I went to Switzerland and Paris with my family for my mom's 50th birthday trip. It was her longtime wish to go to Switzerland and it was the rest of my family's first time going to Europe, so a pretty meaningful trip overall. We decided to add Paris in as well since it was close and my parents wanted to take advantage of already being in the area to cover at least one more place. Switzerland might be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to, and when you combine that with the milestones that this trip represented, it is easily near the top of my list for places I have been to.

Day 1: Inbound Flight + Light Activities in Zurich to handle jetlag

• Take an overnight Delta flight from JFK to ZRH at 8:35 PM reaching at 11 AM

• Take the airport train to Zurich and use the tram to get to the hotel to leave bags

• Grab lunch before taking the rest of the day to explore Zurich

• We did all of the following:

  • FIFA Museum --> would recommend if you enjoy soccer at all; has lots of interactive exhibits

  • Walk down Bahnhofstrasse --> the world's most luxurious shopping street and fun to look around

  • Check out some landmarks like Fraumunster Church and Grossmunster --> the "have-to-dos"

  • Took a sky tram next to our hotel (Polybahn) to the ETH Zurich Zentrum campus --> has an amazing overlook of the whole city and the campus is open for people to walk around and explore

  • The only thing we wish we had time to do was go to the Lindt Chocolate Museum, but it requires advance reservations

• Grab dinner before heading in for an early night to adjust to the jetlag

Day 2: Mount Titlis + Lake Lucerne Cruise

• ​Check out of Zurich hotel and start journey to Mount Titlis --> train to Lucerne, leaving luggage in lockers, then train to Titlis

  • The train ride to Zurich and then to Titlis are both gorgeous and the town of Titlis is very cute and quaint

  • The journey up Titlis uses the world's only rotating cable car; this mountain is also where DDLJ was filmed for any Bollywood fans

• At Titlis, see the ice caves, the sky bridge, and stop at both the midpoint village and the snowy peak

• Head back to Lucerne by mid-day to eat lunch and then take a cruise on one of Switzerland's largest lakes

  • Panoramic Lake Lucerne Cruise is beautiful and it had my dad considering some properties along the lakefront 

• Go check in at the hotel after a long day of adventure and recover for a bit before making dinner plans

Day 3: Interlaken Travel + Lauterbrunnen

• Walk around Lucerne in the morning to see the Lion Monument, get some breakfast, and see the city streets for a little bit​

• Take the train + bus combo to get to Interlaken --> easily the most picturesque ride you will have with the mountain and lake combinations

• Leave bags at the Interlaken hotel before setting off for an evening of exploration starting with the cute town of Lauterbrunnen where you will see some waterfalls, lots and lots of greenery, and enjoy a nice train ride to the town

• Head back to Old Interlaken where you can walk around the park, shop in the stores, and see some landmarks like the Yash Chopra statue (Bollywood director) and grab dinner

Day 4: Paragliding + Interlaken Exploration + Bern Travel

• The highlight of the trip for me was the Paragliding experience I got to have over the Swiss Alps early in the morning

  • Could not recommend a more enjoyable experience and there is nothing to be scared about, it is very safe

  • The company I booked through picked me up near my hotel, gave us a short training, had a great GoPro picture and video package for $40, and was an amazing experience end to end

• After paragliding, head to Grindelwald, another town similar to Lauterbrunnen up in the mountains that is known for its sights and coziness

• Before heading to Bern, we also took the Schynige Platte open-car wooden train to the top of another mountain --> unfortunately, it was very cloudy and freezing so we were unable to really enjoy this, but I would recommend on a sunny day

• Check out of the hotel and head to Bern --> this train ride offers mirroring views to the one that got you to Interlaken, so can be a quick nap point

• Check into the hotel, eat dinner and head to bed

Day 5: Bern

• Visit all the landmark spots -- we did the following:

  • Rose Garden --> pretty garden with a nice vantage point of the city

  • Bear Park --> really hard to see the bears, but it is very cool

  • Bern Minster --> church

  • Kafigturm --> try to catch the clock tower during one of its songs

• Bern is also good for shopping due to its streets lined with luxury stores and is a cute town to walk through because of the number of trams that run along the cobblestone streets where people are walking side by side

• Head to Gurten Kulm to pass the afternoon --> vantage point at top of nearby mountain with pretty views and a nice area for kids to play

• Eat dinner and head to bed

Day 6: Geneva

• Check out of Bern hotel and take the train ride to Geneva --> pretty standard and nothing special 

• Visit the United Nations Building --> we did not reserve a tour in advance (books out really really early), but walking the grounds and seeing the peace-oriented landmarks was nice

• Walk the streets of Geneva looking at the various watch shops (most watches in the world) and the high-fashion streets -- make sure to see the Jet D'eau

• In all honesty, Geneva was not really worth a spot on this trip --> felt a lot like NYC and not really anything pretty or distinct to take the time to visit. However, since we wanted to go to Paris anyway, it was fine as a one-day stopover 

• Grab dinner and head back to the hotel

Day 7: Paris Day 1

• Check out and take the Gare de Lyon to Paris --> leave some extra time at the station in case they decide to do some border control

  • This train ride is pretty boring as well and not that different from a typical NJ Transit type of train

• After dropping bags off at the hotel, head to the Paris Olympics Village area

  • Walk around the Palace of Versailles and see all of the fun Olympics get up that Paris put on

• Grab dinner and head to bed

Day 8: Louvre + Champs Elysees + Night Eiffel Tower

• Grab breakfast and then head to the Louvre for the world's largest museum

  • It is physically impossible to see the entire museum in a few hours, maybe even in a full day --> pick the wings you are most interested in and get as much done as possible before you get tired

• Head over to Champs Elysees to see the fancy shops, buy some clothes, shop around and get a picture with the Arc de Triomphe

• Take some time to relax and unwind before heading out again after dinner to see the Eiffel Tower at night when it is all lit up and pretty

Day 9: Eiffel Tower + Train to Zurich

• Although the Eiffel Tower is pretty to see when lit up at night, the views it offers are better seen in daylight

  • There is no need to buy the tickets that go all the way to the top; the views from the "second" floor are really high up anyway​

• Grab lunch and then head back to Zurich to end the trip

Day 10: Return home!