We will be going to Europe next summer. Traveling all by public transportation. I don’t know if we will be able to come back to Europe anytime soon so trying to pack in a lot! We are in our early thirties. Just my husband and I.

Start in Paris, then Alsace.
We will have 4 nights (maybe 5?) to explore Switzerland.
I’m interested in the following (just from research but open to anything)
1) Wengen
2) A scenic train excursion like glacier express
3) A lake town that isn’t too touristy (Lucerne doesn’t interest me with its size. Maybe Montreaux? Or somewhere on lake Lugano? Looking for a lovely boardwalk and opportunity for a boat ride to explore the lake. Something very scenic.

Is 8 hours on the glacier express too long, considering we are doing so much other travel by train? Would going to Wengen satisfy seeing the alps on the route there or is a train excursion a must?

So can someone help me come up with an itinerary. Hoping to have a pretty relaxing time in Switzerland. Don’t need tons of restraints or museums. Mostly scenic enjoyment. Willing to fly out of any airport.

Thank you!

Will you fly or train to Switzerland from France?

With only four nights, I'd choose one base, as that only gives you three full days. Perhaps take a day trip or two from that one base.

You just don't have time to cover Wengen and Lugano which are some distance from one another.

Just about every train trip in Switzerland is gorgeous, no need to try to fit in a specific journey, especially one that is eight hours long! You'd be better off picking a scenic spot and enjoying those gorgeous Alps from the ground, rather than just seeing them from a train carriage.

Lake towns to consider are Thun or the Lake Brienz region which are in the Berner Oberland (as is Wengen).

Should you choose the Berner Oberland (as most first time visitors to Switzerland do), flying into Zurich and then taking a train from there makes sense.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/...ations/thun-1/

https://www.myswissalps.com/lakebrienz

If you are flying home from Switzerland, then I recommend that you be close to the airport the evening before.

With your wishlist and if you are coming from Alsace, one possible alternative would be to:
- Travel from Alsace to Wengen by train, perhaps stopping enroute in Bern for the day. Sleep in Wengen for the four nights.
- From Wengen, explore the area using trains, buses and cable cars; do some hiking; visit a lakeside town like Thun or maybe Brienz.
- Travel to Lucerne, Zurich or Geneva the night before your flight home.

As scenic as some of the train journeys are, nothing beats actually being outside in the mountains and lakesides.

It looks like Mel and I are on the same page and posting at the same time.

Brilliant minds dreamon, brilliant minds

It depends on your main interests. In the summer there are a lot of hikes to do.

From Wengen it's possible to day trip out to the lakes, do a lake cruise on Brienzsee. But it takes time to take trains down and the cruise from Interlaken to Brienz is an hour. Then you can take the train back to Interlaken and back to Wengen. While out there, Harder Klum is also worth a visit if visibility is good -- that is, Jungfrau and other peaks aren't covered by clouds.

Speaking of which, if you plan to go up to Jungfrau, that's probably a day excursion by itself.

But 3 or 4 nights in Wengen you can spend all the time up there, hiking, going up to First, Mannlichen, visiting Lauterbrunnen or Murren. Weather is uncertain too. You may have only 1 day with some sun or none, during a 3-4 day span.

I just spent 5 nights in Interlaken, didn't get to see all that I had planned, because when the weather is not clear, you don't want to pay for expensive mountain trains or cable cars. And then finally you get a sunny day and EVERYONE wants to go up. For instance, first clear day, I went to Brienz to go up to Rothorn, which is spectacular. But my train was delayed and I had to wait an additional hour before going up and the trains were packed, though they seemed to put additional trains to handle the crowds.

The train ride is about an hour each way. By the time I got up, visibility started disappearing as the fog came in to block the views of the lake below. The other side you could still see the valleys below well enough but the stupendous view down to the lake and across to all the peaks were blocked about an hour after I arrived. I would have spent more time there, take lunch even but with a long ride down, I left earlier than I had planned.

Our last trip to Europe before Covid was three weeks in Switzerland. That wasn't enough so you'll have to look at your four days as just getting a taste -- not comprehensive at all. To me, Switzerland is about the alps. The advice to pick a base for your four days was good. Try these ideas:

1. If you want to be IN the mountains make your base Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald. I'm not big on Wengen -- very cute but limited. And you have to change trains in Lauterbrunnen to get there. If you stay in Lauterbrunnen you can day trip to Wengen and hiking, or to one of the other mountain attractions above Lauterbrunnen. You could fill four days right here. I like Grindelwald best. Just the feel of it. There are also a number of good hikes above the town here and beautiful vistas. You can visit the Jungfrau from either town but as noted, it's a full day.

2. If you want to be NEAR the mountains but be more central, you could stay in Interlaken or one of the towns near there. It's an easy train ride from Interlaken up to Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen (30 minutes) for hiking or the views. You also have the lakes near by. While the town of Interlaken itself is so-so. It's advantage is proximity to other things. It's on one of Switzerland's scenic rail trips, the Golden Pass Line, which takes you to Montreux on Lake Geneva. (I think it was about a four hour trip.) The waterfront and Chillon there are fun. Bern is also worth a visit and very close to Interlaken.

If you have only three full days my advice is to spend them all in the Bernese Oberland -- Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. As Melnq8 said, every train ride in Switzerland is scenic. So spend your time outside instead of taking a train tour.

If you fly out of Zurich you can spend the night before in that city and still have plenty of time for a morning flight from ZRH (if you plan well). And central Zurich is fun all by itself.

Sadly, you'll have to leave Lugano, Zermatt, St. Moritz and the rest for another time. Have a good trip.

We stayed in Lauterbrunnen (small and pretty) and did an easy day trip to Thun (pron. Toon). The train went via Interlaken which seemed lacking in charm. Lucerne is a really lovely town with many day trips available. Montreux is in a great location, right on the lake, but I would recommend Lauterbrunnen or Lucerne instead.

The cable cars etc can be very expensive, but well worth it. If you can work out ahead of time what you want to do, invest in one of the Swiss transport passes.

Forget the full day Glacier Express ride if you have only 4 days. This would only be feasible if you skip Wengen and stay at Zermatt and St. Moritz/Sil Maria/Pontresina or so instead.
A lot of your Swiss itinerary will depend on your next destination after Switzerland.