Well I have one month to spend in Europe, and i'm going to dedicate 8 days to switzerland so I can see if I like it.

I am thinking of staying 2 days in Zurich, 4 days in Interlaken (as a base for exploring the alps and Lucerne), then 2 days in Geneva to explore area around the lake. I was thinking of staying 2 nights in Zermaltt, but then heard it is very expensive (i'm staying in hostels), so perhaps I could just do a day trip there from Interlaken? Besides, i'd rather have a "base" than to be moving around too often.

So my trip would involve:

Paris > Zurich by rail (stay overnight)
Zurich > Interlaken (stay 2 nights)
Interlaken > Geneva (stay overnight)
Geneva > Rome (rest of my journey)

Or would it be a better idea to divide my time just between two cities? Ie, Zurich and Interlaken? The less time spent having to pack up and check out the better. I could always spend 3 days in Zurich and 5 days in Interlaken? That way from Interlaken I could do day trips to places like Wengen, Lausanne (with a stop over in Bern), and Zermatt.

If I leave Zermatt to the last day, can I catch the train from Zermatt to Rome? That way I wouldn't have to back track to Interlaken.

If you are going to Interlaken from Zurich, then I suggest taking the train from ZH to Lucerne. Have a look around Lucerne for the day. You can store your luggage in most Swiss train stations so you don't have to drag it around with you. Then take the Panorama Express from Lucerne to Interlaken Ost. Very scenic. When you leave Interlaken to Geneva you can take the Panorama Express to Montreux and then normal train to Geneva. So you get scenery and travel together...but you bypass Bern

In Interlaken you can take a trip to the Jungfrau region (Grindlewald, Murren, Wengen etc.) If you're into paragliding there's a lot of it around Interlaken. You could fly directly over our house. There's a new hostel opening in Interlaken (right beside Interlaken Ost train station) in spring 2012 - http://www.hihostels.com/dba/hostels...-055076.en.htm

Enjoy your trip

I would suggest you do as you planned but the opposite way. ie Paris>Geneva>Interlaken>Zurich. Reason is you will be moving from west to east and it just seems more logical since you are starting from Paris and ending in Rome.

No matter what you do though, dont come to Geneva on a Sunday. You will waste a day. Geneva is dead on Sundays

I also suggest the reverse, as gata said, for one key reason:trains to Italy are always late, and train service is better in the German part of Switzerland The Geneva-Lausanne-Milan trains (from where you would catch your train to rome) are less reliable in strike or exceptional situations than the Zurich-Luzern-Milan line, even though the Geneva ones seem to have a better on time record on paper.

As I understand both lines are run by the SBB but the SBB makes the Zurich-Milan line a priority and even if there are strikes and chaos in Italy, coming from Zurich you have a much better chance of making your Rome train in Milan. Furthermore the rolling stock on the Zurich line is usually much better than that on the Geneva line. So if you have the choice between being stuck on a train or having to change trains to a bus in Domodossola and get back on a bus in Como or some crap, going via Zurich-Luzern will be much more comfortable and most definitely in a train built during your lifetime, which is not the case for a Geneva-Lausanne train if a strike is going on.

I could write a novel on how the SBB manages to have money to build and justify a dozen commuter stations on several piles of cow dung in Aargau but apparently no money for Romandie infrastructure. But that is another story for another time.

If that was tl;dr -I would go to Rome via Zurich-Luzern. If you do go via Lausanne-Geneva, make sure you don't have a tight connection in Milan or a late night arrival in Rome.

Just an idea:
If you are traveling light, an EasyJet flight from Geneva to Rome is probably cheaper than a train from anywhere in Switzerland to Rome.

The train ride from Interlaken to Zermatt is just a little over 2 hours, so a daytrip is no problem at all.

Not at all. On the Zurich-Milano route, SBB uses the notoriously unreliable ETR 470 trains, while the route from Geneva has the much nicer, better and newer ETR 610. However, the Zurich-San Gottardo-Milano route is quite a bit more interesting with all its tunnels and bridges.

As far as the connection in Milano is concerned, I would take an early train from Switzerland and spend a few hours in Milano before going to Rome. This solves the late connection problem and Milano is a great city. I would at least visit the Duomo (cathedral) and the awesome Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.

