Paris to Beaune to Lucerne

Hi Pumpkin,

The train trip from Paris to Beaune takes 2-3.5 hours, depending on the time of day you travel and type of train you take. There are several direct trains on both high-speed TGV trains as well as slower regional TER trains, but most trains involve a switch in Dijon. Getting from Beaune to Luzern takes about 3.5 hours and two train changes (Dijon and Basel). You can use the German Deutsche Bahn website for looking at train schedules and routes anywhere in Europe: www.bahn.com. None of these trains will travel on the Bernina Express route, which is between Chur and Lugano. The only scenic train trip that would make sense on your route would be a section of the Golden Pass between Luzern and Zurich, depending on where you are going after Luzern. See the official website for details: www.goldenpass.ch.

On the current timetable ...

Paris to Beaune
1) TGV 9211 Dep 10:23 PARIS GARE DE LYON (France) Arr 11:58 DIJON VILLE (France)
2) TER93007 Dep 12:12 DIJON VILLE (France) Arr 12:30 BEAUNE (France)

Beaune to Luzern
1) TER60872 Dep 11:29 BEAUNE (France) Arr 11:48 DIJON VILLE (France)
2) TGV 9211 Dep 12:01 DIJON VILLE (France) Arr 13:26 BASEL SBB (Switzerland)
3) TRN 2327 Dep 14:04 BASEL SBB (Switzerland) Arr 15:05 LUZERN (Switzerland)

y'all are awesome!!

rome2rio is your friend.

FWIW, the TGV heading from Paris towards Lausaunne goes through Dijon, not Beaune.

Because your train connections are thru Dijon then it may pay to make this your base and day trip to Beaune on local trains.

The only scenic train trip that would make sense on your route would
be a section of the Golden Pass between Luzern and Zurich

Which route do you mean, Rich? As far as I know the "Golden Pass" branded train starts at Luzern and runs basically east on the Brunig Pass line to Interlaken via Meiringen, then continues via Spiez and Zweisimmen to Montreux. changing trains 3 times when the gauge of the tracks changes.

The line between Zurich and Luzern is normal main line train line and I struggle to see where it is particularly scenic.

You are correct Nigel in that the Panorama trains run between Montreux and Luzern and involve changes in Zweismen and Interlaken, but the official Golden Pass route actually runs all the way from Geneva to Zurich (or vice versa). Regular Swiss trains run between Geneva and Montreux and between Luzern and Zurich, with Panorama trains between Luzern and Montreux as well as some classic old time rail cars between Montreux and Zweismmen. See the official site for complete details and schedule - www.goldenpass.ch.

While the most scenic portions are between Montreux and Interlaken and Interlaken and Luzern, it's still a fairly scenic ride between Zurich and Luzern. Given Pumpkins locations, it's the only scenic line that makes sense. I assume she is flying out of Zurich, but don't know that for sure, as she didn't say. Depending on how much time Pumpkin has in Luzern and where she is going afterwards, she could take the Panoramic portion to either Interlaken as a day trip, or do the entire route if she is flying out of Geneva. If she is flying out of Zurich, then it's still a nice ride. The other Swiss scenic rail journeys, such as the Glacier Express, William Tell Express and Bernina Express most likley won't make sense.

If your schedule allows, I would suggest taking the Golden Pass scenic train as a day trip from Luzern to Interlaken and back. Having taken all the Scenic Swiss trains, this is one of my favorites! The Bernina Express is also nice, but as Rich noted, it doesn't make sense for your itinerary unless you were to break it up by spending a few nights in Pontresina and Lugano along the way, taking the William Tell Express from Lugano back to Luzern.

All train cars have windows, so if you're passing great scenery you will see it. I don't see the need to get hung up on the panoramic-ness of the glass. And also don't get hung up on taking pictures, take in the view instead.