My husband has work in Geneva and after he is done we have 5 days to see Switzerland. I did my homework and feel drawn to go to Lucerne, Zermatt, Lugano and Interlaken. How shall I do it? My husband things we should base ourself in one of the four places I mentioned and do day trips to the other three. <BR> Also, How is the weather like at that time of year?

Consider Grindelwald for a base (south of Interlaken). Take a train to Kleine Scheidegg. Have lunch with the view of the Eiger, Monch &amp; Jungfrau. Go to Muerren and take the cable cars to the Schilthorn, but rent an apartment at the Abendrot: [email protected] Enjoy the magnificent Bernese Oberland

Skip Interlaken and take the train to Wengen, near Grindelwald and Kleine Scheidegg. I like Wengen better than Grindelwald because it is traffic-free and less touristy. Ride the Manlichen tram up the hill and hike in front of the Eiger down to Kleine Scheidegg and take the train from there back to Wengen. You can't go wrong. OH, and stay at the Hotel Alpenrose in Wengen. Enjoy!

I strongly agree w/ the last post, would add that you could hike ALL the way down to Wengen, it's easy but long-ish and lovely. Also see (you can hike down to it) Lauterbrunnen, the falls whose name escapes me, Mirren across the valley and very &quot;up&quot;. Interlaken has great museums, nice lake cruises that stop in the pretty towns on each side of the lake. I just found a vintage travel poster of the WengerAlp today, c1900 so it's fun to see this thread.

I spend time in the Lauterbrunnen Valley south of Interlaken by the week.<BR>What time of year will you be there?<BR>That does make a difference.<BR><BR>If you have a car, you can get from near Interlaken to Zermatt and back easily in a day; the same is true of Luzern. I did them both last September.<BR>Beautiful drive, but Zermatt pays off when you get up above the ridges so you can see something.<BR>

Any of the places you've mentioned are good bases for &quot;day tripping&quot;, except for Zermatt. Go there if you want to be settled in one place and just like exploring an area by foot rather than traveling every day somewhere else. Zermatt is worth at least 3-4 days; 5 days makes sense too, since you may want to count 1-2 &quot;weather days&quot; of low overcast or rain or snow - you never know...<BR><BR>Personally, &quot;can't stand&quot; Interlaken because it always pops up on everyone's agenda and doesn't really offer anything itself. But as a base, it's fine for places like Grindelwald, Wengen, Murren, and further on to Brienz or Axalp. Also agree 100% with the prior replies - Grindelwald is a good place to stay; standing just below the Eiger at Kleine Scheidegg is imposing to say the least; the walk down from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen on a nice day is absolute heaven. And M&uuml;rren is quaint and quiet, with some lore as well (Schilthorn/James Bond movie for instance). These are more leisurely day trips, since you won't need a car. <BR><BR>For Lucerne: you have all sort of day-trip options, from Altdorf area to Engelberg to Pilatus to Rigi to... For Lugano, there's the Swiss italian angle, and all it's diversity with mountains, lakes, palms, FOOD!, etc. <BR><BR>Don't know what you mean by &quot;weather at that time of year&quot; (which time?), but if you are taking a decision with weather a key factor, then your surest bet of the lot is Lugano. When it's raining elsewhere in Switzerland, there's a very good chance it's partly cloudy to sunny in the Italian area!

Good morning, Excited. Would take <BR>the forementioned advise for places to<BR>stay, but would split time between<BR>the Berneroberland, either Wengen or<BR>Grindelwald and at least two nights in<BR>Zermatt.<BR>In Grindelwald a trip up Grindelwald<BR>First, the Mannlichen Bahn to the top<BR>of the ridge and then walking to Kleine<BR>Scheidigg or cable car down to Wengen.<BR>In Zermatt the gondolas/cable cars up to<BR>Kleine Matterhorn and also Schwarzersee<BR>are great. Nice little hotel up<BR>Schwarzersee for lunch and you can take<BR>a short hike down to Furi....Zermatt...<BR>Richard of LaGrange Park, Il..