In principle and on paper yes. But calculate in a strike in italy or some other seemingly weekly biznass, and i have taken old RE wagons pulled by a RE 460 several times to Milan with long stints of drama/buses in Domodossola or Brig. Whereas no matter what happens the Zurich line has ETR 470s.

I guess I should have been more clear: there is a consistency to the Zurich line in terms of expectations that you just don't have with the Geneva line. Which is why I would always go via Zurich if given the choice.

Yes, this is a good suggestion. I wouldn't sleep in Interlaken though - not a particularly nice place unless you like souvenir shops. Spend an extra 30-45 minutes on the train and stay the night in Mürren, Wengen or Lauterbrunnen.

Spot on Stephen - the scenery around Interlaken is stunning, but the town itself is ugly- half Victorian British and half concrete jungle and as you say, just full of souvenir tat shops.

Stay in Lauterbrunnen - walk up the valley to the waterfalls; take the little cog train up to Wengen, or all the way up to the top of Jungfrau if your budget can afford that. It's a steep but lovely walk back down to Lauterbrunnen from Wengen ) not sure about winter conditions - summer is superb.)

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

I will now go through switzerland from Geneva to (Lauterbrunnen or Wengen?), then onto Zurich.

For a backpacker, would it be cheaper staying in Lauterbrunnen or Wengen? Are these expensive places to stay?

As someone else mentioned I am also considering flying to Rome instead of by train. However, easyjet only flies from Geneva (not Zurich), so that would mean backtracking and wasting more time. Are there any other cheap airlines that fly from Zurich to Rome? It would be good to save some time on this long trip, as train takes about 10 hours each way, so that is a whole day gone.

Unfortunately Rome is quite out of the way of a circuit around Europe. Is it really worth making the journey there, or leaving it for another time?

Also is day trip enough time for Zermatt in summer?

Alternatively, I could fly from Paris to Rome, then Rome to Geneva? However if it did this would I be missing out on much rail scenery from Paris to Geneva?

Not sure, but seem to recall seeing a backpackers hostel between Interlaken and lauterbrunnen - anyone able to help with this? (A quick google, and I can't find it.)

There are definitely hostels in Interlaken, so perhaps that is where you will have to be based for the budget accomodation.

Check the Youth hostel association of Switzerland, to see if hostels are int he right locations for you. Remember you are supposed to join the YHA in your own country prior to travelling.

www.youthhostels.ch

This place in Stechelberg (a couple of miles up valley from Lauterbrunnen, ten minutes on the bus) has dorm beds for 28 CHF a night according to its website - which would be an unbeatable deal. No idea how good it is.
http://www.alpenhof-stechelberg.ch/pages/en/home.html


There's at least one hostel in Grindelwald which, even though not as nice as Lauterbrunnen/Wengen/Mürren, would still be a better bet than Interlaken (and a similar distance away).
http://www.mountainhostel.ch/de/mountain-hostel - 44 CHF a night.

If I were you, I would spend as little time as possible in Interlaken city. It is the ugliest place I have been in the 1.5 years I've been in Switzerland, and it is massively overrated IMO. Except for the little Japanese garden and the not-so-bad Korean restaurant next to the train station.

In the area, I love Lauterbrunnen, Wengen is cool, Grindelwald is cool, and also from Lauterbrunnen consider going to Gimmelwald (my nr. 1 favorite place) where they have the excellent Mountain Hostel. It is closed now, but will be open from April to November, therefore will be open when you come in the summer.

As far as Rome...well, I would take the days saved by not wasting your time in Interlaken city and make it down to Rome. It might be a bit of a shock coming from the quiet Swiss Alps to chaotic Rome, but when you stand in front of the Colosseo and look up at the monument and the sky, it is magic.

Thanks Stephen. That must be the one I was thinking of. There is also one in Brienz. YHA/HI can join the YHA/IH once they are in Switzerland. The Swiss hostels also accept nonmemmbers,but for a few ore CHfrancs per night. The website fof the Swiss YHA affiliated hostels is
www. youthhostel.ch However, a google search will give you other backpackers hostels as well.

Well it's personal preference of course, but personally I think there are so many better places to go than Interlaken.. lol

Though lake thun is close by, and I think it is sooo beautiful. They also have a castle there with an exceptionally beautiful forest with all kinds of trees.. it's like a fairy tail! I definitely recommend you going there. If you're interested I can find out where it was exactly.