Switzerland to France

what kind of wine do you like? Do you want to take some home from the winery?

Congratulations on being cancer free. First, I would pour myself a glass of French wine and watch the Rick Steve France TV episodes (on this website) So I'm thinking you could choose one of three of the following wine areas--1. Loire for Vouvray, Saumur and Chinon wines (and more) and you can visit chateaus with amazing gardens (chenonceau and villandry). In the Loire, a quaint village would be Amboise. 2. Burgundy for medieval, quaint villages and Burgundian food and wines. There are MANY quaint villages including Noyers sur serien and Beaune. I really loved the wine route for Beaune to Dijon (Route de Grand Crus). or 3. Alsace for off-dry white wines like Reisling and Gewurztaminer. I think the wine route through Alsace is amazing beautiful with all kinds of quaint villages--Eguisheim, Riquewehr, Ribeauville, and more. A bigger city, but still quaint is Colmar. I like the smaller villages better but Colmar is lovely and it would be less busy in April.

Of the three wine areas I described, I think having a car is very desirable. I am typically a train/public transportation person, but I think you'd miss a lot without a car. Of the areas, I think a car is most necessary in Alsace. However, if you base in Colmar (Alsace), Beaune (Burgundy) and Amboise or Tours (Loire) you should be able to find a tours to take you around.

Yes, congratulations. Five years is a good milestone to celebrate!

I will follow up on the post above with a "second" for Colmar. It is a short train ride from Basel in Switzerland ( a city worth visiting in its own right, if you have time). We spent two nights there is a lovely modern apartment with a balcony overlooking the canal in Petite Venice (Little Venice). I highly recommend the apartment, which can be booked through booking.com ( they do not have their own website).

https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/reflets-sur-la-lauch.en-gb.html?aid=356980;label=gog235jc-hotel-XX-fr-refletsNsurNlaNlauch-unspec-us_wa-tab-L%3Aen-O%3AosSx-B%3Asafari-N%3AXX-S%3Abo-U%3AXX-H%3As;sid=d48ac6ac55aa8e84de266da7308ff22f;dist=0&keep_landing=1&sb_price_type=total&type=total&

Or Google "Reflets sur la Lauch" to find reviews. We had the "Terrace apartment". The table on the terrace was a lovely place to sit and enjoy a glass of wine with a view. No elevator to the flat, unfortunately. Marie is a great hostess and will meet you at the train to take you to the apartment.

The Alsace wine region makes more than off-dry Riesling and Gewurtz. The Pinot Blanc is dry, and one of my favorites.

From Alsace, perhaps make your way through Provence or other region to Paris ( I will leave this part to others who are more familiar with France). Allow at least five nights to spend in Paris before flying home from there.

To answer the non-wine part of the question. Strasbourg is a good city to stop in between Switzerland and Paris. Good train service both from Switzerland and onward to Paris. Colmar and the Alsation wine road are a second option. Colmar by train, but then you need a car to visit the wine villages.
Info here: https://www.alsace-wine-route.com/

Also consider Dijon, same advantages.

Your next destination might depend on where your daughter is living; if in the French section, a stop in Bourgogne could make sense (and then possibly, a journey South before ending in Paris). If up near Basel, just drive into Alsace first, then Paris and then perhaps the Loire or Bordeaux.

My daughter lives in Zurich. We will be staying with her and will be seeing the sights in Switzerland. Don’t know exactly where she will be taking us. What would be the best plan? I was thinking all along to visit Zurich first then to France. Don’t know if we should go to Paris first or visit the countryside first and then travel to Zurich.
I think I have been misunderstood. We do want to go to the wineries but not the main reason . Definitely want to go to Monets gardens . Also wanted to visit Provence. Thanks for your help.

That is a lot of territory to cover -- if you want to add things after Zurich, you really do have your choice of next destinations. You can fly or train to your next city as your next destination is not as clear. You could go to Paris by train and stop in Strasbourg and the Alsace, perhaps. Giverny is do-able as a day trip from Paris or you can hit it as part of a Normandy/Brittany visit (or a drive to the Loire valley). I do encourage you to visit the French section of Switzerland while visiting your daughter (where I used to live, in the north part of the lake)

The South (a pretty large distance) will have better weather but please note in the smaller Provence villages that some places in areas such as the Luberon do not re-open for the season until mid April (the larger cities/towns are fine).