College Students Traveling to Visit Friends Abroad, Paris, to Switzerland to Florence to Rome

If money is an issue, it’s cheaper to fly than a train.. Also, Switzerland is very expensive. For just a little over a week, I’d skip Switzerland.
Check out rome2rio and the man in seat 61 for more information.

Sounds super exciting! In my experience, the more cities or countries you visit, the more time you spend on the "transitions" rather than soaking up the culture. Checking in and out of hotels, getting to and from train stations, all take more time than I ever plan on.

If it's all about bagging as many countries as possible, sleep on the trains and travel super light. Your biggest meal should be lunch, and "picnic" for breakfast and dinner. Buy rolls, lunch meats, cheeses, etc. and skip the prepared foods.

I do recommend reconsidering Switzerland. We've been to Europe 15+ times, and Switzerland is the most expensive by far.

For low-cost lodging, I would consider staying in hostels. For more recommendations, take a look either online or through RS guidebook for the locations you are considering staying in for options.

When is this trip? Switzerland is better at some times than others. And there may be a better route through there than via Geneva ( I am thinking Bern and the Berner Oberland if the season is right).

I gave my college-age sons a trip to Germany and Switzerland when one of them was on his way to a study abroad program in Florence. They flew to Paris, then took the night train to Munich ( which may not exist any more) , then a regular train into Switzerland. They stayed at the Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald and had a wonderful time.

This doesn't have to be terribly €€€, but it will take some planning to keep the train costs down. Cross-border tickets can be much cheaper if bought ~ 3 months in advance. Such tickets are non-refundable and cannot be exchanged, thus the necessity for good planning.

We are flying on Thursday, March 12 arriving at 12:30 on March 13th and Flying out March 19th at 5:30

You only have 5 full days plus the afternoon you arrive and the day you depart. Is that 5:30 am or pm?

If you want to visit friends in Florence, better spend 2 night in Paris, then fly to Florence. Then take a train to Rome airport

Arrive in Paris at 12:30 noon 5:30 pm depart out of rome

I had the idea of taking the train from Paris to Geneva then Geneva to Florence then Florence to Rome.

I too concur that you must be aware that Switzerland is 25%-50% more expensive than surrounding countries.
And if you are landing in Paris on 13th March and Flying out from Rome on the 19th, You barely have time for Paris + Florence + Rome, no time for Switzerland.

If you have some extra days (and money) to spare, Geneva is not the place to go. You do not go to Switzerland for cities, you go there for mountains.
The usual recommendation for first time visitors is Luzern and/r the Berner Oberland.
This is the official tourist site for the Jungfrau region of the Berner Oberland, things to do, places to go and hotels: https://jungfrauregion.swiss/en/summer/
And yes, you can get by train to all these places from Paris, and onward to Florence.