We will go to Laver Cup, Geneva and would like Swiss travel before and after Sept. 20-22, 2019.
Train, car, other? We have always travelled independently and have no experience other than with a 4-6 person group or on our own.
I would like to see Lugano, Lucerne, Zermatt but if too much hassle to get there, just need a couple of lovely places.
Your thoughts? Please include travel time destinations or your favorite places/not to miss.
We have a good budget.

Lovely places very close to Geneva (also on Lac Leman) and easily accessible by train: Morges, Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, Villeneuve.

These towns are only 45 mins - 1.5 hours by train from Geneva.

Switzerland holds a wealth of gorgeous and interesting sites!

You might find some useful information in my trip report:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...thanks-983126/

Public transportation in Switzerland is easy and convenient. Consult sbb.com

Hi Paula1022,

Those places are not really in the "environs" of Geneva -- they are about 3h or longer travel time away.

Rather than rely on us to give you travel times, you may want to get familiar with the Swiss rail site, which is easy yo use; you'll get travel times immediately for all your trips. It is at:

www.sbb.ch

In addition to suze's list of nice nearby towns, there is also Yvoire, in France, reachable by lake ferry.

Some other things in the area are Chillon castle (outside of Montreux), the Lavaux vineyards (between Vevey and Lausanne), Gstaad ( about 1h30 inland from Montreux), Gruyeres (near Gstaad, and where you can see cheese being made), and Broc (really Broc-Fabrique, where you can tour a chocolate factory).

Have fun as you plan!

s

Count about 5 hrs by train (scenic lines) from Geneva to Zermatt. If you take the southern itinerary, you will pass through Visp, from where you can reach Zermatt by mountain railway in about 1 hr.

How long do you have to travel in Switzerland all together?

Zermatt is nice and is famous because of the Matterhorn but IMO the Berner Oberland has the awesome Alpine experience and more variety of things to do -lovely lake boat trips on the two lakes bookending Interlaken - gentle to rough hikes and a plethora of cable ways and mountain trains going offgin all directions. Wengen is a favorite car-less Alpine village with views of glacier-girdled soaring peaks - way nicer IMO than Zermatt.

The wondrous Jungfrau Region: https://www.google.com/search?q=jung...hrome&ie=UTF-8

You could easily twin that with Lucerne and its lovely lake for a few days.

Anyway trains are best for Alpine areas - for lots on Swiss trains check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts.