We will plan to travel in Sept.-!4 Days! Firstly, to Switzerland for amazing vistas and hiking: Lurcerne, Grindelwald, Interlaken.
Could fly into Zurick.
Any recommendation's to next adventure, perhaps France?
(We have visited Italy numerous occasions; kids will think us nuts if we go again.)
We adore small towns, such as, Annecy, Beaune (been there).
Really open at this point. Thank you for thoughts.

Four days or fourteen days?

For different vistas, try the Jura area between France and Switzerland:

https://flic.kr/p/8pzAY3 https://flic.kr/p/8pzCVJ https://flic.kr/p/8pzDCo

14

Beautiful.


Also, could go thru Geneva for flight home.

There is plenty to see in Switzerland to fill up 14 days. We did 16 days in 2016 and loved it -- only drawback is that Switzerland is expensive. We bought the 2 week unlimited travel pass and loved seeing the country that way, I don't know that you need to do open jaw if you stay in Switzerland for the entire trip: Zurich has lots of international flights and is a reasonable train ride away from just about anywhere else in the country.

Easy to fill up 14 days in Switzerland. You could add Montreux, Zermatt and the Engadin to the areas you've already mentioned. Look into the scenic railways that travel these parts. If you do add these places you could set up a loop and fly into and out of Zurich (not Zurick). That would probably be the cheapest air fare.

Since we have been to Switzerland twice and parts of France, I feel 5 days should be sufficient.
Now looking at Northern Italy, have not been in NW area.

If you have a car, drive through the Engadin and spend the night in Pontresina or somewhere in that area. Then continue on to Meran, driving over the Ofen pass towards Meran and Bozen. Then continue into the South Tyrolean alps (Italy) and stay at Ortesei or somewhere near by and do trips from there.

Super rec; albeit, Been to Bozen.
Plan to focus on Lake Como.

I wish you would have written that before asking for advice. It would have saved some of my time.

Potentially:
Murren, 3 nights.
Provence, 5 nights
Lake Como 4 nights
1-2 travel nights
Perhaps in Zurick ---- Fly out Milan.
Prefer small towns, hiking and subline vistas.
I appreciate kind thoughts.

Looking to simplify:
Switzerland and Provence.
Perhaps drive 1/2 or train to Provence.
Annecy appears 1/2

Zurich.

"Small towns, hiking and sublime vistas."

You've been to Bozen, but have you really explored the Dolomites? What you can see and do from Bozen is nothing compared to driving the Great Dolomite Road, up and over the many mountain passes, and the endless hiking possibilities.

As you contemplate where you'll go and how you'll get around... Renting a car in one country (Switz.) and dropping it another (France or Italy) will trigger a significant one-way surcharge. Rental costs are already sky high, so you might want to do some dummy reservations to understand the bottom line.

In September, the Désalpe/Alpabzug will be taking place in a number of small towns in Switzerland. This is the moving of the cows from the high pastures back down to the lower valleys. The cows, goats, etc. will be all decked out with their big bells and lots of flowers. It’s a fun thing to attend. I did it as a day trip from Interlaken.

From there, you could move to Montreux (stopping in Gruyère for fondue and the castle and Broc for the chocolate factory on the way.) Stop in Yvoire, a flower-bedecked medieval village, on your way to Geneva to fly home. And, maybe, add Evian-les-Bains on the way to Geneva.

Fly into Zurick- stay 15 nights- Fly out of Nice
Lucerne-train
Murren-train
??( Any suggestions-Lake Como Perhaps-train or car
Provence-car
Nice

Small scenic towns?
You may check:
Schaffhausen, Stein am Rhein, Engen, Rottweil, Bretten, Gengenbach, Breisach, Riquewihr, Wil SG, St. Gallen, Rapperswil, Solothurn, Neuchatel, Murten, Gruyeres, Sion, Aosta, Locarno, Lugano, Bellinzona, Bergamo, Mantova, Cremona, Pavia, Cuneo, Chambery, Vienne, Beaune, Dijon........

With a plethora of beautiful towns and villages to visit, we should stay in Provence area.
Lucerne 3 nt
Murren 2 nt
Annecy 2 nt
Provence 5 nt
Eze (or close to Nice ) 3 nt

Why waste your time at Annecy that you know already instead of going directly by train from Interlaken or Lucerne (dp 7.30) to the Riviera (Alassio ar 13.57 - San Remo ar 14.40 - Menton ar 15.44 - Eze Bord-de-Mer ar 16.05)?