Paris + medieval town + Switzerland?

Describe what you hope to see in a medieval town? Are you hoping for a section of half timbered buildings, stone buildings, ramparts, important history, port, old cathedral? I can think of some places but I want to know what you envision as an ideal medieval town. I haven't traveled between Paris and Switzerland yet; I usually try to recommend something that's fits well with your itinerary.

You may want to rethink Switzerland in April. It will still be cold, probably freezing cold, in April. You may still be able to ski in April but the hiking trails won't be open. Personally I'd think Paris, which might be cold in April too, and then south looking for a little better weather.

Thanks, Brad. I don't know if this helps, but we really enjoyed Bruges, Belgium and Meersburg, Germany. So somewhere like that:) I appreciate your tip on the cold in Switzerland, though. Our dates are not really flexible, as it's spring break for school. So if we take Switzerland out of the picture, I'm fine going south from Paris to find our medieval town!

Because you didn't mention car rental (or not), and whether you have been many places before, it's hard to evaluate your actual preferences. I'd also note that "half-timbered" is normally not "medieval". Your short OP doesn't reveal enough to give real recommendations - in that sense, people telling you "you don't have enough time" means that you aren't approaching this realistically.

Bruges might make more sense than Switzerland in April. But Strasbourg (a big city with an old core) is an easy train ride from Paris. And there are smaller towns in France that also fit the bill. If you want to feel that you "accomplished" something, you could hit northern Alsace briefly after Strasbourg. France has so many regions that are so different, that a family that doesn't "get to do it often" can make the most of one single country.

It might make more sense to make a circular car trip returning to the Paris airport. But an open-jaw flight returning from Brussels, Amsterdam, or even Cologne might make sense too. It would be helpful to know what might please the boys. Are they resistant to traveling? What makes a new place exciting for them?

I'd also note that "half-timbered" is normally not "medieval".

Half timbered building construction was a part of building practices in Europe from Roman times to late 19th century. There was a small fachwerk museum in the town of over 900 half-timbered buildings in Quedlinberg Germany where we stayed for a month. The town was like a living museum where you could see the oldest style, wattle and daub, up to some nicely timber carved "modern" 19th century styles just by walking down the streets and looking at the buildings in various states of repair.

I'd second the idea to head east after Paris to see Strasbourg or Colmar for a taste of charm, canals, castles nearby, wine and regional cuisine.

Depending on where you are in France or Switzerland, you'll likely have more rain than snow in April. In Switzerland, so much depends on elevation. The climate is quite mild where we are and we get very little snow, but you can travel ten minutes to a higher elevator and have it. Switzerland is beautiful no matter what season, but I would recommend flexibility with your itinerary so you can travel a short distance by train and change the weather to suit. You could easily spend the day in a Swiss village, then in the evening soak in the wonderful Les Bains de Lavey or similar, which is very popular with families.

http://www.lavey-les-bains.ch/en

Fair questions, Tim. Boys are not resistant to travel at all and thrive on it. What would make the best trip, I think, is the variety. So we see a big metropolitan, modern city (Paris) and then a...mid-sized city...and a small town? As different from each other as possible? To accomplish that within a manageable drive or train ride is probably a challenge. And we are open to car rental, but have a slight preference for the train. Other than Paris, we are not bent on any kind of "must-see" checklist of landmarks or museums.

If you want to drive from Paris and return from Switzerland, one town we love is Semur en Auxois -- we spent a week there once and have stopped for a night a couple of times. https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2010/08/25/medieval-towns/ Two nights with a full day to explore would be great here.

I really would give Switzerland a miss with so little time -- I am not sure the mountain hiking is available in April yet and the big cities are expensive and IMHO comparatively unpleasant. It takes two nights to get one full day -- you lose a day with each major move. If you do try to do this in so little time then definitely fly open jaw. Paris is a great lousy weather city -- medieval towns much less so. Paris for 5 or 6 nights and thus 4 or 5 days would be a better choice imho than a quick stop thee.

Definitely consider open-jaw flights to save a bit of time and allow you to travel farther without backtracking.

Consider visiting Paris then take the TGV to Switzerland. There's really nothing like the high alps, especially as a contrast to Paris. Pick a location you like and you can access almost anywhere by train or bus. I fly in and out of Geneva, but quite often with a connection through Paris. I would check both for prices on flights since you can easily take the TGV to both if you opt for these two countries.

It's not an actual town where you can stay but you can visit Guedelon castle in Treigny France. About 2.5 hours from Paris. It's a construction project attempting to build a medieval castle using original materials and techniques. I found it fascinating.

wiki page

web site

You might want to investigate Provins, which is a small medieval town an hour's train ride east of Paris:
http://www.provins.net/en/heritage-and-sightseeing.html
It has good medieval walls and also, throughout the year, falconry demonstrations and other historic demos.

Or go big time and visit Carcassonne in southern France. I'd have killed to go there, when I was in high school.

