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Travel from Paris to Switzerland to Belgium and Amsterdam

Hi i am planning to travel with my wife to Europe on a 10 day trip on Dec 23 rd.
I heard that france is not that much to see...so i decided to stay in paris for 2 days , and then to Switzerland (3 or 4 days) , and from there to Belgium (2 or 3 days) and amsterdam (2 days)..

1.) Is my choice right ?
2.) Where will be the Christmas celebrations best and New year celebrations best ? (I want to celebrate both in different places)
3.) Can u guys suggest any other places or these countries will be fine for a 10-12 day travel ?
4.) Is it worth visiting Luxembourg en route ?

Posted by
1976 posts

Welcome to the forum drsafehands.

I heard that france is not that much to see....

Just be carefull with this kind of lets say ironic remarks :) knowing that the Eiffel tower alone welcomed it’s 300-millionth visitor last week....

If your choise is right is hard to say as it depends about your interests. Best is to read a few guide books and get an idea what will attract you. So finding out if you are interested in cities, castles, museums, lovely country side etc. But as this will be your introduction to Europe you can start for instance what a lot do in Paris... and combine it with a visit to Amsterdam or London. You will not loose too much travel time and easy to do with public transport. But this is just an example, others will have certainly different opinions about it.

Luxembourg (city and country) is nice, but not a top destination. In case you want to combine Switzerland with Amsterdam not bad as a place for staying overnight if you have a car, but dropping a rental car in another country is very expensive.

Posted by
8889 posts

If you want to visit Paris, Switzerland, Belgium and Amsterdam that is the wrong order. Paris is in the middle. You need to do Switzerland - Paris - Belgium - Amsterdam or vice-versa. Luxembourg is not "en route" between any of these places.
You need to fly into one place and fly out of another to avoid doubling back.

"I heard that france is not that much to see" - I don't know where you heard that, many people spend weeks in France year after year, and are still finding new places to see.
1 days is not enough for Paris, I would say 4 nights minimum.

I think you first need to decide what sort of places you want to visit (towns, mountains, countryside, ...), then pick the places, then work out the order.

The dates you have chosen are not the best. Christmas markets END on 23rd or 24th December, you will miss them. Most places will be closed 24th and 25th December, and 1st January. Paris, Belgium and Amsterdam will be cold (0-5°C), probably wet some days, and the days will be short (gets dark ~17:00).
And what do you want to see in Switzerland? This is peak skiing season, unless you ski you will have little to do, as there will be too much snow for walking.

How are you planning to travel? I hope the answer is by train.

Posted by
3 posts

In France there's so much to see. I live next to it and i'm gioing each year for the last 20 years and still have seen like only a tiny bit of it. I would suggest going to Paris first and then take the Thalys train to Brussels and from there the train to Amsterdam and for the finish fly to Switzerland. Christmass in Paris would be a nice thing to do. I Brussels you would still have the Christmass markets till and of year. It's a nice atmosphere with all the stands, lots to eat and drink, all the lights,...

Before going to Amsterdam you could go to Bruges, it's a nice mediëval town, a bit calmer than Brussels. Amsterdam is a nice, fun city to walk in maybe interesting for new year (https://www.iamsterdam.com/nl/uit/oud-en-nieuw-vieren). Keep in mind that it will be cold that time of year. If you're lucky its cold and nice clear weather, otherwise its rainy.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you ..For your inputs guys..
1.) Which dates would u suggest for travel ....
2.) When would be the markets and discount offers available ?
3.) I can take only 10 day off..If this is the case i could only celebrate either New year or Christmas right ?
4.) What about the weather ? Would snow / rain spoil sightseeing ?