I am looking for suggestions for an itinerary for a trip.
I will be traveling with 2 other friends September 20 - Oct. 5. We arrive in Paris at CDG airport at 6 am and want to take a train to Basel, Switzerland, spend the night and possibly rent a car and travel from Basel to Charmay (to see the Cows come down the mountain), then drive to France and do the Alsace wine road, then back to Paris.
What suggestions for areas to visit and should we rent a car or travel on trains?
Thank you
There are a few morning TGV departure directly from CDG Terminal 2 to Strasbourg with one connection to Basel. Last-minute tickets cost about $140 at full fare, 2nd class. Advance-purchase discounts can be much cheaper, but allow plenty of time for delays, since the ticket is no good after departure of the train. The 9:00 train works if things go relatively smoothly but a later train would be a safer bet.
You have a lot of options for where to drop a car. But if returning in France, then be sure to pick up in France, or check whether the Basel location generates a second-country drop fee. If you stayed in Strasbourg the first night, you'd clearly pick up the car in France and also avoid one train connection.
Right now, you can get 3 seats on any of the TGV on Sept 21 for 29 EUR each, Prems fares. The walkup price is 130 EUR. So it would be a good ideas to spend the first night in Paris, relax, unjetlag, then go to Basel the next day.
As far as renting a car goes, you want to return it in the same country you rent it to avoid drop-off charges. So maybe Mulhouse is a better destination and rent there. You must buy a Swiss vignette for your car as soon as you enter Switzerland. It is 40 CHF.
The cows are coming down on Saturday, September 24. Should be popular so book lodging in the area (Gruyeres?) ASAP.
http://www.la-gruyere.ch/en/page.cfm/charmey/events-charmey.html?eventID=29534313&datefrom=2016%2D09%2D24%2000%3A00%3A00%2E0&resortid=823
You can take a train all the way to Gruyeres or Broc and then take the postbus to Charmey, if you don't want to rent a car there. Then take the train to Colmar and rent a car there for Alsace.
