Going to Switzerland next month June 6-14. Will be landing in Zurich. I have not booked any hotels or excursions. What are some must things to do? Should we stay in Zurich the whole time and just use to train to travel everywhere everyday? What are some nice small towns with great views, hikeable mountains? How's the weather like in June?
Lugano is awesome. Expensive but awesome. Interlaaken has good outdoor activities depending on your age
Dude Montreux is a must. Go visit the Freddy Mercury statue on the lake. Plus you can drive into Germany from Zurich and go to Fussen and see Neuschwanstein castle. Zurich is a good central location to knock off a few other countries by vehicle.
Zurich is small and I didn't see a ton to do, honestly, though my main mission when I was there was to visit with my sister. I would advise you travel more widely around Switzerland and not be stuck in Zurich though. The most memorable thing was just meandering on the mountains around it. I remember liking Lucerne. We also went north to Konstanz, crossing the lake by ferry and seeing a castle there. It was a cool day trip and it allowed me to check off Germany as a country I've visited. We drove all over since my sister lived there and had a car. Driving didn't seem to bad. I'd be concerned that train travel isn't nimble enough. We did ultimately leave by train to go to Italy and they had very clean trains. Everything about Switzerland is clean.
Thanks guys. I've added Lucerne as a day trip option along with Lauterbrunnen, Geneva, Jungfrau and Grindewald.
I live in Geneva and my wife teaches at the elementary school Capela went to (ecole Charmilles)! Weather should be great in June. Get train passes for tourists (CFF.ch). I do not recommend staying more than 1.5 days in any of the cities, but for real hiking, 2-3 days are standard to give yourself more chances for clearest views. For hiking and great mountains: Klein Matterhorn (Zermatt), Niesen & Stockhorn (near Spiez), and Rochers de Naye (near Montreux) all have great views and easy access.
Which is better : French side vs. Italians side,you should see it your self, I would do Montreu,Zermatt,Lucerne in that order, renting an Alps cabin /chalets would be my choice.You can rent rooms from locals at affordable price if you look around .In Zurich, you should try their Zurcher .As mentioned above ,1-2 days should be enough at each place
Lucerne is amazing. Really picturesque quiet and lovely. Also imo Lausanne is much uglier and dirtier than other swiss cities. Bern is also beautiful. In the german towns, don't expect to find ANYTHING open after 9 pm. In the french side though there is plenty of nightlife.