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Zurich to Paris via train

My husband & I (in our early 60's) will be traveling from Zurich to Paris in June, via train. We are looking for recommendations for a 2-3 day stop along the way. We prefer smaller towns rather than large cities & sadly, we do not speak French. Our plans are flexible at this point, so we're very open to suggestions.
Thanks!

Posted by
2300 posts

Colmar, France. You could easily take the bus to one of the smaller villages if Colmar feels too big.

Posted by
6783 posts

Colmar is a very good option.
Another one, if you want to compare, is Dijon, in Burgundy, which also gives good access to nearby Beaune. Dijon is a small, manageable city, but you could also stay in Beaune since you prefer smaller towns.
2 days there would be enough for me (rather than 3).

Posted by
7181 posts

Besancon is the closest to a town, but with enough for two days. Without a car, it's harder to recommend an actual small town. Gustave Courbet's town, Ornans, has some charm left . Perouges is quite special and beautiful, but an effort by public transportation. You should probably choose Strasbourg, a small city. But I like the Colmar idea.

Edit: Are you skipping Basel?

Posted by
1156 posts

I would do Strasbourg and visit Colmar. If you want to visit some of the smaller wine villages in the area, a car is advisable, or you can get a tour out of Strasbourg. Strasbourg is a lovely city, and the La Petite area is so charming. Beautiful cathedral as well. There is a charming boutique hotel directly across from the train station that we recommend - Hotel Arok. That way you have easy access to the trains to get you around to Colmar, etc. You can easily take the train over to Gengenbach, Germany from Strasbourg as well. It's only about a 35 min. train ride as I remember. Gengenbach is a very pretty village with nice shops and restaurants. There is so much to see and do in the area. Then you can grab the high speed train to Paris which will only take about 1:43min. It goes by quick.

Posted by
22 posts

We are taking a Rhine River cruise prior to Zurich, which disembarks in Basel. We're planning on a short day in Basel (not overnight), then taking the train to Zurich for 3 days. It looks like we will change trains in Basel on the way back, in order to get to either Colmar/Strasbourg or Dijon. There are so many lovely places to see, it's hard to fit it all in!

Posted by
19654 posts

If you are going on a Rhine cruise, you will be stopping in Strasbourg for a day. Also perhaps a day trip to Colmar the following day. So i would do Dijon and Beaune, which are easy to reach by train. You can look at doing an all day van tour of Burgundy with several wine tastings along the way. Some of the companies who do this ceased activities due to the pandemic, but there should still be some operating again. Google it.

I would skip Zurich. Do Luzern instead, which is easily reached by train from Basel.