Hi everyone,
I am off to Switzerland next month and I am so confused about my itinerary. Originally it was:-
April 4- Arrive 1ish at zurich airport and head striaght to luzern. Spend remainder of day at old town
April 5- Mt pilatus and then the old town.
April 6- daytrip to Mt titlis
April 7- daytrip to interlaken to go up jungfrau
April 8- Take early morning train to Lugano and go up to Mt San Salvatore
April 9- Drive around locarno and Ascone
April 10- take the morning train to Zurich and do some shopping.
April 11- Night flight back home.

I have been to all these places before but it will be my husbands first time. He really wants to see Zermatt so how can I change my itinerary so he can have his wish? Shall I take a day from luzern or lugano? Instead of doing a daytrip to interlaken should I spend the night there and then head to Zermatt? Should I take out Zurich and shop elsewhere?

I would take out Zurich and shop in Zermatt. I find it almost impossible to be in Switzerland without hopping over to Zermatt.

I've been going to Switzerland for three decades at least every other year, however I'm no expert since I don't read any guide books but rely on friends & relatives who live there. In all my multiple trips I've never been to Zermatt but I've been to all the places on your scheduled itinerary.

I hope you're planning to ski in Mt Titlis, otherwise it's not worth going there. Normally early April is a great time for some nice spring skiing on the glacier. If you just want to look at the glacier/peak then Zermatt may be more of a tourist destination besides Jungfraujoch. I believe they are must sees for most of the Japanese/American tourists.

I'm not a fan of Interlaken at all, I would suggest going to Lauterbrunnen instead and tour the surrounding towns above it. What are you shopping for in Zurich? There are plenty of shopping in Lucerne's old town, but of course there are more dept. stores & high end stores in Zurich. There is a large designer outlet mall south of Lugano by the Italian border that I've never been to. My wife always talks about going to the Prada outlet in the area but she never got around to it.

A clear day in Zermatt is incredible.
I would drop both Titlis and Pilatus for a trip to the Klein Matterhorn and the Gornergrat.

Of course if the day is cloudy, neither place is all that great.

The view from the Klein Matterhorn is one of the great scenes in the Alps.

Hi browning,

Did you know that the trip from Luzern up to the Jungfraujoch takes about 4h30 each direction? So on that one day, you're spending about nine hours just sitting on the train! In my (humble!) opinion, that's a big waste of a day in Switzerland. You should spend your time outside --

Now, about Zermatt -- I spent a week skiing there some years ago but haven't been back. I didn't care for it much. I thought it was overbuilt with fakey wood chalets climbing up the slopes and crowding the village (the villages of the Berner Oberland are much sweeter, I think). I've heard Zermatt called the "Manhattan of the Mountains."

Anyway, I hope you decide to cut down your itinerary. I don't think you need to hit ALL the high spots in one wide swipe. Take your time and enjoy it! Try to get back to see the rest (I've been going since 1995 and still have a lot left to see).

s

I agree your itineary is exhausting. I would point out a few things.

April is an OK month in the mountains, it is still winter, you may start to get some fog as temps rise. However, I think you will find the Lugano area quite rainy and cool if not cold. It is not spring there yet, even with its famed microclimate. That does not happen until May (and spring does not come to the rest of Switzerland until very late May and lasts about 2 weeks...). You might want to think about skipping this area. It will be quite brown, flowers will not be out and trees will not be in bloom.

Shops close in Zurich at 4 pm on Sat, although a few larger departmetn stores close at 5. However if you are taking a “morning train” from Ascona, I am guessing that means you won’t arrive into Zurich until like Noon at the earliest. That does not give you a lot of time. Is there something in particular you are looking for? I may be able to point you in the right direction. If you just want to window shop or buy a watch, you are going to many places that offer that opporotunity, like Zermatt, Lucarno, Lugano, Ascona and Lucerne.

I personally don’t think Titilus or Pilatus can compare to the Jungfrau valley or Zermatt, so I wouldn’t do day trips to either, but would give that time to a night IN the mountains in the Jungfrau and to a night in Zermatt. (I personally would skip Lucerne in preference to staying longer in the mountains)