I traveled to Annecy a few years ago for business and would like to return. Instead of taking a river cruise I am thinking of an itinerary that makes geographic sense. I was thinking of flying to Geneva, staying a day or two and then taking train to Torino. We would stay there a few days and head to Annecy for a day or so. My wife and I would take the train from Annecy to Paris for 2-3 days. My wife has never been to Europe and I thought this 7-10 day itinerary would allow us to see Switzerland, Italy and France and only have to take train to travel to and from. I am wondering if this plan makes sense or are there other stops that may be substituted?
Posted by
Somerville, MA
605 posts
Your trip makes sense, though I would likely substitute Chamonix for Geneva and Beaune for Torino.
Matt
Posted by
3245 posts
That sounds like a great trip. I loved Torino, but we made the planning mistake of being there on Easter Sunday and Monday - practically everything was closed for Easter, and most of the main attractions are closed on Mondays - the Palazzo Reale being one of the few exceptions.
Posted by
Paris
9565 posts
I love Torino, but for this short of a time, I would fly into Geneva, take the bus or whatever to Annecy, and then go to Paris from there. You don't have time to do Paris and Annecy justice if you add in Geneva and Torino too in only 7 to 10 days.
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
I agree with Kim. I don't think much of Geneva as a place to visit, and visiting Geneva is not really visiting Switzerland except in a technical sense. Getting to Annecy from the Geneva airport is very easy by bus or taxi, and it would be worth spending a few days there.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
5581 posts
I don't know where you are flying from. Where we live, we typically don't have a whole lot of options. Last year I was very surprised to be able to book tickets to Basel (connecting in Paris) for about the same price as our typical price to go to Paris. If you can fly into Basel, you can take a train to Luzern or Berner Oberland and get a real swiss experience. From there you can take the train to Geneva (I can't recall you might have to change trains in Lausanne) In Geneva you can then take the bus to Annency. A commentor mentioned Beaunne. Beaunne would be a lovely stop between Annency and Paris.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
5581 posts
This would also work if you can fly into Zurich. I typically don't look at Zurich because it is an expensive city to get to from our airport.