My husband and I will be celebrating our 10 yr wedding anniversary and can't quite decide on what all we want to do. We thought it would be helpful to get advice from all of of you! Last fall, we traveled through Europe for the first time and had the most amazing experience! We hit the major cities - London, Paris, Rome and a few other random places like Normandy, Capri and Kraków, Poland. It was great, since we had never seen any of the major monuments (but, a little chaotic.) So, this time around, we would like to explore more of France and possibly Switzerland. We'll have around 2 wks to travel and don't want to overdo things (e.g. Change cities every 2 days). Originally, we were planning on flying into Paris, spending a few days there and then taking the train out to Eastern France to visit Annecy. We would spend a little time there before heading down to Provence and the French Riviera. But, since we're trying to make the most of the time we'll have and keep things on a budget, we were considering flying into Geneva and exploring that area of Switzerland, before heading into Eastern and Southern France. Flying into Geneva would mean that we wouldn't get to return to Paris. Which, for me, is a little disappointing, but I love the idea of getting to see Switzerland since we have never been. (We're just concerned about the cost of traveling in Switzerland...) Does anyone have suggestions on things or places we must see? Suggestions on where to fly into? Is it best to fly in and out of the same city or fly into one and fly back out of southern France? (It seems to be much cheaper to fly in and out of the same city.) On our last trip, we discovered that our favorite parts were just exploring the nooks and crannies of random towns - especially if they were more historic vs. industrialized. We usually keep things fairly budget friendly - we utilize airbnb, cook at home when we can, go to free and cheap events/museums etc. Originally, we were planning on going in September, but I've had a job change and we're considering leaving in about a month since I will already have the time off between jobs. (This way, I won't have to take off unpaid leave from work, but flights are pricier.) Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6508 posts
I haven't been to Switzerland but I understand it's considered one of the most expensive countries to visit in Europe, so if you want to go there you should try to travel as cost-efficiently as you can and look for chances to save. If you're going in mid-June you might find that a lot of alpine areas are still snow-covered, which would limit your options. This might be a reason to visit Switzerland after France, giving the snow a little more chance to melt. But others will give you better advice about Switzerland.
If you use a search engine like Kayak or Skyscanner to find flight options, you should consider the "multi-city" option instead of one-ways or round-trip. That means flying "open jaw" into one European city (Geneva?) and out of another (Nice? Paris?). It might cost a little more than a round trip to the same city, but you'd likely spend more to backtrack to your arrival city than you'd save on the airfare -- not to mention the time involved, which you want to make the most of on the ground. When you've identified a combination of flights that works for your schedule and budget, then use the airline's own website to make the reservations. You might get some more savings, and you'll have better recourse to the airline in case of any problem along the way. Of course you'll pay more to fly a month from now than in September.
Given your preferences for nooks and crannies of random towns, I'd suggest renting a car at least for the French part of your trip. If you rent a car in one country and drop it off in another you'll pay a big drop-off fee, but if you rent and drop off in the same country, at least in France, you probably will have no such fee. A car will give you flexibility and could cost less than two sets of train fares. Look for a diesel if possible, and a manual shift if you can drive one, for best fuel economy. Auto Europe is a good way to shop for rentals and considered reliable. It's a brokerage, so you could use its website for shopping and book the car through the website of the rental company itself if they offer a better deal -- same as with the flights.
I hope this is a helpful start, you'll get much more advice real soon! Happy Anniversary!
Posted by
OP
Nashville, TN
11 posts
Dick,
Thanks SO much for your helpful advice! After reading this, we are definitely going to book a multi-city trip - much more cost effective than 2 one-way trips! We have rented a car in France before and found it be a great way to get around and hope to utilize it for this trip as well. We have decided that we're going to fly into Zurich and explore more of Switzerland. We're going in September. We're having a difficult time deciding whether or not we want to make it all of the way to the south of France. We want to be sure we have plenty of time to explore Switzerland and Eastern France w/o being rushed. What are your thoughts? I've always wanted to see the South of France, but, I don't want to cram too much into our 2 wks. Thanks so much for any advice!
Posted by
Hayden, Idaho, USA
143 posts
Fly in/out Paris or into Paris, out of Marseilles. Spend 4-5 days on Paris coming or going and then take the fast train to Avignon. A rental car will enable you to explore the many small towns/villages as well as the larger cities (Avignon, Arles, Nimes, Orange). Renting a studio apt or a gite for your entire time in Provence will help you save on some meals.