Help with Switzerland/France itinerary

I have lived and worked in this area and will respond over the next few days. I can assure you that you won't run out of things to see or do.

To help me come up with suggestions, can you tell me where you're from (generally -- not looking for an address) and what kind of geographic areas you've already experienced or enjoyed in your life?

Will you have a car or use public transportation? Annency to Lyon is quite lengthy via train. Have you looked at google maps to estimate travel time.

It doesn't look like you really have time to explore Basel, itself? same with Bern?

We liked Bern for a day, Basel its a pretty, colorful little city. We love Alsace, especially the little wine villages like Eguisheim, Ribeauville, Riquewihr, etc. Colmar and Strasbourg are nice. Even nicer, the little villages.

Days 4,5, and 6 should find you sleeping in the Berner Oberland. Switzerland is know for its majestic Alps, so why visit the cities? Granted you're a little early for some mountain trails and lifts to be open, but the scenery will still be fantastic. Push the mountains towards the end of your trip, and if possible, push the Swiss part into June.
Have a wonderful trip!

You picked some great locales!

YES... the Alsace region (Colmar & Strasbourg) is amazing! It's like traveling through a fairy tale.
Also, loved Geneva, Annecy, Lyon (try to go to Perouges-medieval city), Annecy is lovely (try to take a boat tour), and Chamonix is fantastic!!!!

Be sure to post a Trip Report when you come back!

Thanks so much, Bob! I appreciate your time!

I'm a currently a US resident. I've also spent a significant amount of time in Scotland as that's where my dad is from.

My partner and I have only been on one other trip together that wasn't family oriented, and that was to Rome and Florence. We absolutely loved it, but we're looking for something that is a slightly different pace. I hope that helps! Thank you!

Hi Jules,

We were hoping to rely on public transportation and avoid renting a car if possible.

Just a quick look on Google Maps, Annency to Lyon is quite a journey on public transportation. I'm just looking at Google maps, and I think it is 2 hours each direction.

Both Lyon and Chamonix have plenty to see/do that a day trip will short change them both. Will you be driving or relying on public transportation for your day trips? If it is the latter, Annecy has good bus and train connections to Lyon, but Chamonix options are fewer each day. Check on that.

Note that Chamonix and Geneva airport are well connected by airport transfer buses and it only takes 1.5 hrs to travel between the two. You might want to consider overnighting at Chamonix and taking the bus to Geneva airport to give yourself more time in Chamonix.

I didn't visit in May so have no idea what the weather might be like. You might check wunderground.com for historical weather in these areas. Chamonix was very rainy in mid September, but Geneva, Annecy, and Lyon were drier and warmer.

We were looking at Chamonix for late May but found hotels and aerial trams closed until June 7.

Looks like a great list of places to see in not quite enough time — and with two out of three “bases” (Basel and Bern) that you don’t really explore for their own merits. 6 “day trips” plus 4 travel days out of the 12 listed days. Fortunately the travel days are not long travel days, though time spent checking out, getting to the train station, traveling and then checking in will take a four hour or so bite out of each travel day, more or less.

I am not sure of all the travel times; some are quick, eg Basel to Colmar and back. Longer to Strasbourg.

Perhaps a little less will be more for your 12 days

Since you mention cycling, have you considered a “self guided” cycle tour? We did a trip in September that included four days cycling … Strasbourg - Obernai - Ribeauville - Colmar - Colmar. With arrival and departure days plus an added day in Strasbourg that was 6 nights (“7-days” counting arrival & departure) for us. We are big fans of self-guided cycling trips.

You could do something similar and cut it down to five or six days or even less and add another six days or so based in Interlaken or Thun, perhaps and focus on the Swiss portion of your plan and not go to Annecy.

Or, skip the Bern base, Grindelwald and Gruyère and focus instead on Annecy and the French Alps.

For self-guided cycle tour resources and planning, look at https://www.freewheelingfrance.com/. We arranged our trip with Le Velo Voyageur who we’ve used several times. They show six trips in Alsace of two to eight days. See this link. [Late Note - they will work with you to revise a trip, eg, change Strasbourg to Colmar to Colmar to Strasbourg, or eliminate the Colmar loop day] Our Trip Report (Cycling in Alsace, as well as in Burgundy) is at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sw-germany-e-france-alsace-burgundy-pt-3-of-4

After Burgundy we did spend 3 nights - two full days - in Lyon. There is certainly a lot to see there. As a day trip, I’d suggest you pick just two places to see or things to do.

If you're using Basel as a base you're going to want to spend a day (minimum) exploring that city. And don't bother going all the way to Strasbourg, go to Mulhouse instead. Visit the French Automobile Museum there (which will take hours if your boyfriend has any interest in cars.)

Myself, I'd pass on the whole "Alsace" and head to Bodensee. It's perfect in late May and you could easily spend a week right there.