Switzerland

ThinkingOutLoud_2

Voyager2002 wrote: »

The exception is Interlaken: while it provides a convenient base for exploring the wonderful Bernese Oberland, I found that the town itself had little to offer and would suggest basing yourself somewhere higher up the mountain.

I kind of agree, Interlaken is not up with the many alpine villages and the like it gives you access to - but it does let you get to all of these and back for sleep before you "go again".
If you pick a valley base - it takes time to get anywhere outside it.

melanzana

Have a look at Rick Steve's You Tube videos on Switzerland. Stunning.

I think you would have to sort out your itinerary first, and then decide where to stop off.

Blue264

As you've probably worked out by now, Switzerland is a ridiculously easy country to get around with lots of events all year round.

http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

http://www.swisspasses.com/?gclid=CK6ipJCv9tECFRCeGwod3GEGxw

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-gb/top-events-of-switzerland.html

If you've done Bern and Geneva (agree on Geneva being a bit boring) then I'd keep this trip to the German and Italian speaking parts of the country. I'd be looking as this for an itinerary... Zurich - Lucerne - Interlaken - Locarno - Lugano. From Zurich, you can easily see Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls in an afternoon. My Swiss neighbour loves going over to Bodensee and taking a boat out for a few hours with a picnic.

If you're planning this trip for July/August, definitely bring swimwear because it can be in the mid 80s all day for weeks at a time, so loads of people (myself included) go swimming in Zurichsee at lunchtime or after work. All around the lake there are parks with bbq facilities, and the larger park, China Gardens, has slides into the lake and even a flip up cinema screen. There are cheaper (but not cheap) food options in Zurich city centre, such as Migros hot food outlet under Hauptbahnhoff and Manora cafe on the roof terrace of Manor department store on Bahnhofstrasse, plus plenty of street food options.

Further south, Rapperswill old town is lovely, and that's on the train route which goes from Zurich airport, down the Gold Coast of the lake to Rapperswill. Lucerne, as has been said above, is stunning, and well worth a visit. To me, it feels posh

From Zurich, I'd head to Interlaken or down to Ticino for Locarno and Lugano. As has been said, Tocino is in the Italian speaking part of the country, and my friends who live there, reckon they've got the best of both Worlds...fantastic scenery and a slightly more laid back Italian way of life.