10 Days in Switzerland

Hi my name's Travis and I'm looking to get some advice about my itinerary. Me and a friend will be traveling in December and have 10 days to spend in Switzerland. We're flying into Geneva and will be catching a train to Strasbourg from Basel.

I am wondering if there are any cities/sites you would recommend visiting as day trips from Geneva, Interlaken, and Zurich. From Interlaken we are planning on exploring Gimmelwald, Grindlewald, and the jungfrau region in general. I personally am not too fond of Zurich, but my friend really wants to stay a couple nights there so I was especially hoping to get some suggestions on what to do there/surrounding areas.

Below is our current itinerary

December 13th - 14th: Geneva
December 15th: Lausanne
December 16th - 18th: Interlaken
December 19th: Lucerne
December 20th -21st: Zurich
December 22nd: Basel

Hi Travis, and welcome to the forum! Spending time in the cities you mentioned definitely allows you to visit some true highlights. Here are some tips:

- from Geneva and Lausanne, you can make boat rides over the lake. The famous Chillon castle near Montreux can be visitied within one day as well. From Montreux, a mountain train leaves for the beautiful viewing point of Rochers-de-Naye;
- exploring the Jungfrau region when you're in Interlaken can be highly recommended indeed. You already mentioned some towns there. Consider a train round trip Lauterbrunnen/Wengen/Kleine Scheidegg/Grindelwald/Zweilütschinen/Interlaken as well. Kleine Scheidegg is impressive in clear weather, as you're literally at the foot of the famous Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau there. Boat rides over lake Thun and lake Brienz are a nice day trip too;
- Lucerne is at the shore of a large lake, on which boat trips can be made. Beautiful viewing points include Pilatus and Rigi. Lucerne has a nice old town centre and is home to the Traffic Museum. This topic on what to do in the Lucerne area may help you out;
- Zurich has lots of museums (including the Swiss National Museum), a lake with a park along the shore and nice traditional districts with narrow roads, old houses, little stores and churches. A tram leaving from the central railway station leads up to the viewing point Uetliberg. In clear weather, the Bernese Alps can be seen from here. Looking down at Zurich and the lake is nice as well.

One last tip: you may want to consider using a rail pass, as you'll be travelling quite a lot. This may save you lots of money.

I hope these first tips get you started. Visiting the tourist websites of each city/town will provide you with many more ideas.

We were thinking about the Swiss Half-Fare Card, but we were unsure about a one thing I hope you could clear up: does it get you half fare on the private trains like the ones that go to jungfraujoch, pilatus, Rochers-de-Naye, etc...? Also can we buy the half-fare card, the one valid for only a month, at the train station at Geneva's airport?

Hello Travis. Yes, the Swiss Half Fare Card offers a 50% discount on many mountain trains and cable cars as well. All trips you mention are included. Clicking the link 'Overview of the network on which the Swiss Half Fare Card is valid' at the Swiss Half Fare Card page will get you to a detailed map of all trains, buses, boats, mountain trains and cable cars on which the 50% reduction applies.

The Swiss Half Fare Card can be purchased online and at larger Swiss railway stations (such as Geneva Airport) during opening hours.