My husband, my 16 year old daughter & I are planning a 2 week trip to Northern Italy & Switzerland this August. We would like to stay in one hotel in each country and do day trips to different cities. Is this do-able? If so, which cities would be the most centralized to stay in? In Italy we'd like to do Venice, Verona, and lakes. In Switzerland we'd like to see mountains and lakes. Where should we stay and visit? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Supposed you stay at a geographical center of your destinations, is this what you want? I doubt you like that. I think you have to compare different scenarios: if you stay in one city as a base, how would you visit other destinations. What does that base offer when you are at the base? Do this for each potential bases. You might likely want more than one base. If you travel by a car, certain bases make more sense while for trains, you might get a different answer.

For Switzerland, mountains and lakes, hmm, that seems to describe pretty much anywhere in Switzerland.

For train in Italy, you can use www.trenitalia.com get a sense of travel times. Use days within a week from today to see all options including slow trains. For car, you can use the Google map trip option to get an idea of how much travel time you need.

I would suggest 4 locations could work---2 will be tough.
Venice is Venice and deserves some time. You could do a day trip to Verona, but why not see it as you transition west.

In CH, I would pick Luzern and a location in the Berner Oberland--perhaps Lauterbrunnen or Wengen. That is all quite doable in 2 weeks.

Doing from 2 cities is going to be very difficult - you will be spending a LOT of time in transit - and places that are centrally located and not necessarily those with the most to see/do.

Check viamichelin for drive times or bahn.de for train times. A central location is a false time-saver if you're spending 5 hours a day to and fro on day trips.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will now be doing some extensive research.

Hi DebF,

I like to suggest the towns of either Bern or Thun as central locations in Switzerland. From either one, you can get to the Jungfrau peaks in a reasonable amount of time, as well as to some spots in western Switzerland. In addition, both are really charming places with lots to offer; Thun sits on its own lake, is ringed by mountains, and even has a castle. Some folks call Thun the "untouristed Luzern."

Have fun as you research!

s