Notes

• There aren't really any turnstiles for the trains. Make sure to buy a ticket beforehand for periodic random checks on board.
• Swiss trains, unlike their neighbors in Germany, are pretty much always on time.
• The app, SBB Mobile, is great for both checking timetables and routes, as well as buying tickets. Would recommend using it over buying tickets from a machine.
  • Note, however, that it cannot buy cross border tickets. So any trains that terminate in a country other than Switzerland cannot be bought on the app, or on machines.
• It's very hot in the summer.
• English in the main cities, as well as the major tourist spots in the alps, is good, and communication shouldn't be an issue.
• I would recommend that you take some cash with you. Most places take card, but there are enough exceptions that it's a worthwhile backup.
• If you want to buy a watch as a souvenir, don't worry about getting it in a specific place. Everywhere sells watches in Switzerland. Prices are about the same if you're buying new. Swatch group owns most of the watch brands these days.
  • I would recommend going with some kind of mechanical watch, likely an automatic. Automatic means that it self winds. Usually there's a disc on the back, which your normal hand movements will spin and wind up the main spring. Automatics are usually cheaper than manual winding watches, and more convenient.
  • The cheapest automatics usually start at $400 or so.
  • The easiest way to check if the watch is mechanical or quartz is to check the seconds hand. If it clicks in smooth increments less than a second wide, then it's mechanical. If it's exactly 1 second movements, then it's quartz. This has to do with the optimal frequency of quartz oscillations.

Urban Cities

Zurich

Zurich is fine. It still has many historical buildings alongside the lake, but there isn't necessarily a whole lot to do. It's Switzerland's biggest city, and home of ETH Zurich.

Lucerne

More scenic than Zurich, Lucerne is a nice, albeit still very hot in the summer town that hosts a lot of tourists every day. You can get on a boat, or go on a walking tour along the mountains and walls.

Alpine Towns

All of these are easily accessible via Switzerland's fantastic train network.

Grindelwald

Zermatt