My husband and I are taking a trip in Sept. We are renting a car and driving from Munich. In looking at hotels in Zurich, they seem not only expensive ( most decent over $200) but also no parking. We are headed to Interlaken after this but want one night there. Any suggestions for a place that provides parking or something nice on the outskirts? We are willing to pay extra if the place is worth it!

You may like the Zurich Courtyard close to the airport: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...-zurich-north/
If you want memorable luxury: http://www.thedoldergrand.com/en/location-plan/

We stayed at Hotel Leoneck in Zurich and I know they have parking as we saw another hotel guest tried to back up into the tiny parking spot. He ended up hitting the side of the wall and damaged the rental car (tho it seems like he's just not a good driver in general).

The hotel website doesn't say how many spots it has or if it charges a fee; you can call or email to inquire:
http://www.leoneck.ch/en/index.html

We like the location of the hotel, as it's only a 5-min walk downhill to the Hauptbahnhof and most tourist sites are within walking distance. However, the tram line that runs in front of the hotel can be noisy.

Most hotels in europe are in older buildings and few in downtown areas have garages. For parking you should contact the hotel and ask about nearby public garages where you can leave the car (expect to pay about $30 to $40 for each overnight).

Are you planning to drive straight from Munich to Zurich? And then straight from Zurich to Interlaken?

If so, have you considered taking a train to Zurich and from Zurich to Interlaken and then picking up your car there?

I'm not going to hector you about whether it's better to go by train or car, obviously that's your choice. But in this case, it doesn't seem either cost effective or convenient - you're already worried about parking. And in truth, a car isn't necessary in the Interlaken area - they're not even allowed in some of the villages.

Yes, you won't need a car in Switzerland. The Swiss trains, buses and boat interlink like clockwork. Where are you going after Switzerland?

We've done Munich & Interlaken 3 times and always enjoyed driving the country roads and highways over the boring train route. You can make stops along the way to Zurich, I can make suggestions if you want them. Luzern also makes a beautiful stop on your way to Interlaken.

The villages that are not drivable are mostly because they are up in the high mountain with no car access, but you can drive from your hotel to the base of the funicular station. Having a car makes the trip more enjoyable and if you take the country roads you can enjoy the beautiful Swiss scenery.

I would look at the Romantik Hotel Sonne in Kuesnacht.
It has a better than average restaurant, great lakeside location, is only steps from the local station from where a train into Zurich takes about 15 min. (by car approx. the same) and has classically designed clean rooms with wooden floors.
You could also access Zurich by ship - they stop on a regular basis on a berth at the hotel.

http://www.sonne.ch/en/index.html

In Switzerland you don't want a car in the cities, you can't take a car up to some of the prettiest villages, and you can't take a car on a lake.

Using public transportation everybody gets to enjoy the beautiful alpine scenery as it flows by; no need to keep your eyes glued to the pavement on a curvy road. And no need to find a parking place.

Boats and busses meet arriving trains so no time is lost.

Why would anybody drive?

I'm not a big train fan, but I'd second the notion of taking the train from Munich to Zurich. If you want a car for Interlaken, then you could either take the train from Zurich and get a car there, or pick up the car in Zurich and drive.

If you really want to do the drive from Munich to Zurich, then I think you will either have to pay top dollar, or stay out by/on the way to the airport, possibly both. The reality is that Zurich is simply very expensive for hotels and parking is very limited (=pricey), so you will be hit with a double-whammy.

I would expect to pay in the CHF 35 to CHF 50 range for parking each day.

I've only traveled by train in Switzerland, but I found a list of hotels with parking. I looked at a few of them and parking ranged from 21-30 CHF per day.

http://www.orangesmile.com/booking/e...ar-parking.htm

Mimar, to each his own, we never have any problem driving in the cities of Switzerland, even Zurich, Basel or Geneva, they have good signs and clearly marked public parking lots. None of the cities are that big to begin with. We come to Switzerland often enough and have done both trains and cars. Part of our swiss enjoyment is driving the scenic meandering/undulating country/mountain roads where we can stop in some farm/mountain village restaurants to enjoy the local cheese and ham or what have you. We can stop to take the perfect pictures anywhere we want to. The train doesn't stop to let us smell the fresh air, or hear the cowbells, instead it takes us through people's backyards and industries. However I didn't enjoy the straight flat roads in Bavaria from Munich to the Bodensee, so perhaps renting a car from Zurich may be better.