Mother Daughter Trip - Take Two

Jesse,, there are positives to going in July. HOtels are often cheaper then June or September for one.

I would take Eurostar to Paris, then train to Germany.

I think you will have a great trip in July,, I do agree Italy can be very hot then ,, plus with 2 weeks I think three main places are enough( plan a few daytrips out of city centers, like Bath from London, Versialles or Giverny(Monets house and gardens lovely) and I don't know where in Germany, LOL )

Staying in three hotels and daytripping is more relaxing then jumping about anyways.

So encouraging! Thank you!

Jesse- Glad things are looking more positive. London in July can be marvelous. Consider any of these as great day trips from London by train: Windsor (day or half-day), Cardiff Wales, Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, York, Canterburry, Dover, Brighton. If you don't want to do the Eurostar train stratight to Paris, you could take train to Dover, then spend the night, then ferry to France, then train to Paris. Get to see a bit of France that way. From Munich you can do great day trips to the concentration camp, to Salzburg, the salt mines, Burchesgarten and Hitler's Eagle's nest. I'm not as familar with Paris, so others can give you ideas for that. In fact, you might want to consider staying in Salzburg instead of Munich- a bit smaller and one of my favorite places- you could still catch the plane in Munich with either a train or bus ride from Salzburg.

Dear Jessie,

Sorry about your delay. Toni makes a good point re Austria and maybe even part of Switzerland. Two days in Munich is plenty. Have a great trip!

I thought about Switzerland! But have always heard how expensive it is. Could anyone recommend a route? What train would you use if you were going Paris to Switzerland to Munich?

To stop by Switzerland for a few days, you could go Paris to Basel by TGV; there are "Piccolo" fares available (I saw 97 Swiss francs for this but there may be better prices).

From Basel, you would head to your chosen destination in Switzerland---the carfree villages in the Berner Oberland are a favorite spot, and accommodation there need not be all that expensive. (Swiss cities like Zürich and Luzern, on the other hand, are definitely expensive). Consider the villages of Wengen or Mürren, or for something even smaller or more rustic, Rick's favorite, Gimmelwald. Send me a Private Message if you'd like budget suggestons for either Wengen or Mürren, or other places nearby that we like.

From the Berner Oberland village of your choice, it is an easy trip to Zürrich, where you can catch a direct train to Munich, with advance-purchase fare of 39 euro on the "Europa Spezial" deal.

If you want to pursue this idea further, I suggest you start a new discussion thread with reference to "best train fares for Paris---Basel--Zurich---Munich" in the title so the experts like Lee and Tim can help you.

It should be lovely in Switzerland in July.

thank you thank you!!

Jesse - If you are planning on taking the Eurostar from London to Paris, you may want to book your train tickets soon. The lowest one-way fare is running £146.00 for 2 people. As time passes these cheaper fares will disappear.

**** Update ****

Jesse - I went back to EUROSTAR.COM and did find 2 tickets on the 6:55 am train to Paris for £78.00. That works out to a total of $120.

I found London to Paris eurostar tickets for a total of $122 for 21 July.. I hope I'm looking at the correct place...

Jesse, when you go to the Eurostar website, when they ask your country of residence make the UK.

here's the itinerary I've worked up in the last few hours (planning is my therapy to get over to loss of my trip :D)

Day 1 Arrive am – London

Day 2 – London

Day 3 – London

Day 4 – London ; Evening London to Paris

Day 5 – Paris

Day 6 – Paris

Day 7 – Paris

Day 8 – Paris

Day 9 – Paris – morning to Switzerland

Day 10 – Swiss Alps

Day 11 – Swiss Alps – Leave to Munich

Day 12 - Munich

Day 13 - Munich

Day 14 – Fly home from Munich

I know another day or two would make it less rushed but we would really like to see the Alps.

Do I not need to book my Paris to Switzerland early? It seemed so much cheaper that way...

I believe you get the best prices on train tickets, as well as best options for accommodations (particularly the good budget ones) by booking ahead.

Weather in the Swiss Alps can change daily or even hourly. There is no benefit to waiting around in Paris and then dashing to Mürren when you hear it is good, as it may have changed by the time you get there. And even if it does change, it may well clear up by the next day.

I think the best way to ensure some good weather is just to schedule 3 nights there (if you can), so you have parts of 4 different days. It may well cloud up or rain during that time, but it is also likely to be sunny at some point. In 4 trips and a total of 8 weeks there, I don't think we've ever seen two solid days of clouds and rain in a row, but we have had many multi-day streaks of pure sunshine. Most often it is sunny for several days, then clouds up and rains for half a day, then clears again the next morning. It's the mountains, so the only thing you can really count on is that the weather will be variable. Take a rain jacket and don't let it interfere with your fun and enjoyment of the place.

Sounds wonderful. I think we will do three days there. I'm am currently looking in to accommodations ..

Jesse,

Your last Itinerary looks reasonable, however I agree with a previous suggestion to drop a day from Paris. You'll need to allow for travel times from Paris to the Alps, and you'll require about six hours for that. The route I'd use departs Paris Est at 08:24, arriving Interlaken Ost at 13:57 (time 5H:33M, one change in Basel, reservations compulsory). From there you can use the Berner Oberland train and Post Bus to reach either Murren or Gimmelwald.

