I may be travelling to Switzerland in early Summer for a week. I have some business (maybe just one days worth) in Pfaffikon SZ, but would be free most of the week. I would arrive at, and depart from the Zurich airport.

At first, I figured I'd stay in downtown Zurich, but some say this can be noisy and even more expensive than elsewhere in CH. I like city energy, but would not want to stay in the red light district. I hear that hotels in CH do not have air conditioning, so that in Summer, windows might have to be open. I am considering staying in Lucerne (except for the last night near the Zurich airport), but am not sure how fast/easy trains are from Lucerne to Pfaffikon SZ (but my business would likely take just a few hours on one day).

I like walking, urban areas, seeing nature, and historic sites. My favorite accommodation would be a quiet hotel/room with a kitchenette for 200 CHF or less (for 2 people) per night, in a relatively nice urban area with city amenities (food stores, restaurants, etc.).

Any ideas here are appreciated.
Thanks.

Of course the good hotels(more than 4 stars) do have air conditioning,because the summer last not long (mostly), but can be annoying, when you can't sleep (night temperatures above 25 degrees are disgusting).
In the summer months (July and August) average room rates even in zurich are pretty low, because of the missing business travellers, so hotels are filling their
capacity with travellers from asia (mostly groups).So it should not be problem, depending on your arrival date (what do you mean exactly with early summer ??)

Train times can be found here: http://www.sbb.ch (you can click on the english option at the top). Most journeys from Pfäff to Luzern go via Thalwil, but there's a direct train (Voralpen Express) every two hours. It takes forever, but there are some nice views.

Zurich is a nice place to stay...i wouldn't say it was noisy at all.

Plenty to do in Zurich and good access to the rest of the surrounding area

Thank you all for your replies.

I decided to stay in Zurich Old Town area. I did find a hotel with air conditioning. I'm sure I'll have to do more research about trains, trams, cell phone usage (I hear Orange has prepaid and other SIM cards), and maybe convenient mountain day trips from Zurich (any ideas???).

I assume that the best exchange rate involves getting CHF cash using a U.S. credit card in a bank money machine, is this right? Is it important to have rain coats, umbrellas, etc. in early July? Also, I'd like to not stand out as a tourist, if that is possible.

Will I need a light winter coat and winter boots for day trips to mountains?

Thanks again.

Somewhere like Rigi (a popular day trip destination from Zurich) won't have snow on top - not in July. So normal walking shoes will be fine. Of course if you plan to climb the Matterhorn etc. that's a different story.

An umbrella might come in handy, weather is pretty changeable in the summer. I wouldn't bother with a rain coat though.

Zurich is full of tourists in the summer, so don't worry about blending in. Enjoy yourself, take in all the scenery and old buildings etc. and don't be afraid to be seen looking at stuff. Keep an eye on your wallet as you would in any city, but that's it. The Old Town is quite walkable so there's no need to bother with trams unless you actually want to ride one.

__________________
Need help? Contact a mod.