The choice of what is possible is partially decided by your method of travel, car or train. From Paris to Switzerland train is so much easier. A lot faster and it delivers you from Paris city centre to your chosen alpine valley.

By train, it is easy to get to either Strasbourg or Colmar by train, and onward by train to Switzerland. Strasbourg is a big city, Colmar is a medium sized town. Other options are Rheims (famous cathedral) and Troyes. Troyes is not on the fast rail route to Switzerland, only recommended by car

One lovely place in Switzerland is Gruyères (where the cheeses comes from). Worth a half day. A picture perfect one street town with a castle at the end of the street, click here for photo and another one here. It is slightly indirect to get to by train, slightly easier by car.

Bern has a nice old town. Photo here, and can be done as a day trip from many Swiss locations. Don't forget to say hello to the bears.

If I may be allowed to plug the place I live in, Basel has a nice old town and is en route from Paris to the Swiss Alps. Photo 1 and photo 2.

As for a location in Switzerland: Berner Oberland, somewhere in the side valleys above Interlaken; Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, Mürren, Wengen, ....

If Paris HAS to be in the mix, how about from Paris to either Reims or Strasbourg down through Colmar for a few days. Check out the enchanting villages in that area. Bike riding possibilities? Then, continue (all this via train, btw) either to Basel/Bern/or Mürren depending on time, weather, etc. Yes, renting a car for the Alsace seems advised, but not an option for me. If Paris were not in the mix, you could start along the Rhine or take some time in the Black Forest.

I have been wanting to do such a trip for awhile, but have not found the time. Could be fun!

I would look at Brugges,Carcassonne and Strasbourg,they offer nice medieval areas.In Switzerland I would look at Lucerne with its access to Mt Pilatis and Mt Rigi.
Mike

Thank you everyone, for your generous replies! I'm going to consult both Rick's books and a map and see what we can pull off. And thank you for steering me away from Switzerland...that's what I mean about "too ambitious." When you look at the map, you think "oh look--it's just another inch to the right and we can see a whole new country!" That should be a trip of its own.

My problem with your going to Switzerland isn't the distance. It's that the weather in the mountain areas is very iffy at that time of year, and some of the lifts are closed at times for maintenance. At Swiss prices, you really don't want to spend your days chasing good weather, or sitting in your hotel room watching TV because your planned day got rained out.

If you liked Bruges, look at some smaller cities in Holland. Utrecht, Delft, and Leiden are ones I've seen, but I'm sure there are other pretty ones. Or, if you want a bigger city that's still very different from Paris, you could see Amsterdam. From any of these, it's easy to get to AMS airport for your flight home. Just be aware that since April is tulip season, it can be difficult to get hotel rooms; if you are definitely going then, it's not too soon to start looking for rooms NOW.

Thanks, Harold. I agree with the distance and weather obstacles posed by Switzerland. In fact, we have seen Amsterdam and Kuekenhof Gardens in the prime of tulip season! I was trying to keep this trip all about France. Paris would be a must-see kickoff to the trip, and then I was hoping to dial things back, pace-wise and "bigness" wise, while not spending too much of any one day on the road.

We did an impulse drive from Lago Maggiore to overnight in the Lauterbrunnen Valley in Switzerland in late May and it was FANTASTIC. That said, I agree with everyone who suggests you skip it in April. We were so so fortunate in that the day we were there was the only day it wasn't raining and thunderstorming for a week before and after. I'd go back there for more alpine hiking in a heartbeat but I'd move my trip farther into the summer for good weather.

A wonderful place to visit in Switzerland is Gruyere in one day you can visit the Gruyere Cheese Factory, Gruyere Castle with small town, and the super cool Alien move themed bar, and the Callier Chocolate Factory- another great tour. . Many people mentioned the weather in Switzerland at that time of the year, anything can happen at anytime this valley is not at a high elevation.

Slightly different, but a good trip for kids. Think about Roman ruins in Nimes and Arles and enjoy Province. Carcassone in about 4 hours by car from Nimes.

Hi Bill, another town you might want to consider is Amboise, France. It's just 2 hours from Paris by train. Amboise is a quaint little place and a nice contrast to busy Paris. I think your sons would enjoy the castle and Clos Luce where Leonardo Da Vinci lived from 1516 to 1519.

If you have time, there are several other chateaus in the area. You can make arrangements to see them through the Tourist Information Center.

Donna, I agree - our family enjoyed Le Clos Lucé very much after touring Amboise. We didn't stay overnight in Amboise, as we were on a Loire Valley tour, but I've heard lovely reviews of staying in these towns and then driving around to explore the chateaux. Chenonceau was our favorite chateau, but Clos Lucé with all of the daVinci models and history was really interesting for our kids. I'd suggest visiting the chateau at Amboise before Clos Lucé.

What about starting in Paris, then Loire Valley, then head south to explore more and fly home from southern France?

Laurie