I hope this is useful and will help you become familiar with the areas and your options. Switzerland is beautiful and you will enjoy your time there. Make sure you relax and don’t stress over things. The people in these areas are very friendly (especially in the Berner Oberland areas). If you need help, just ask.
Notes on Switzerland…
In these first links I have compiled a bunch of useful info: Switzerland overview, some things we have learned, and some useful links. Enjoy 🙂
Places to Visit on your Trip
Since this is your first trip to Switzerland, I chose two different geographic areas. You mentioned you wanted to experience both the city and the mountains.
- The Lake Geneva area is more city-like with a gorgeous lake.
- The Berner Oberland area is in the Alps so you experience the beautiful mountains.
Getting To and From
If you fly into Geneva, you can spend the first week right around the Lake Geneva area enjoying the scenery and becoming accustomed to the time change. I recommend staying in Montreux (east end of lake) or Lausanne rather than Geneva (west end of lake) because Montreux is a better gateway to excursions and it will be less crowded. For your second week, Interlaken (in Bernese Oberland) is only a 2.5 to 3 hour train ride from Montreux. The time flies by as train ride is fun and has gorgeous views. If you find better deals to fly into Zurich instead, you can visit Interlakken first (2 hour train ride) or you can still head to Lake Geneva first (3 hour train ride). To break up the train rides, you can stop at an interesting city along the way (for instance, Lucern), put your luggage in a locker at the train station, then tour that city.
The Two Areas: Lake Geneva (Montreux) and Berner Oberland (Interlakken)
Here is some info I put together on these two areas. I hope it is enough to be useful but not too much to make it overwhelming!
Travel Schedule
This can be put together after you have decided dates, locations, hotels, activities, etc.