What city/town/region would be a good base for touring?
I am visiting Switzerland for four days and wish to road bike during that time. I Am moderately fit: 50-75 km per day and 1000m of climb is about what I can do
MySwitzerland.com has some good route suggestions...
There's also some cycling trails and maps here
If you are coming to the civilised French speaking side :
http://www.bikeswitzerland.com/
Specialist in all things bike tour switzerland related
I can only reply with my local knowledge but you could consider somewhere like Yverdon or Bulle/Fribourg as a base. If you look at the schweizmobil link above you will see a lot of routes starting or passing through those places that you could use.
If you base yourself somewhere more lively like Lausanne then you will be faced with cycling along the lake or in the vineyards to avoid a steep climb up through the town onto the "plateau" 300m above.. Having said that, the lake road and the vineyards are amazing routes with great views on a clear day.
Be aware that even north of Lausanne to Yverdon this plateau is anything but flat. I have a 60km loop from Echallens to Yvonand then Yverdon and back again and that's 700m in height change.
Another option is somewhere more scenic, Interlaken. You'll be able to find some amazing routes up to Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen or around the lakes I'm sure...
If you get homesick in Interlaken, they have a Hooters bar...
Most areas in what's called the Mitteland will probably do. The more you follow a river or cycle by a lake, and the closer you stay, the less change in elevation there is (exceptions apply). Following a river downstream will let you profit from the general "drop".
The town called Sargans or thereabouts as base would give you three riverbeds to follow, with one going towards the really mountaineous areas. It also gives you good train connections, allowing you to bike one way and hopping on a train the other. This map shows the elevation differences, Sargans is pinned, Firefox is highly recommended. Relatively speaking Microsoft Edge and Chrome are crap for this map. Sargans is just one of many towns that offer multiple options of this kind.
Train connections are excellent, perhaps you want to consider Biking one way and taking a train the other. Should I mention e-bikes? They extend your range and let you take in more of the scenery.
I second all three points. E-bikes make sense in Switzerland, riverbeds are easy to follow and Sargans is a nice place to start.
Try looking at http://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/schweizmobil.html for local bike routes. These will lead you on most scenic and quiet roads. The routes are clearly marked and easy to follow without the map also. (Cyclocross bike recommended, or at least thicker tyres that can cope with gravel once in a while. Worth it.)