Two days between Luzern, Switzerland and Paris - what to do?

Will you have already spent some time in Paris? If not, and you're thinking you'll be sick of "pretty", why not just go to Paris and spend your two days there? There's tons to see there and it's also "pretty" but I think it's fun city for children.

yes we are spending 5 days at the beginning of our trip in Paris but I guess two more would be good too!

Two words: Paris Disney. Kids will go nuts!

Disney Paris. It might be some fun downtime for the kids and a treat at the end of the trip for looking at "all those old buildings and churches," as my son would say. If you have a car, Provins is an interesting 12th century medieval town about 45 minutes away. You can also take a direct bus to Provins from the Disney train station. You can even climb the old tower. You could do 1 day at Provins/relax and 1 Disney day, if you didn't want 2 days at Disney.

I agree. Disneyland Paris. I was there last year and found it fun (and I don't have kids).
I actually went from Paris to Lucerne and spent 4 days there. It is a beautiful city. What are your plans there? I reccomend the boat ride across the lake to Mount Rigi, cogwheel train up, cablecar down and boat back to Lucerne. It takes the better part of a day but the scenery is breathtaking. Have fun!!

thanks for the suggestions! I had thought of DL Paris but then read some reviews that it was just aok - BUT - maybe after weeks of beautiful mountains, quaint villages and yet another church it will be a sight for sore eyes :)

yes - thank you for Lucerne suggestion. we plan on the boat, cogwheel, mountain tour - sounds great! we have been to the city twice and have never done this so looking forward to it!

definitely Disney Paris, you can buy a 1 day ticket and then decide at the end of that day if you want a 2nd day (anad upgrade your ticket before you leave) or to do something else. Again, Provins is a lovely, easy 1/2 day trip. My kids loved DLP (and they have been to WDW a number of times and did not care for Disneyland). The rides (Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion, Space Mtn, Pirates, etc.) are different at DLP, plus a few more. The various hotels have fun themes too.

I'd recommend Engelberg before Luzern, if your weather cooperates. http://www.engelberg.ch/en/

Our family - with older kids than yours - had a similar trip last summer. We spent 10 days in and around Paris, then took the TGV to Basel, and continued on the Swiss trains through Luzern to Engelberg. We wanted a mountaintop experience, and snow in July - and we loved those days there! We stayed two nights at the Hotel Edelweiss Engelberg, which is a Swiss Family Hotel, with some programming for younger kids that your kids might enjoy. We didn't take advantage of that, and many of the activities happened in the week days, not on the weekend when we were there (but they sounded fun).

We loved the serenity of Engelberg - so quiet, truly surrounded by mountains, and we could hear cowbells in the distance as we sat on our balcony. We took a day trip to Mt. Titlis on Saturday (3 cable car rides!), which was a grand adventure to the snowy peak 10,000+ ft. above sea level. My kids had a blast sliding down the snowy slopes on their feet (and rear ends) - we did not do the Ice Flyer ride which was a chair lift over the glacier. I think if you do that you have access to snow toys for more sledding/tubing. There was a glacier cave, and suspension bridge walk, and of course spectacular views. We had packed a picnic lunch, and enjoyed it in the Panorama Room of the complex, with awesome vistas everywhere we looked.

There are a lot of hikes in and around Engelberg, and we took a short one on Sunday to visit a pretty waterfall, and then enjoy some apple strudel in a Swiss style restaurant. We then relaxed at the hotel and in their small hot tub and lap pool, gazing at the mountains and soaking it all up. We checked out late afternoon, and took the short train to Luzern, where we spent our last three nights. We did not go to Pilatus or Rigi because we had the excellent Titlis experience. But we did take a paddlewheel steamer to Weggis for some exploring, and a great lunch the day before we went home. We were surprised to find a Mark Twain monument in Weggis - he called it the most charming and serene place he'd ever lived.

For us, those restful days up in the mountains were truly what we needed after the busyness of Paris, and our time there ranks as one of the best parts of the whole trip.

Also, we took a train from Luzern directly to the Zurich airport and flew home from there - this saved us some money, and also time by not returning to Paris. The trains run every half hour, I think, and it was an easy connection. And lastly, we used our last Swiss francs to buy chocolate from the Coop in the airport! :-)

So, those are some other options you might consider.

Have a great trip!
Laurie