British Expats - 3 day trip to switzerland

Shawn schrieb:

    > We need help in planning our trip. We have 3 days 2 nights total in
    > Switzerland. Its our first time there. Here are our plans and
    > questions:
    > Day1: We arrive in Geneva by flight from Amsterdam. We were thinking
    > of doing some sight seeing near Geneva. Do you recommend any local
    > tours? How should we spend our day? Is it worth spending the day in
    > Geneva?
    > We plan to reach Interlaken by 10 PM in the night.

Depends on what you are interested in.
Geneva is worth a short visit, guided tours available, but
takes some if you dont limit yourself to a very few places.
More at
http://www.geneve-tourisme.ch/?rubrique=0000000131

You have not specified what time you arrive in Geneva,
but if you plan to be at 22:00 in Interlaken using some
scenic train itinerary taking some 4+ hours from Geneva
airport, you might not have a full day for visiting the city.

Depending on interests, I would suggest either to take
the train at the airport, stop a the main station for
a short visit (Swiss Federal Railways can take care
of you luggage to Interlaken), stop in Montreux for a
short walk before taking Goldenpass Panoramic train
to Interlaken. Timetables at www.sbb.ch

    > Day2: We plan to go to Jungfraujoch by train. We were hoping for half
    > day trip. Is it better to go early in the morning or is it better to go
    > during the day time? Do we need to go with a tour or can we see
    > Jungfraujoch on our own? Please advise.
    > In the evening, we plan to see sights in Interlaken. Do you recommend
    > a local evening tour?

Most Interlaken - Jungfraujoch train trips take 4:50 for
the trip alone, first departure at 6:35 (at least for today),
so you probably better plan a whole day with some
intermediate stops and time at Jungfraujoch if you
really want to enjoy it.
(especially considering the price for a ticket ....).
Visiting Interlaken ?
Its a very small town (or village ?) - sur nice, but
main interest imho as a starting point for excursions.

    > Day 3: We plan to go to Luzerne, do sight seeing in Luzerne and then
    > go to Zurich in the night to catch overnight train to Paris. Is this a
    > good idea? Do you suggest going to Luzerne? Any local tours there? Or
    > should we spend more time in Zurich and skip Luzerne? Suggestions?

Interlaken to Lucerne via Brienz and Brünig is relatively
scenic (better than detour via Berne) and takes 1:56.
Lucerne is definitely worth a visit, you might add
Verkehrshaus or a lake steamer tour
( http://www.verkehrshaus.ch/en/inform...uell/index.php )
( http://www.lakelucerne.ch/index.cfm?page=351&lang=E )

    > We have to get back to Paris eventually so do you have suggestions
    > for a sleeper overnight train?

I am no specialist for sleeper-trains, but have never heard
of one from Zurich to Paris (?)

If you want to use a train from Switzerland to Paris, best
probably is out of Geneva (TGV direct trains from 3:22 h),
Lausanne or Berne. There is a regular night-train from
Zurich to Paris (23:06 for arriving at 6:47) with plenty of
stops and an early morning direct TGV (but at "normal"
train speed in Switzerland) from Zurich to Paris.

If you want to fly to Switzerland and leave by train to
Paris, better option probably would be to do it the other
way round: fly to Zurich and take the Train from Geneva
or Lausanne to Paris

Be also aware that regular train tickets tend to be
kind of expensive and check for some passes for such
a 3-day tour