ticino and Grischun, thes fastest itinerary to Marseille goes via Geneva.

I ll drop St Moritz and keep the other places , i ll have no choice to base in Geneva cause i have a congress there for 3 days ! so i think will stay there for 4 days then go to Montreux as 2nd base for 4 nights ( day trips to Lausanne, Gruyere , Lavaux ), Zermatt 2 nights , Lugano 2 night, Lucerne 4 nights ( day trip to Zurich , Basel , Rhine Falls , Neuchatel ) Grindelwald 4 nights( Day trips to Bern , Jungfrau region ,Lake Thun and Brien )and back to Geneva( for driving to Marseille )for a total of 20 days in Switzerland , Its more reasonable than 17 days i think !
Car or Train , both have their pro and con ! I ll think harder about it taking in all of your opinion and will decide ( We did a trip in Japan using only Train and Public transport cause of course we can t read street s sign but their subway and bus and ferry have English signs !)! My hubby have had his share of driving in Italy , Palermo , South Africa ( left side ) so he is not bad for driving in a foreign country !
Thanks again all of you for a ton of helpful information !

Better! But I think you still have some kinks worthy of attention. For example:

If going all the way to Lugano, you might want to find at least one or two more nights for the Ticino.

With 4 nights in Lucerne (giving you 3 full days in Lucerne and bits of the days to either side), I'm puzzled by how you plan to do 4 different day trips (each of which would seem to require a full day). And it doesn't seem that you would have any time for Lucerne itself.

Likewise, with 4 nights in Grindelwald, you have basically 3 days, and you have 3 day trips planned -- seems like something is getting short-changed!

Trains and buses in Switzerland are just about as easy and convenient as the ones in Japan, and of course signs and announcement in Switzerland will be in multiple languages, including English.

On paper - maybe. But when you drive from central Switzerland or the Valais via Geneva and then get onto the A7 at Valence you have a LOT of traffic. And frequent traffic jams. Going via Torino and Savona is fast and there is hardly any traffic aside from the ring road around Torino.

Trains and buses are quite reliable in Switzerland, but driving is probably among the easiest and most stress free of any country -- just don't get too big of a car as some of the garages and even streets can be tiny (and of course, don't speed, vignettes, etc).

You can consider hitting Bern and Neuchatel on your way down from Grindelwald, rather than trying a day trip. You basically have to bypass Bern on your way back down to Geneve. It's a long drive for one day, and I would not want to hit Marseilles at night for the first time. You might consider an overnight in say, Annecy or somewhere else along the way, instead of Geneve, to break up that day.