Hello; we are planning a trip to Europe in September and early stages of planning would have us in Switzerland in the first day or so of September. We both enjoy the outdoors, hiking, photography, meeting people (and people watching) and trying new food/wine. We will have 12 nights to spare and have come up with the following itinerary;

Lucerne - 3 nights
Interlaken - 4 nights
Montreux - 2 nights
Zermatt - 3 nights

Our travel style is relatively laid back; we're not into moving locations every day, or spending a day ticking off all the sights. We'd rather see one or two things really well and then have some down time to really get to the know the area we're staying in, or sit in a cafe people watching, or have a nice meal. Your feedback as to whether we could extend/shorten our time in any of the locations, or change a location to another location.

We would plan to head from Zermatt to the Italian Lakes to finish our trip.

Re Interlaken, I'd suggest you look at Lauterbrunnen or Wengen instead. Both have a good range of accommodation and restaurants. Plenty of walking tracks around and you can use the train to visit other towns in the area. From Lauterbrunnen you can take the cable to Shilthorn for spectacular views or get the train to Jungfrau. I guess I would describe Interlaken as just a town whereas Lauterbrunnen and Wengen are in the mountains with great views and walks.

Ditto what marg said about Interlaken. Why stay at the base of the Alps when you can easily GO UP. Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and Murren are much better options.

One thing to keep in mind, you may not always get clear weather. For instance, the last time I went to Wengen it was for 4 nights and most of the time the Matterhorn was clouded over. People still took the trains up but they're not cheap.

I've stayed both up in Wengen and last time in Interlaken. If you've never been to this area, then Wengen is a good choice, plenty of trains you can take up from Wengen, including of course Jungfrau. There are all kinds of tracks to hike from there as well.

Be sure to get Swiss Half Fare card for trains and also consider the Berner Oberland Pass, though again, there's a good chance that at least some of the days will have less than idea weather for seeing the mountains clearly.

There are so many mountains you can visit with stunning views. From Interlaken, Brienz is easier to get to and on a sunny day it's just stunning. You can take a ferry there or the train or drive if you rent a car. In Brienz, you can take the train up to Rothorn, again stunning views of the peaks rising above the lake.

I also like very much Niederhorn, again views over lake Thun if you get a clear, sunny day.

But again Jungfrau, Murren are also beautiful -- never been up Schilthorn, often the case that it will be clear in the morning and then seems to get clouded over in the afternoon. Also Schyinge Platte is beautiful, though you see more of Lake Brienz from Rothorn.

I visited Vevey which is next to Montreux, saw the Lavaux vineyards overlooking the lake there and went up Rochers de Naye, which also has hiking trails over beatiful scenery but you may not get clear weather in two days. Also looks like a long ways from Interlaken to Montreux for just two nights and then another long trip to Zermatt.

Which Italian Lakes would you visit after Zermatt? Stresa on Lake Maggiore isn't too long of a drive or train ride from Zermatt. But Menaggio on Lake Como would be 3.5-4 hours by car and 6 or 7 hours by train. Como is better, 4-5 hours by train, 3 hours by car.

Actually you would take the train to Como, which goes through Milano Centrale and then take the bus from Como to Menaggio.

And ditto again to what marg and Melnq 8 recommended.
If you check out some of Melnq8's trip reports you will see why heading up to Wengen or similar is a great idea.

This Aussie couple cannot wait to head back to these regions soon too!

We have been reading a lot and agree that Wengen may be the best choice over Interlaken.. We have also been considering removing Montreux from this trip given we wouldn't have long there. We are considering whether we add this time with an extra night each in Wengen and Zermatt. Thoughts on this.. If we think 3 nights is enough in Zermatt, could add to Lucerne to give us 3 full days/4 nights to do some day trips from there.

As for the lakes, we've got a wedding in Orta San Giulio, which we plan to follow with time in Varenna and Riva del Garda.. We were thinking to take the train from Zermatt to Stresa and rent a car from there.

Lake Maggiore is fine. You may stay either at Stresa (center of the Lake) or at Locarno (Northern end of the Lake). Locarno offers much more possibilities for hals or full day trips into the unspolit mpointain valleys of Ticino, to the Unesco World Heritage castles of Bellinzona or to Lake Lugano, another gem of the area. The train ride to Locarno via the Centovalli is very scenic.
Journey times by train:
Zermatt - Sresa: 3 hrs
Zermatt - Locarno: 4 hrs
Zermatt - Lugano: 4 hrs 40 min
Zermatt - Varenna (Lake Como): 5 7/4 hrs

One thing to keep in mind, you may not always get clear weather. For instance, the last time I went to Wengen it was for 4 nights and most of the time the Matterhorn was clouded over. People still took the trains up but they're not cheap.

scrb11 - I think you mean Zermatt, no?

Yes Zermatt was cloudy over, with rain.

But it would equally apply to just about any alpine area in Switzerland.

I was in Interlaken for 5 days last August. Only clear for 1 or 2 of those days. I went to Brienz on one of those clear days to go up to Rothorn and the incline train station was packed because the previous couple of days had been very cloudy. Had to wait for the next train instead of the one I targeted and they kept brining out additional trains because there was demand. Otherwise I think they departed once an hour.

I don't recall but I believed it rained as well, so I didn't even try to do hikes, didn't want to deal with the mud. Or even rent an e-bike which I had been thinking about.

scrb11 - I think you mean Zermatt, no?
And I think he means the Jungfrau and not the Matterhorn.

No I originally was thinking of Zermatt. There weren't any clear days other than the afternoon that arrived there and the morning that I left.

But like I said, if it was cloudy and rained in Zermatt, it was likely going to have similar conditions in the Berner Oberland, if no the same day, the next day.

scrb - just to clarify, it was your use of Wengen and Matterhorn in the same sentence that I was referring to. Wengen = Jungfrau, Zermatt = Matterhorn.

No matter, I think we all get what you're saying. The Alps can be shrouded in clouds and the weather in the mountains can be less than ideal.

That's a good time of the year to go to Switzerland. We spent three weeks there in September 2019. Yes, if the weather goes bad your hikes aren't as much fun. Still, with 12 days you should find a lot of good weather. Here's how I would change your itinerary:

Lucerne - 3 nights -- Change to 2 nights. Lucerne has a lot of visitors and you can do the city itself in one day. Extra time can be used for boat trips or cable car up the mountain.

Interlaken - 4 nights -- Change to 5 nights and don't stay in Interlaken. As noted here go right into the Alps (Bernese Oberland here). You change trains in Interlaken and it's another 30 minutes up to Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. Change again in Lauterbrunnen for Wengen. The hiking and mountain views out of these towns is outstanding. Note: Wengen and Murren are above Lauterbrunnen and are car-free.

Montreux - 2 nights -- We liked Montreux. There's Chilion, Lausanne by a quick train ride, and the waterfront is beautiful and relaxing. The Golden Pass rail connection from Interlaken to Montreux is great. However, if you want hiking you could cut time out of here. If you're traveling by train though, Montreux is right on the way from Interlaken to Zermatt.

Zermatt - 3 nights -- Yes. Wonderful hiking and views. If you cut time from Montreux add it here.