Hi, I'm traveling alone on business in late Sept and will have 3-4 days on my own. I will be starting my free time in Bern and then ending the trip in Zurich to catch my flight. I'm thinking maybe Interlaken and the Jungfraujoch railway? I love nature and landscape photography. Suggestions? Thanks!!

I think that's a great plan.
Travel from Bern to Interlaken West is under one hour by train. Trips up into the Jungfrau region depart from Interlaken Ost.
I personally would base myself in either Brienz, Spiez or Thun for 2-3 overnights (or whatever you have available) and choose a good weather day to ascend (wasted money on overcast days and quite expensive).
Interlaken literally means "between the lakes" which are Brienz and Thun with their corresponding towns.If you base yourself in either of these towns, a nice ride on the lake ferry is another beautiful option.
Brienz also hosts an "open-air museum" Ballenburg, well worth exploring.

I ditto the Berner Oberland as perhaps the finest destination in Switzerland for those wanting to realize the picture of Swirtzerland etched in their mind's eye - jagged Alpine peaks girdled with ice and glaciers - roaring waterfalls, glaciers you can walk to - a myriad of aerial cableways and toy-like mountain trains - great hikes from easy to difficult - I would suggest basing up in the hills in a place like Wengen, a perpetual favorite with Fodorites - a quiet car-free (autos not allowed here) with intoxicating views of the awesome Jungfrau Massif from any hotel balcony.

Wengen can be a base for many nice hikes and trips by train or gondola - it is only about an hour from Interlaken so you can trip down there to do the fantastic IMO lake boat trips mokka4 describes - and if you are only going to be there 4 days IMO investigate the 4-consecutive-day Swiss Pass - it would cover all travel to and from Wengen and other neat Alpine villages like Grindelwald, Murren, Gimmelwald and Lauterbrunnen in full and lake boats as well and also gives free entry to the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum that mokka4 IMO rightly raves about. A good way to get there is to take a boat from Interlaken to Brienz and then go by postal bus (also free with a Swiss Pass), But if you just go to some place like Wengen and just stay in and around there - like doing some of the fantastic easy hikes there and do not move around much then you would just buy tickets as you go along - the Half-Fare Card costs about $150 to start and if not moving around much it would be cheaper just to buy regular tickets. But for complete flexibility look into the 4-consecutive-day pass which would give you carte blanche to do anything you want and I always with my pass do end up doing more than I had thought - yes like on a nice afternoon just getting on a boat in Interlaken for a float on Lake Thun, majestically backdroipped by the ice-clad Jungfrau Massif.

For lots of stuff on Swiss trains and passes and things like the Half-Fare Card and Swiss Card and Swiss Transfer ticket which may also be good for you check out these fantastic IMO sites - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com.

But I would strongly advice the Interlaken/Jungfrau Region for the Swiss picture you are probably dreaming on but will not realize in places like Zurich.

also check out the site www.swisstravelsystem.com for stuff on Jungfrau region trains and to find train schedules and fares to compare to passes (with passes be sure to compare in U S dollar prices as the exact same pass you buy in Swirtzerland is currently significantly cheaper if bought at home, if in North America due to the steep rise in value of the Swiss franc I guess.

And Bern to Interlaken-Ost is only an hour or less and in another 20 minutes from there you are up in the wondrous hills in either Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen - Wengen another 20 mins beyond Lauterbrunnen.

In any of these cutesy Alpine villages the view from your hotel balcony will get you drunk on the intoxiciating scenery even if you are not imbibing booze.

Thanks for the help. someone else mentioned Luzern. Thoughts about which to do if you only can visit one?

You could base in the OB and take a day trip to Luzern.

Hi lisakinnear,

Luzern is a lovely city nestled under the Alps and nearby a system of lakes. Folks say that visiting Luzern is like getting all of Switzerland at one place because it has it all -- mountains, lakes, history, museums, etc. From Luzern you can visit the nearby peaks of Rigi, Titlis, and Pilatus, as well as seeing the sweet towns along the lake by ferry.

But it is a city.

For me, the best part of Switzerlnad is her wonderful Alpine villages such as Wengen as Pal mentioned above, or Mürren. Here, you wake up IN the mountains and look out your window to see the peaks opposite and the beautiful valley below.

You may want to look at some photos to help you make up your mind. Go to google, then click on "images" and then do a search for each of these city or village names. Hopefully, you'll be attracted by one or the other.

Have fun!

s

Lucerne is good for about a day for the city and a day around its lovely lake but I would also echo that Lucerne can be a wonderful day trip from the Interlaken area - especially if you take the scenic Glacier Express route over the Brunig Pass to Lucerne - a tad longer but one of Switzerland's legendary scenic train lines - goes up and over the Brunig Pass, with the assistance of cog wheels - the only Swiss Federal Railways mainline train to be cog assisted - cogs are used when there are steep inclines or descents to keep the train from plunging down and help it climb.

This route first goes along the shores of lovely Lake Brienz then up and over the Brunig Pass and then along a few more lovely Alpine lakes to Lake Lucerne and Lucerne the train trip is a great part of this day trip - a Swiss Pass would cover the whole route 100%. And if doing this type of travel the 4-consecutive-day pass comes into better play.