We spent September 2001 in Switzerland, rented an apartment in Locarno (definitely not central but we wanted warmth and to sample Italy too), and used a Swiss rail pass to take day trips.

Try to see Lugano(consistently friendly people, beautiful lake, Swiss-Italian cuisine); Basel (loaded with architecture, history and charm); Zermatt (cannot go and not see the Big M).

Some photos and travelogues here: http://www.ualberta.ca/~pletendr/swiss/

Cheers, Pat