Mountain Coasters

Besides the Fräkmüntegg toboggan there are seven other mountain coasters in Switzerland.

Rodelbahn Oeschinensee

Moléson Bob-luge

Gurten Rodelbahn

Pfingstegg Toboggan

Alpine Coaster Glacier 3000

Fräkigaudi Toboggan

Feeblitz Rodelbobbahn

Switzerland Itinerary

Possible itinerary for a Switzerland only trip or rail trips and hiking.

Generally travelling from west to east. (Fly or ride to Geneva, leave from Zürich.)
Geneva > Lausanne > Montreux - by rail or lake steamers
Bern > Interlaken (Gelmerbahn Railway) > Zermatt.
Glacier Express (or its cheaper alternative) from Zermatt to St. Moritz.
St. Moritz to Zürich.
See the "Things to see and do in Zürich" and "Food and Drink in Zurich" pages.
Possibly go to Liechtenstein to visit the National Museum and  tour some of the small villages - see "Little Europe: Liechtenstein" in the video section.

Home of some of the world's great hiking locations - check out my Swiss walks on my Fell Walking page.

Geneva to Zermatt

Geneva to Lausanne or Vevey by boat

St Moritz to Zurich

I will look at doing some hiking around Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland and in area around St. Moritz (see article The 15 most beautiful hikes in Switzerland)

Train travel

Switzerland has an extensive rail network. Two of the most scenic rail journeys according to Travelscope host Joseph Rosendo are:
Bernina Express - Chur, Switzerland to Tirano, Italy
St. Moritz to Zermatt Glacier Express (208CHF, 2nd Cl.) or SBB for 78CHF.

Bernina Express map

Glacier Express map

Another scenic railway is the Golden Pass Line that starts in Montreux and ends in Lucerne with side trips to Jungfraujoch and Lenk. Towns along the way are Château d'Oex, Rougemont, Gstaad, Zweisimmen and Interlaken. By regular rail, Montreux can be reached from Geneva, and Lucerne from Zurich. (There is a second website with details on the Golden Pass Line)

Golden Pass - Montreux to Lenk

Golden Pass

Golden Pass route

Golden Pass map

The Rochers-de-Naye Railway starts in Montreux and goes up to a station near the peak of Rochers de Naye mountain, 2,042m (6,699ft).

The Gornergrat Railway goes from the resort town of Zermatt to the Gornergrat Station, the second highest railway station in Switzerland at 3,089m (10,135ft), with a view of 29 peaks above 4,000m (13,123ft) including the Matterhorn (4,478m or 14,692ft).

Gornergrat railway w. view of the Matterhorn

The highest railway station in Switzerland is the Jungfrau station at 3,454m (11,332ft).

Lucerne

FOOD

Try the Old Swiss House for the best true veal schnitzel, their most popular dish. Located at Löwenplatz 4. Tues-Sat 11:00-14:30 & 18:00-23:30

Accommodations

A good article on places to stay outside of the large towns and cities: 11 Places to Stay in Switzerland for Epic Views of Alpine Peaks and Glittering Lakes.

An interesting mountain guest house is Berggasthaus Aescher.

Berggasthaus Aescher

In Zurich, the St. Gotthard Hotel is a good 4-star hotel only a block from the Hauptbahnhof. It looks very old from the outside but rooms are modern.

Stoos Railway & Fräkmüntegg

Stoos Railway

The steepest railway in the world is the spectacular and innovative Stoos Railway that runs from Schwyz to the mountain village of Stoos. The passenger cabins rotate as the grade increases so that they are always level. At its steepest, the grade is 110% which is an angle of over 45°! It is about a one hour drive from Lucerne, or one and a half hours by train.

Fräkmüntegg toboggan run

Located in Hergiswil, Switzerland, the Fräkmüntegg is one of the longest artificial toboggan runs at 1.35km. It is about a 25 minute drive from Lucerne, or 57 minutes by train. Opne from mid-April to October 22, 10:00-17:30. Here is a video of the run.

Click to view video

Gelmerbahn Funicular Railway

A hair-raising ride over what is really a slow-moving roller coaster, the Gelmerbahn rides through the Swiss wilderness with at one point a 106° plummet. You can either buy a one-way ticket — opting to hike one from the end of the run back down to Handegg — or roundtrip, riding in the cable car back. Cost id CHF18 for one-way and CHF36 for the round trip. It is located near the town of Handeggfallbrücke, about a 53 minute drive from Interlaken. Open from May 26th to October 21st.

Interlaken

A popular steam railway runs from Brienz to the summit of Brienz Rothorn. Brienz is located on the opposite end of Lake Brienz from Interlaken, a 20 minute drive away. UK travel site Wanderlust has a good overview of sites in the area.

Brienz Rothorn railway

The railway terminus at the summit is close to the Berghaus Alpine Lodge located at 2,266m (7,434ft). You can just eat at the restaurant or stay overnight and enjoy the spectacular view — of 693 surrounding Alpine peaks! (From CHF82/night)

Berghaus restaurant and lodge

Interlaken - Brienz Rothorn map

A nice tour of Lake Brienz is available on the paddle steamer Lotschberg which boards from both Interlaken and Brienz.

Loetschberg

High above Interlaken is the Harder Kulm Restauarant which provides spectacular views of both Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.

Harder Kulm Restaurant