Advice needed for 10 days in Rome, Paris, Geneva

For this wide ranging itinerary, to me it makes sense to fly into Paris then fly to Rome, train north to Geneva and end in Munich.

Flying into Munich and then trying to go all the other places seems the hard way to try to do this ambitious schedule

Now you have my $0.02

I would not take the train between Paris and Rome - I fly - there are so many cheap airlines -

Thanks, but the plane tickets are already purchased for Munich. He will have luggage that we will either need to stash in Munich and then pick up again, or take the luggage to Salzburg to be picked up before we go running around. Otherwise, I might have flown into another airport. I am NOT running around Europe with a large suitcase!

Yes, it is an ambitious schedule. Maybe I'm trying to put too much into it. Paris and Rome were his requests. And when I asked his preference between Rome and Paris, his request was "day train". The trip is for him. I've been there (though I'm sure I'll enjoy it all with my person history guide).

Our main problem is that we are hindered by my son's luggage.

We will need to either use Left Luggage in Munich ($60) or take the bags to Salzburg where a friend of a friend might pick them up for us. If we use Left Luggage in Munich, we have to retrieve it at the end. The school will pick us up in either Munich or Salzburg.

As far as train vs flying. Train is about $200 for 2 people. Flying would be about $184, PLUS a motel room in Rome. And, we would get into Rome a little later than I am comfortable with at 9 PM. We'd probably sleep better in the motel, but...

Cut Geneva also you have too much zig zagging

Geneva isn't very interesting in itself, and it is really not on the way from Paris to Salzburg. I would either go straight from Paris to Munich by train or plane, or stop in Heidelberg for the night if you want to break the journey.

Also, Rome to Paris by train for only $100pp, are you sure? It seems very low - I'd reckon $150-200 since September 1 is quite soon. As for the scenery, well, it's mostly high-speed lines so there's not a lot to see. Big plus for the environment though.

Rome to Paris is at least 11 hours by day train. One itinerary has you changing stations in Milan from Milano Centrale to Milano Porta Garibaldi in only 35 minutes. The other has you changing trains in Geneva in only 8 minutes. If you do want to visit Geneva (why?), it would make sense to do a stopover there on the way to Paris. Then take a train from Paris to Munich. There is a direct TGV at 15:55, as well as several options in similar travel time (under 6 hours) with single connections.

Geneva also has free bikes to rent.

www.geneveroule.ch

Your son may have stated a preference for taking the train from Rome to Paris, but this is probably a time when you need to explain to him that your research has shown you that that is an extremely poor use of your time, given all you are trying to fit into these dates and how danged long it takes to get between those two cities by train.

It is definitely a route best done by plane. Check SkyScanner for options, and be careful about baggage options. Also, avoid RyanAir and flying into Beauvais.

Maybe I've forgotten what it's like to travel by train. It's been 20 years since we were there last. We loved running all over the place by train, long and short distances. We were cheap and never had reservations for anything. It was great! And I'd like to share that with my son. You say that there are lots of cheap airlines. But flying comes with it's own set of money and time expenditure like getting to/from the airport and the waiting for flights, etc. And, you don't get to see much out the windows!

I choose the train from Munich to Rome because it's cheaper and an "experience". If we flew, we would arrive in Rome late in the day and still have to negotiate getting into town and finding our hotel (extra expense). Instead, we can arrive, find our hotel and then sight see.

After being the ultimate Rome tourists for 4 days, we choose the day train to Zurich by way of the Bernina Express. It's all about resting our feet and enjoying the scenery! We will spend the night in Zurich, then take an early morning train to Paris where we will be tourists again for almost 4 days. Then, TGV to Geneva where our friend will meet us and be our personal guide in Geneva. Again, visiting Geneva is more for nostalgia than for sightseeing opportunities. Although, there are things my son wants to see while there. If we stopped in Geneva on the way to Paris, we wouldn't get to visit with the friend's husband much because he works.

Finally, take the train to Munich where we will be picked up. I know that there is a lot of crisscrossing in this itinerary that could be avoided. However, there is no perfect way to align things for our friends and for what we want to do. Could we see more if we flew, maybe. Could we do more if we streamlined the trip (ie. going Rome-Geneva-Paris-Munich). Probably. But, as it is, we are getting to see/do all that we set out to see/do.

Am I misguided?

But, as it is, we are getting to see/do all that we set out to see/do

That being the case, there is no need for additional comments from us here in the peanut gallery.

Enjoy your trip!

If you mind is made up then I suggest you enjoy your trip.

The problem with coming for validation is that we don't know you and your child, and we do know about efficient travel.

cut Geneve and stick to Paris and Rome

"But flying comes with it's own set of money and time expenditure like getting to/from the airport and the waiting for flights, etc"

AND contributes hugely to the degradation of our environment!