Please help me with where to spend a week in Switzerland
 

Hi everyone,
I've just been lucky enough to book flights using FF arriving Paris on June 2nd and departing Zurich on June 17th at 10am.
My plan is to spend a week in the Dordogne area driving around and exploring it.
The last week I would like to spend in Switzerland (this is where I need your help)
1. How would you suggest I get from the Dordogne area to Switzerland? We do not want to drive in Switzerland.
2. My first thought was to spend time in the Berner Oberland, but after reading about Montreaux and Vevey I'm leaning towards them. We loved Bellagio on Lake Como. If we stay in Montreaux can we take a day trip to the mountains on one of the scenic trains?
3. What would you suggest I do on the day before my flight out of Zurich at 10am? I see that the train from Luzern is 1 hour to the airport. Would this be okay time wise to do or should we stay in Zurich overnight?
We have never been to any of these areas.
We will probably have six full days to spend in Switzerland. We enjoy museums, seeing how locals live, good food and quaint smaller towns. We do not hike or ski so I don't know if we really have to stay up in the mountains.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also any hotel recommendations - probably mid-priced to a little more expensive.
THANK YOU!!!
Dac

You are current, the train from Luzern to the Zurich airport is just over 1 hour's ride. The first train is at 4:55am, so you shouldn't have a problem getting to the airport. To get a 10 am flight, you would be ok on the 7:10am train (there is a 6:10am train also from Luzern), getting to the airport by 8:15am and checking in. If you don't care to get up that early, there are many hotels in Zurich or just outside the airport in the Glattbrugg area.

It looks like you are departing for home on a Tuesday. Keep in mind (if you were thinking of staying in Luzern for more than one day/night), most stores (other than a few souvenir shops) are closed here on Sundays, so plan your activities accordingly.

For train schedules, you can check the Swiss train website: www.sbb.ch- there is a tab to get English.

Have fun!

Thank you for your quick reply.
Anyone else?

There are many beautiful lakes in Switzerland. Zurich is on a lake, Lucerne is on a lake, and Interlaken is on a river between 2 lakes and is the gateway to the Bernese Oberland. You don't need to stay on Lake Geneva; you can find a locale closer to the mountains.

My home away from home for 8 of the last 9 summers has been an apartment in Lauterbrunnen.

I am sure many of you will ask why?
First, it was not our exclusive overnight location. Last year, for example, we stayed overnight in Stalden which proved to be convenient to Zermatt and Saas Fee.

Second, we have gone back there as mater of convenience. We knew the area well after the second visit. Now, we have a rental car and make long looping trips from our apartment.

Third, if you want mountains, and that is what my wife and I want, Lauterbrunnen is a very central place to be. The road leads north to Interlaken, with a turn to Grindelwald a few miles along the route. From Interlaken we can head toward Spiez where we can either go south to the train tunnel and the other side, or continue toward Bern on the freeway.

If we go east toward Meiringen, we can turn north up the Brünig Pass to Luzern and Engleberg.

I have not found that staying in a mountain valley cramps my style. We can ride up to the mountains from Lauterbrunnen or go elsewhere with relative ease.

I admit my bias toward mountains. IF that is what you want then the Lauterbrunnen Valley is a good place. I include the valley-side villages of Mürren and Wengen, both of which have several very good hotels and vacation apartments.

We spent five days in Lauterbrunnen and loved it! We don't hike of ski either, but we did enjoy going up to the Jungfrau by train, walking from Murren to Gimmelwald and then taking the Gondola the rest of the way down the mtn. Trummelback Falls was great too. Montreaux was a great day trip via the Golden Pass RRD. Bern was also a good daytrip.

I wish we had had time to go up to the Schilthorn.