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Advice for Paris-Switzerland Family Trip

Posted by (Mississippi - USA) on

My family and I (wife and two teenage daughters) will be travelling from the US to Europe in early June. We are flying into Paris and flying out of Zurich with a full 7 days on the ground in between. Our plan is 3 full days in Paris and 3 full days in and around Lucerne, Switzerland with a train ride in between. I know that it's not a lot of time in either place, but we're trying to squeeze as much as possible into the trip. I have a few questions that I was hoping to get some advice on regarding travel on-ground.

  • What is the easiest and/or most economical way to get from CDG airport to downtown Paris? We are staying a couple of miles from Notre Dame. Uber? Taxi? Train?
  • What is the best option for booking tickets from Paris to Lucerne? There are multiple sites online to buy tickets. I have heard about the Swiss rail pass, but does that only cover trains within Switzerland?

Thanks!

Posted by
1961 posts

Tiger Tide,
From CDG to your hotel: Taxis have a fixed rate 56 euros to the right bank, 65 euros to the left bank for up to 4 people with their luggage. RER and metro may entail some walking with your luggage depending on where that is. I don't like taking luggage on the metro. There may be stairs to navigate and I am not young. Plus, four sets of tickets may not be much less than one taxi ride. You will probably be tired as well. Just be sure to get your taxi from the official taxi line, not from anyone who approaches you. Follow the blue footprints and the signs to the taxi queue. It moves very quickly and the taxi will drop you at the hotel.
Trip to Switzerland I don't know. We almost always use a car. I am sure someone here will chime in with excellent advice.
Have a fun trip!

Posted by
6171 posts

Good advice to use a taxi from CDG to your accommodations. The difference between 4 airport tickets for the RER/Metro and the fixed taxi rate is worth it for 4 tired, jet lagged people who are new to Paris.

Yes, the Swiss rail pass only works within Switzerland. The French rail line is SNCF. https://www.sncf-connect.com/app/en-en/home/search/od

Posted by
291 posts

I recall taking the RER from CDG to central Paris then getting a taxi to our hotel - wife was exhausted and 5 yr old daughter fell on the escalator in the station - only to find out the hotel offered a direct transfer service! Ever since then I’ve learned to book a car or hire a taxi when the price wasn’t outrageous. In this case the taxi fares quoted above look like a good deal.

For the train to Lucerne you should just buy train tickets, you don’t need a rail pass. It looks like swissrailways.com is the official site for trains to/from/within Switzerland but others may have more details. You should go ahead and book the high speed train from Paris to Lucerne (Luzern) to get the cheapest fare, but you can wait until you’re ready to leave for a regional train from Lucerne to Zurich. Good luck!

Posted by
1961 posts

johnt,
CDG to Paris has been at a fixed rate for years, and always a bargain for 3 or more people, IMO. Private transfers usually cost quite a bit more and are unnecessary from CDG (or Orly, for that matter, unless it is provided gratis is by your hotel).

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