If I can't talk you into seeing better places in the world than Italy or France then here's my two cents:
Skip Paris, see the French countryside. Skip Rome, see the Italian countryside.
I've only see Switzerland from the air so I can't tell you anything about it.
Now, if you really want to enjoy yourself:
See the sunrise on the beach at Penang on the Staits of Malaysia where you stay in a five star hotel for fifty bucks a night and see maybe twenty people on the beach all day.
Eat Maui-Maui on a banana peel while sitting on a volcanic outcropping off Mersing, Malaysia, where the turquoise water is forty feet deep and you can see the crabs crawling along searching for food.
Wander along a green and red coral reef off Bahari Beach in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, where the sand is the size of small pebbles and completely white.
Take a motor bike trip through the Serengetti, and stay in the bush for ten days taking pictures of everything from giraffes to rhinos.
See the Seychelles.
There are some beautiful places in the world that are not man made, but the travel agencies are going to try to get you to places from which they can make the most money.
At any rate, I wish you a safe and very happy trip, and may God return you safe and sound.
It's funny you said that about skipping Paris. I'd actually considered that. Given that we'll only have about 3 days I think we should pick one place in the French countryside and explore it. Where would you go, considering what I've told you?