Lausanne

Accommodations

• Hotel Agora Swiss Night: 4-star hotel conveniently located to city attractions and the metro. The hotel and rooms are modern with some quirkiness. I will say that my room was actually below ground and kind of smelled like that too, you know that funky, humid, basement smell. That was the only thing that bothered me. I think a room on an upper floor wouldn't have that issue and generally this is considered a high rated hotel.

Sites/Tours

• Chateaux de Chillon: Outside of the city and basking off Lake Geneva. From Lausanne you can take the local train to Veytaux-Chillon for a quick walk to the castle. The grounds are beautiful, walk along the lake further to get some good shots of the castle from afar.
• Wine Country: There are quite a few vineyards that line the coast of Lake Geneva so on the way back to Lausanne from the Chateaux de Chillon, I disembarked from the train at Lutry to explore and found the wine tasting cellar, Caveau des Vignerons. On nice days the cellar also puts a couple tables outside to sip and sunbask. Afterwards grab the slower boat ride back to Lausanne.
• The Olympic Museum: If you've ever gotten into the Olympic spirit, rooting for your home team, this is worth a visit. The museum is located on the banks of Lake Geneva and consists of exhibits indoors and outdoors and the outdoor exhibits are free! If you don't want to go inside or buy a ticket, the outdoor area is vast and definitely worth spending some time at. It's not often you get to see the Olympic flame in person, it made me feel motivated like I should go out and run a marathon or something! Don't worry, I came to my senses quickly.

Food

• Cafe de Grancy: Recommended to me and didn't disappoint. This definitely feels at home with the locals, this is far from a tourist trap. Try to get a reservation as this is a popular place!

Murren

Accommodations

• Hotel Eiger Swiss Q Hotel: 4-star family-run hotel right across from the train station in Murren. This was the hotel I really wanted to land, and was delighted to get it booked and then so happy with the experience here! There are no cars in Murren, so from Lauterbrunnen you can take a funicular then train up to Murren. If that sounds like effort, it's absolutely worth it. You are literally up in the middle of the mountains. You can arrange to have a hotel porter meet you at the train station and they can bring your bags up to the hotel for you, easy as pie! The hotel and rooms are cozy, very ski lodge feeling and you can sit outside the hotel under a big blanket sipping a hot beverage looking out at the mountains - bliss.

Sites/Tours

• Schilthorn, Piz Gloria: Grab the cable car from Murren to head up to the summit. From the top you have views of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. There is also a variety of James Bond exhibits as portions of the 1969 James Bond film was filmed at Schilthorn. Make sure to walk around the whole summit and not just the restaurant/gift shop building. Just keep in mind to have the appropriate outdoor jacket and footwear available. When I took the cable car to the summit, it was dry, sunny and warm at the Murren base. About two-thirds of they way up at Birg, we were in the middle of the clouds and could hardly see anything. Then at the summit we broke through the clouds to a sunny, snow covered summit. The clouds directly below us looked like soft pillows.
• Via Ferrata: Not afraid of heights and like to hike? Climbing the side of a rockface is the way to go! You can hook up with a tour guide in Murren to take you on the Via Ferrata. On the route, there is a steel cable traveling the face of the mountain for hikers to hook into. Additionally, there are areas for optional zip lining and wire cable bridges to slink across. As you hike through, you'll also pass by a wingsuiting station, craziness! I would do this again in a heartbeat, it's definitely an adrenaline thrill. Word to the wise, it's good to have some gloves with you as your hands can get pretty raw clutching to the iron bars along the way. 
• Skydiving: I had been wanting to skydive for a long time and read the jumps over Interlaken were in the top 10 for jump views, so I booked it! I would never tell anyone else they "should" or "need" to skydive. The desire to do this needs to come directly from that person. I will only speak to my experience on this. Bookings go fast, I was lucky to get this ticketed a week before. I was picked up early in the morning (from Murren I had to make your way down the mountain as no cars in Murren). Once at the airfield I got a quick instruction and then suited up. I had chosen a separate photog flyer so along with my instructor we headed to the plane. It is a speechless moment of sitting at the edge of the plane door with your legs dangling out ready to heave yourself fully out of the plane, but once you jump, free-falling is the most peaceful experience and looking out in between the mountains and rivers of Interlaken is breathtaking. As soon as we landed, I said, "can we do it again?!"
• Alpine Cow Migration: This is a hilarous but interesting annual event. It only happens in September so check on the date, but this is when the cows are decorated with flowers and brought down from the mountains for the winter. I was in Murren just after this happened, I could see the cow gifts left around the pavement from the event though. Watch your step!
• Trümmelbach falls: Amazing waterfalls that can be hiked to from the Lauterbrunnen area.
• Jungfraujoch: A higher summit than Schilthorn with a variety of things to do at the top. I really wanted to get over here but didn't have time as this is a full day outing from Murren as you need to go down the mountain and up towards Grindlewald.

Food

• Restaurant Jägerstübli at Hotel Bellevue: Great place to dig into some cheese fondue with dinner in a cozy setting. Staff extremely friendly.
• Hugs & Cups at the Alpine Sports Center: Just the friendliest staff here. Grab a nice hot drink and a cake for a snack. They also have sandwiches made to order, no celophane pre-packaged sandiches here!

Zurich

Accommodations

• Hotel Rutli: 3-star hotel located in the city center. I only stayed here one night and it was so un-remarkable in both I can't remember anything amazing or bad that it was just fine. I think for a one-night stay it's suitable in that basic way. If I was staying in Zurich longer I would look at other options.

Sites/Tours

• Lake Zurich: The most enjoyable area of my Zurich strolling.