free spirits need help with adventure

Limited funds are key words here.

Being a free spirit is much easier with money,lol

Last minute train fares are not cheap at all!

Suggest to forgo Switzerland train journey s of not flush as that can take a big bite out of budget

Sue-there are lots of low-cost airlines these days that can jet you within Europe quickly and relatively cheaply, so you might be able to see the Alps from your seat at 30,000 feet (or lots of clouds).

If you're working your way from Paris to Italy by train, take a day or 2 to see some of Provence in southern France (Avignon, Arles, Vaison la Romaine, etc.).

Look into the cost of a night train. Since it is last minute, I'm not sure what fares you'd see. If it is near the cost of a room that you might otherwise book, it may be a way to see some of the alps and countryside one the way to Rome. Also look at the cheap airlines. It may mean giving up the alps, but it would be a cheap way to get to Rome and do some more sightseeing around Rome or a couple of day trips from Rome.

Happy travels.

If you want to take a train through Switzerland ( which is the logical route) you can. If your trip is a month or two away, you might well be able to fine deeply discounted advance-purchase train fares from Paris to someplace in Switzerland on the French train site SNCF. Then you can get a really cheap fare on the train from places in Switzerland ( Luzern, Spiez) to Milan on the Swiss site, SBB.ch. Then buy a Super Economy fare from Milan to Rome on Trenitalia.

This will only work if your trip is still a month or more away, and longer is better as these fares sell out.

Switzerland doesn't have to be that expensive. If you are truly adventurous, you can stay in Matratzenlager (dorms) in beautiful mountain inns for 35 to 40 CHF per person, with breakfast. One that work with your plans is the inn up at beautiful Oeschinensee.

Www.oeschinensee.ch

Take the train from Paris to Bern and then onward the short distance to Kandersteg. You get to the Hotel Oeschinensee by gondola. If you do this, your next ticket would be Kandersteg to Milan, via Brig.

There are other options going via Luzern, which is a prettier train journey, but it am not familiar with hostels or budget accommodations on that route.

Good luck. Switzerland is beautiful and well worth the effort to figure out how to see it on a limited budget.

Also check with Denise at chalet Fontana in Mürren. Her double rooms are a bargain at 90 CHF with breakfast. Buy lunch at the Coop grocery across the street! and have dinner at Tham's Asian restaurant.

Then your route would be Paris to Interlaken with the cheap discount ticket ( if you can get one), and on to Mürren on Swiss tickets. Pay for Mürren to Luzern and spend a night there ( unfortunately I am not familiar with budget options there other than Der Goldene Stern. Try that one. Then you would get a discount ticket from Luzern to Milan from either SBB.ch or Trenitalia.

If you fly from Paris to Rome as suggested above you will have to buy lodging for those same four nights in Rome. It is an expensive city. ( I have been looking at prices as we would like to go there next). So why not spend your money on what you really want to do, which is take the train through Switzerland and spend some time there.

Agree with Lola. Switzerland has always been expensive but with some advance planning it won't break the bank. In my student travel days we used Lets Go Europe to find cheap lodging and eats; also the tourist desks at the train stations. I've read Lets Go isn't as good as it was. Lonely Planet is a good source for advice on budget travel.

I understand from a later post that you're training from Paris to Munich. The same DB web site can also sell tickets at the best price from Munich to Venice, either a direct daytime or overnight train. For connections within Italy, it's not too expensive to buy tickets as you go, or you can get some advance discounts at Trenitalia.com.