I am a real nag about packing and being light on your feet. Dear late wife began our travel decades ago with at least two humongous bags for each person...teens also think they need two changes a day. After much pain and many fights and decades of travel I insist on a limit of a single packed carryon and a personal item, even for long overseas trips. Roll stuff up tight. Rinse undies and t-shirts in the tub. View it as a challenge! The platform at Lauterbrunnen was one of the saddest sights I have seen, small framed women with two bags, as large as they were, maybe like 60 lbs each? Oh my. Just try and be as reasonable as you can.

Distilled water is very cheap here and readily available:

Migros: M-Classic · Destillatgleiches Wasser • Migros
Coop: Destilliertes Wasser (2l) online kaufen | coop.ch

Berner Oberland in good weather is a dream and there are a great many things to do. You can also easily visit Thun or Bern as a day trip. The four days will pass quickly.
Lucerne is a nice enough small city with an intact old town and lots of tourists.

I live near Lucerne and enjoy taking the train to Ticino/Tessin (the Italian part of Switzerland), especially on days when Central Switzerland's weather is poor. If you go to Lugano, do the walk to Gandria and take the ferry back to Lugano. As for Locarno/Ascona, both are beautiful towns and offer good swimming spots (for a fee) in both areas.

Other top spots to see: Ridge walk on the Stoos near Schwyz / Local festivals / Rent e-bikes and check out the areas.

kleeblatt -

We're just beginning to think about our next visit to Switzerland and you've given me some things to look into that we've not yet done/seen. Thank you!

One of my favorite trips was a 2 week trip to Switzerland in 2016 where we had the Swiss Travel Pass. It was great to use the SBB app and know that, outside of some high mountain lifts, you could just jump on any conveyances the app suggested, be it a train, a boat or a bus, and count on it being on time. There were several times where a journey suggested by the app would include all 3 modes of transit, and it always worked like a charm.

I have a personal favorite spot near my home that can only be reached by car and a relatively hike. It’s a beautiful field on top of a mountain that makes you feel like you’re Maria in the opening credits of the Sound of Music.

kleeblatt - sounds lovely. The locals need a few secret places, no?

I actually had Stoos on my wish list, and we may make it there this time, perhaps from an Altdorf or Burglen base (which is in your neck of the woods as I recall?). We enjoyed the area a few years ago.

This year's trip looks like it'll be six weeks, combining Switzerland and a few of our favorite spots in Northern Italy. I still have trouble narrowing things down, even after a gazillion visits.

mountains in switzerland
 

Winter in Switzerland is something else! Was in Zermatt and few other mountain spots last year, and honestly, no pictures do it justice. The mountains, the snow, just unreal.

lucky you! If you have a car, I could suggest other places as well.

I still haven’t managed to see Soglio, which must be stunning. It’s definitely on my list.

another valley to explore is Muggio (near Mendrisio) I’ve hiked parts of it and did a bike ride there as well. Stunning!

It is!

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