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(Paris & FrenchRiveria, Florence) vs (Paris and Switzerland)

Dear travellers,

we are in a process of planning 12 days trip to Europe. We have been to south africa, munich, new zealand, london and scotland. Visa is done and Paris would be our landing point. We are a couple aged 28-32 with no kids. We are not that interested in art and architecture. we are bit confused between visiting (Paris, French-Riveria, Florence) vs (Paris and Switzerland). please guide us on choosing our destination. or if you want to suggest any other route, you are most welcome. We would be travelling from 22 August to 5 Sep 2015.
I would really appreciate your response.

regards,
hs

Posted by
8552 posts

If you are not interested in art then Florence makes no sense as the only real reason to visit is its very dense and wonderful Renaissance art heritage and resources.

I am not sure I understand the question here. You should go to the places that offer what you want to see and do. I dislike Switzerland and would never go there again (although to be fair I did not do mountain village hiking which sounds attractive) But if you are attracted to Switzerland there must be a reason.

Posted by
183 posts

We did Paris and the French riveria. We flew from CDG airport to nice , spent a few days there went to Monaco by train , and you can go to Cannes . Then fly back to Paris .

Posted by
16895 posts

I guess you are choosing between beach and mountains and both are beautiful. Although you will have crossed into September, the French Riviera and Italian Riviera can still be crowded. If you go into Italy, you could fly back to Paris from Pisa, instead of Florence; see www.skyscanner.com. I'm guessing that Switzerland, for instance the Berner Oberland, is the more popular destination with your fellow Indian travelers, but you need not do the same.

Trains in either case are reserved, high-speed TGV, which are fairly expensive tickets. Any available discounts sell out quickly. Compare prices at www.capitainetrain.com and www.raileurope-world.com (for residents outside North America). Once you've decided that, I'd start looking for hotel reservations, too.

Posted by
4853 posts

As Rick notes, once Bollywood started featuring Swiss locations in their films, Indian tourism skyrocketed. On my trip to the Bernese I saw many Indian couples and families, and noted that along with the expected Chinese restaurants near train stations I also saw Indian restaurants.

If you're looking for the Great Outdoors, but at a Great Price, Switzerland can't be beat. If you're outdoorsy and want to see and hike mountains, that's the ticket.

Since you are tied to Paris, you could try looking at the various TGV routes that radiate from there and pick a location that sounds good that way. For instance, you can TGV to Lausanne if you want to be on Lake Geneva.

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you for your suggestion. So we have decided to go to Paris and Switzerland.
It would be really great if you can suggest an itinerary for us. we are four adults with one kid. We would land in Paris on 24 august 15 and departure from zurich on 5 september 15. we intend to spend 4 nights in paris. then from paris head straight to geneva. we are not too keen to do skiing or hiking.
We want to cover following things:
1. paris to geneva train. night in vevey(explore geneva,montreuxx,vevey, broc choclate factory, gstaad, gruereys) - 2 nights. or do you suggest 3 nights?,
2. do you suggest zermatt given the weather during first week of september. and how many nights should we stay there. and any cheap accommodation. 1 night or 2 nights in zermatt., whatever you suggest.
3. zermatt to interlaken. Jungfrau, and other places. 2 nights interlaken. or do you suggest any other comparatively cheap accommodation in nearby villages like gridelwald?
4. interlaken to lucerne. 2 nights in lucerne. cover mt. titlis,Chapel Bridge,Swiss Transport Museum, the IMAX Theatre or the Lion Monument .
5. head to zurich apt.

Posted by
8552 posts

Be aware that in Paris you will have to get two hotel rooms at least as the max in a hotel room is 4 and they count kids as people. There are one or two 5 person hotel rooms in the city but it is very rare. People have been turned away from the hotel when they for example book a double and then turn up with a baby. You must book for the number in your party including children. The decision to fit an extra person is is the hotel's not yours.

You may already know this but it is not something you want to learn when standing at the hotel check in.

Posted by
16895 posts

So instead of just 2 adults, I now understand your trip to be for 4 adults and a child. If you get a Swiss Travel Pass or Half Fare Card, request the free Swiss Family Card, which covers any children under age 16 who are traveling with a parent or legal guardian. You can buy these at Geneva or Lausanne train station (or the pass for 8 consecutive days is also sold as a print-at-home e-ticket, about $390 per person).

If you travel from Paris on 28 August and fly home from Zurich on 5 September, then that is 7 nights in Switzerland, not enough for 2 nights at each stop.

Posted by
4853 posts

since you don't sound like the outdoorsy types, why bother going to Interlaken and the Jungfrau? Because that is what they are geared towards.

Posted by
219 posts

Hi- quite a few years ago we did the same trip only backwards. There were 6 of us. 4 adults, 2 kids ages 11 and 15. We flew into Zurich and made our way by car to Paris. We stopped at Lake Brienz(beautiful!) on our way to Grindelwald, stayed in Grindelwald for 2 nights, then headed to our next destination, Zermatt. We stopped and rode the tram up to the Schilthorn and then to Murren for lunch, then stopped at Trummelbach Falls before heading out. Zermatt was great, no cars. You park the car and take train up. We were there in April so my husband, my older daughter and I skied, we met my parents and younger daughter up at the top of Klein Matterhorn to walk through the Glacier Palace to see the ice sculptures.
After 3 days in Zermatt we headed to France. First stop was for lunch in Chamonix. From there we headed to Annecy, spent the night and part of the next day poking around. Then we headed to Paris where we spent the next 3 full days. We had 2 rooms at the Opera Cadet in Paris. One of our daughters stayed in our room, the other in my parents room.
As has been mentioned, the Jungfrau area(Grindelwald) and Zermatt are havens for hiking and outdoorsy stuff. The mountain scenery is absolutely beautiful. I hope to get back to Switzerland during a warmer season to be able to do more hiking.
If you aren't into hiking, I'm not sure what else there would be for you to do in Zermatt other than going up to the Glacier Palace.
We had planned 2 nights in Zermatt but on day 2 when we headed out to go skiing the guy at the ski rental store recommended coming back and skiing the following day since they were calling for clear weather. Since we had no definitive plans we stayed. The Matterhorn and surrounding peaks had been socked in so we saw pretty much no scenery other then the village of Zermatt. When we woke up that 3rd day...all I can say is our jaws dropped when we looked out our hotel window and there the Matterhorn was, as big as life:)

Posted by
7175 posts

I think you have it right ...
Paris (4)
Geneva (2)
Zermatt (2)
Luzern (3)
Zurich (1)
I get the impression that you enjoy being in the outdoors without too much hiking or strenuous activity. Zermatt and Luzern give you lots of options here for passive enjoyment with mountain railways and cablecars.