The trip from the Alps to Munich will be a bit longer. The route I'd use is a train departing from Interlaken Ost at 08:01, arriving Munich at 15:16 (time 7H:15M, one change in Karlsruhe, reservations compulsory). Note that you'll have to depart Gimmelwald/Murren very early in order to be at Interlaken Ost by 08:00. Later trains that day have as many as 5 changes, so I'd prefer the one I suggested above.

Have you decided yet which area of the "Swiss Alps" you will be visiting? My recommendation would be either Murren or Gimmelwald (depending on how much "country" you want to experience). Murren is a bit larger with a greater range of accommodations and restaurants. However, Gimmelwald is one of Rick's favourites and is also a wonderful place to visit.

You indicated that you were planning to book the same B&B's as you had previously, but requested suggestions. In order to make suggestions, it would help to know which part of each city you would prefer to stay in, and what sort of accommodations you would prefer?

So you would suggest leaving Paris for Switzerland on day 8?

I was thinking the same thing. Also, I think I have decided on Murren and have been looking in to accommodations. I am definitely looking for a budget option, but still clean. Something small and friendly.

Same goes for London, as the people who run the B&B we had reservations at will be on holiday.

Our original B&B in London was a GREAT deal (about 55 GBP) but I know that will be hard to find this time around.

I think we would like to stay with in walking distance of a park in London and maybe in a cute neighborhood but other than that I still haven't narrowed it down or looked at all the options.

Jesse,

I stayed in the London Victoria area on my last visit, and while I didn't see any Parks, it was a nice part of town and very convenient for transportation. It was also walking distance to some of the major sights.

In that part of London, www.limetreehotel.co.uk/home.htm is very popular, but I enjoyed my stay at www.cartrefhouse.co.uk and would certainly recommend them. A lot of restaurants could take a lesson from Derek on how to promptly serve a full English breakfast!

In Munich I would HIGHLY recommend www.hotel-uhland.de/enwelcome.html - they're in a nice "residential" part of the city and they provide the BEST breakfast in Europe (at least from what I've seen so far).

Cheers!

Hotel Uhland is actually where I was planning on staying before my trip was canceled, I'm hoping they have availability still this July.

Hotel Uhland is a great choice in Munich. I hope they have room for you on your new dates.

In London, we like the Sanctuary House, near Westminster Bridge, and a block from St. James Park. We walk thru the park to get anywhere we want to go, connecting thru Hyde Park if need be. For the other direction, it's acros the bridge to the walk along the Thames past the London Eye to Millennium Bridge. However, they are only cost-effective on weekends.

In Muerren, the best budget option is Chalet Fontana. Gimmelwald has some good options as well. The two villages are 25 minutes apart (walking), with Gimmelwald being downhill from Muerren. The walk is on a steep but paved path. The only grocery store is in Muerren, although there are small shops in Gimmelwald that sell cheese, etc. Hikes and walks would be the same from either Gimmelwald or Muerren.

I'll send you a PM with thoughts on hikes on the area.

Jesse, You've been in my thoughts and I'm so glad to hear your trip is still on. I won't contribute to the itinerary since there's already been quite a bit of discussion and I think all of the suggestions are good. I will say I just booked a room in Lauterbrunnen for September and was surprised at how few rooms were available. If you want to be in that area, I'd jump on that task first because you'll have more options in London, Munich and Paris. Enjoy your trip--safe travels!

Thank you for all the help! I have successfully booked Blades Hotel for London, Chalet Fontana for Murren, and Hotel Uhland for Munich.. all sounds like great places, this trip will be wonderful!!!

Now I just have to figure out Paris..

Jesse, you will enjoy the Blades in London. In Paris the hotel Grand Hotel Leveque is nice and a good location.

Jesse,

For Paris (depending on which area you want to stay), you could consider:

• Hotel Duquesne Eiffel

• Hotel Muguet

• Hotel Grand Leveque

• Hotel du Champ de Mars

All of those are in various parts of the Rue Cler neighborhood. Check the Guidebook for descriptions of the Hotels, rates and websites.

There have been some comments that Rue Cler is "too touristy" but I like the area. It's close to some of the major sites (Eiffel Tower, Invalides), has easy access to transportation (Ecole Militaire Metro stop) and has some good restaurants and other facilities.

Cheers!

You might also check for studio apartments at www.VacationInParis.com.

They have well-priced apartments that rent by the night, not the full week. We had one in the 7th Arr., just a block off Rue Cler, for 5 nights and it was great. We enjoyed the option of shopping on rue Cler and dining "in" once in a while instead of going out for every meal. There is a ground-floor studio (with a patio) in the same building we were in. It is called the "Garden Studio" and rents for $140 a night.

http://www.vacationinparis.com/

There are other apartments in that area, and all over paris as well.

This is an american company and very professional and easy to deal with. You pay in dollars with a credit card; no hassling with wiring money into someone's account, and no hidden fees.

Apartments in Paris are fun, as you can live like a Pariesienne (or at least pretend to).