Bettinae

My adult son and I would like to fly from Houston, Texas (IAH) to Switzerland or Italy and then fly back to IAH. We are not sure which country to fly into nor which city. We were thinking the schedule below might work. We would like help since we have never been to either country. We are most interested in seeing wildlife, historical places, and the mountains. Thank you so much!

Fly into Rome for 0 nights take a train directly to Naples
Naples 2 Nights
Back to Rome 3 Nights
Florence 3 Nights
Milan 3 Nights
Zermatt 2 Nights
Wengen 2 Nights
Zurich 2 nights fly back to IAH from here.
We would love any helo on the number of days or what we are missing....we have not made any reservations yet so we are open to not going to some of the places or adding/replacing places
Thank you so much!

nrr

I can make some suggestions re Switzerland:
Their train system is set up to allow short connections, so in one day especially in the summer (more daylight than the winter), you can see lots of "super" scenery in a relative short period of time.
Using Luzern or Zurich as a base point, you can do lots of day trips. One such trip: Luzern to Montreux on the Golden Pass route (via Meiringern and Zweissimen) and then Montreux to Rocher de Naye. Guide books can make further suggestions.
Zermat does have the Matterhorn, but the city itself (like many other Swiss mountain spots) is VERY touristy.

stut

As this topic has been split between Italy and Switzerland (as we have a dedicated Italy forum, but not a dedicated Switzerland one), I'll leave this thread here for the Swiss side and change the topic. Have also merged/redirected the other thread sent here from Information.

Please go to the following thread for the Italy recommendations:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/italy...rip-italy.html

stut
Moderator
Europe Forum

SwissBritMiss

When you go will also be key. Let's assume summer for now (otherwise, you'll be battling skiers for accommodation and the elements in Zermatt and Wengen).

My main comment re: your Swiss itinerary is... no lakes! (Unless you include Zurisee, which whilst pretty, is definitely not the most spectacular that Switzerland has to offer). Since you'll be in the Jungfrau region, I would highly recommend spending a day by Brienzersee or Thunersee also. Stunning but not too challenging hikes and watersports. I was in Iseltwald for my birthday a few days ago, which is a stunning little village with numerous hotels right by the lake. Lungernsee is another personal favourite, but a little harder to reach.

You may also consider Interlaken as a base. It's pretty, nothing special by Swiss standards, but will give you a lot of flexibility to visit the entire region, as it is the transport hub for the Jungfrau region.

If you're not hardcore hikers, then 2 days in each of Wengen and Zermatt are fine. 2 days in Zurich is fine to do the main sights also - really a walking city, with perhaps an excursion to the Uetliberg and maybe the Hardbrücke district for a taste of new, hipper Zurich.

SwissBritMiss

But please don't let this put you off! Seeing the Matterhorn from the Zermatt side still takes my breath away every time, and a core reason I go back and back in all seasons.

Plus the touristy Swiss areas won't rip you off (more than elsewhere ) nor be aggressive in their peddling in the way that you even get in London etc.

This might be quite a fun event if the timing works - as kitsch as it sounds, the atmosphere is great! https://www.zermatt.ch/en/tradition-...klore-Festival

greg5

Luzern is much nicer than Zürich. But it depends on what time your flight leaves back to IAH. If it's really early in the morning, stay in Züri. Otherwise, I'd skip Züri entirely and take the direct train from Luzern to the airport. The Brünig would be a good way to get from the Berner Oberland to Luzern, and you could also continue on to Zürich should you still want to stay there.