I am traveling to Munich and then on to Vienna in late April but would love to see a few days worth of Switzerland (north-east area). I can fly into Zurich if I need to. Where would you recommend I go to get a nice and (I know so short) introduction of Switzerland. I would like to see some good Swiss scenery, no skiing necessary. Keep in mind that on the third day I have to head to Munich. I was planning on doing the Romantic Road once in Germany so if there is a nice route from Zurich to Munich including the romantic road I would consider renting a car and taking those few days as a long road trip. Thank you for all of your suggestions!!

I would spend a day in Lucerne and a day in the Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen/Schilthorn area.

Both are doable by train.

I have travelled between Lauterbrunnen and Munich by train more than once.
It is doable, but it takes the whole day.

Luzern is gorgeous. So is the Lauterbrunnen Valley, with Mürren and Wengen arguably the two most scenic locations you can find.

I stay on the floor of the valley because of non scenic reasons -- found a good deal on an apartment that we keep renewing. But, we travel to both Wengen and Mürren just to take the views every trip. I cannot rate one over the other because each has its own special features to offer.

If you can fly to Zürich, I would suggest doing so to save time. Take a train to Luzern; it is about a 70 - 80 minute trip and trains are frequent (sometimes 3 per hour) from about 5 am until after 11 pm.
A few connections go directly from the Zurich airport to Luzern with no change required; most of them, however, require a change at the main station.

From Luzern, the route to Interlaken is via the Brunig Pass and Sarnen. It is pretty, and takes about 2 hours.
Then from Interlaken OST one takes the mountain system to Lauterbrunnen.
The same train also divides enroute and goes to Grindelwald, so be sure you ride the right car. It is marked with a sign hanging on the side of the car.

I think a day in both places would be very rewarding and get you psyched up for a return later on when the trails are open in the summer and very early fall.

Thanks for your help, is it then possible to get from Interlaken to Munich via train and how long does that take? Interlaken was my first choice but I was concerned I would not be able to get to Munich in a good time frame. Any thoughts??

it should take about 7.5 hours..
www.rail.ch
I heard about mount pilatus south of lucerne as a cool place to visit...

Good morning, Mansfield Since your time is sho short would personally pick
Luzern and spend your time there in Luzern you have the old town itself, Mts. Pilatusm, Rigi and Titilis and the
Lake of Lucerne , the transport museum
to take up your time Would leave Interlaken and the Berneroverland until you have more time to spend there as Interlaken is the entrance to the Berneroberland , see www.berneroberland.ch. Richard of LaGrange Park, Il..



until you have some more time to spend
there as there is so much to do...

Since you are heading east to Munich, you might consider 1-2 days in Luzern and then one night in either Appenzell--sort of the Heidi-land of Heidiland--or one of the towns on the Rhein/Bodensee (e.g., Stein am Rhein). Then, you'd have a much shorter hop to Munich.

The train trip from Munich to Interlaken Ost is 7 hours, 9 minutes.
Leave Munich at 8:12, change in Zürich.
Leave Zürich at 13:04; arrive Interlaken Ost at 15:21
Arrive Lauterbrunnen at 15:55

the return trip:
Leave Lauterbrunnen at 6:05 and arrive in Munich at 14:00.

Now comes the rub. You cannot leave either Wengen or Mürren early enough to be back in Munich by 14:00.

You can leave at 13:43 and get in at 22:00. That argues for staying in Interlaken overnight go be close to the train station. Day trips to Wengen and Mürren are easily possible.

Interlaken does not provide a good view of the mountains. You must go south to one of the mountain villages for that purpose. As I said earlier, Wengen and Mürren are arguably the most scenic villages around that area.

I disagree that you should not go there unless you have more time. Any time there is beautiful, and rewarding.
I personally would head for Mürren if I had limited time. As it is, I plan on 7 to 9 days there and go to other places every day.

If I personally were doing a very short trip, I would need to check all aspects of my schedule before deciding where I stayed overnight.

Okeedokee, here's an opinion which will drive the Jungfrau fans crazy, but hear me out, mansfield; you will feel like you are in Switzerland: Consider staying in Rapperswil on Zurichsee. It's a lovely town with harbor. By train you can daytrip to Lucerne with it's green water and mountain scenery very easily via one of the prettiest little train routes I know. Daytrips are also possible to Einseldeln (pilgrimage church) and into the rolling hills of Appenzell. We stayed in Rapperswil for seven nights some years ago and never ran out of places to visit from that base. If you choose a hotel on the harbor, you'll have beautiful mountain views in the distance across the lake and you'll be just a tiny block from the little train station. Rapperswil has a lovely old town to explore. The best part? Check the sbb site: You'll be just 5:10 from Munich departing mid morning. Trust me. Save the Oberland for another time. You'll be back once you've had a taste of Switzerland. J.

Thank you everyone for your input. I am going to take the advice of some of you and base myself around the Luzern area mostly because I do not want such a long excursion over to Germany. It sounds like I can get a nice, but oh so short, intro to Switerland and only be about 50 minutes from the Zurich airport. I love this website and how helpful everyone is!!!!!