Hi all! I was blessed enough to win a trip to Switzerland on Swiss Air for a spa rejuvenation vacation at Bad Ragaz. So my friend & I have to fly in & out of Zurich in order to make the price cap. We decided to make the spa trip for late September, & do it after stopping in Italy & France beforehand. I think we'll have about ten days (14 really but I took into account travel time between areas) total for those two countries, & I figure we concentrate on Paris & Rome since I KNOW we won't have enough time for much else & those two seem to have the most sites to see. Question - what would you suggest the best route/way regarding getting to Paris/Rome from Zurich? Like where we should go to first & best mode of transportation? As for itinerary, I don't care what we see so long as I get to see the Eiffel Tower & she just wants to go to Italy. Both of us are first timers to Europe, female & travelling from our home in Kauai, Hawaii so mahalo for any help!
Posted by
Chicago
7871 posts
I have only considered that you mention Paris and Rome as on your list, if you are young fit in good health and don't hate to fly
to maximize time I would recommend you fly direct from Zurich to Paris (stay 3 or 4 days) then to Rome (stay 3 or 4 days) and then back to Zurich. Once you commit to some form of that then you can fine tune what to do on the days based in Paris And Rome.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Since it's your first time in Europe, get a copy of Rick Steves Europe Through The Back Door ASAP. This has all the "nuts and bolts" of European travel - transportation, food options, finding hotels, etc. You'll also want to get his Rome and Paris books. Depending on what you're doing in Switzerland, you may want his Switzerland book too. These will have specifics about hotels, what to see, opening hours and transit to sights, etc.
Have you considered focusing on Switzerland? It's not cheap, but if you're used to Hawaiian prices it won't give you too much sticker shock. September and early October is supposed to be one of the best times for getting good weather in the Alps (but there's never any guarantees). On the other hand, Rome and Paris are indeed spectacular. Difficult choices, I know.
If you do want to see Rome and Paris, you can take a train from Zurich to Paris, then fly from Paris to Rome, then fly from Rome to Zurich.
For best prices, you need to buy trains and flights in advance. These only go up in price closer to travel, but you have to able to commit to non-refundable and non-exchangeable tickets, so don't book until you're sure.
For the train between Zurich and Paris, use Swiss Rail: http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html.
For flights from Paris to Rome, use Skyscanner: https://www.skyscanner.com/
Note that many of these flights will be on budget airlines. You should do a "dummy booking" (up to the point where you put in your credit card) to see all the rules and fees. The budget airlines enforce all the rules strictly, as that's how they make their money.
Paris has three airports and Rome has two airports. While either of Rome's are fine, and Paris Orly and Paris CDG are fine, be careful of Paris Beauvais - it's quite far from central Paris, and will take more time and/or money to reach compared to the other two.