For 4 adults and kids 3 aged 8,10,11
Which is the best route
London Paris and Switzerland
Or
Switzerland Austria and Paris we are planning to go in the month of May 2017 for 14-15 days
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16894 posts
Austria has many lovely destinations, but London is great for kids who speak English, since they can understand everything, and get a gentle introduction to foreign travel, before moving on to Paris and Switzerland. Consider a multi-city flight plan, into London and home from Zurich, so you don't have to back-track. With two big cities under your belts, focus on the rural experience in the Swiss Alps, for instance around the Berner Oberland.
Train tickets from London to Paris by Eurostar and Paris to Basel by TGV are cheaper if you book them ASAP. (There's also a direct train from Paris to Interlaken, but it arrives around midnight.) For your time within Switzerland, consider some version of the Swiss Travel Pass plus the free Swiss Family Card that will cover all 3 kids.
If you've already bought roundtrip flights to Paris (?), then you may find it faster to fly an intra-European leg like London-Zurich (www.skyscanner.com) rather than back-tracking by train.
Posted by
Noblesville, Indiana, USA
1375 posts
I like the first route better. The kids will enjoy seeing landmarks, etc. they've learned about in school followed up by the mountains. Sounds like a great trip!
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11408 posts
London - Paris - Berner Oberland in Switzerland.
London - 5 nights
Take the EuroStar to Paris - 4 or 5 nights
Train to Interlaken (about 6 hours but beautiful) then on to Muerren or Lauterbrunnen or Wengen for at least 4 nights.
Fly out of Zurch.
It is a couple of hours from Interlaken Ost to the Zurich airport by train. You night have to go there the night before.
May is a little early for the Berner Oberland but it is, IMO, the most beautiful area to spend time. We found Austria to pale by comparison.