Transportation

That is pretty vague. London is a specific town and Switzerland is a country with lots of options. And a couple of stops in between? There is always Paris. Look at a map and put a couple of pins in it. Best route ?? Most convenient, fastest, cheapest, shortest ?????? Give us a hint. I would probably go with the train but I don't mind slower travel. Need a lot more information before we can assist you.

Thanks for your help. We will be traveling for two weeks. We would like to begin in London and stay for about 3 days. We were thinking about taking the chunnel to Paris, and staying there for another 3 days. We would like to visit a few other highlights in France that would be of interest to our children (ages 10-14 years) and then head to Switzerland for a few days. We would spend a couple of days in Switzerland (overview with a little hiking) and then end up in Munich. We would probably fly home from Munich. We are wondering if it would be better to rent a car or travel by train. We would like to keep the price "reasonable" (ie - would it be less expensive to travel by car or train and still hit many highlights?). Thank you for your assistance!

First, it is Eurostar not chunnel. Second, cars are most useful when visiting the countryside where public transit is limited. Cars in cities can be very expensive - parking, traffic tickets, etc., and not very useful. Drop charges will often double the price of the rental. From your limited information a car would probably not be cost effective. If you want to keep your trip "reasonable" price wise you need to reduce your travel. You car covering a lot of territory that will require long train rides and you simply don't have the available time in two weeks especially with young kids who will slowly you down. They don't have the same attitude about old buildings, museums, and history. You need to revise your schedule substantially.

Two weeks is too short of a time to see three cities. We have stayed in Zurich, Lucerne and Lugano - each, for more than a week. Paris and London are unbelievable and require more than one week each, to scratch the surface.

Sounds like a great trip! Of course you could spend more time in each location, but there's always next visit... and you and they WILL be back. I'd suggest 3-4 days in London, then perhaps the train to Paris and 3-4 days in Paris. At that point you still have about a week; it might be nice to go to someplace less urban for a few days, maybe Strasbourg? There's a direct TGV there, and you can mosey down to Colmar if you want something smaller. I've never been there, but it gets high marks in the RS guide to France. You can get another quick train from Strasbourg to Basel and on to wherever you want to go in Switzerland. What time of year are you going? If it's summer, you might try Baden-Baden instead of Strasbourg for your post-Paris stop; the kids might enjoy the outdoor pool. And my 12-year-old enjoyed Aquaboulevard in Paris when we were there in July 2003. Happy planning!

Hello Larey. Will you be away from your home a total of 14 days ? If yes, you will arrive at London the second day, and your return trip to your home will be one full day. That would leave 11 days for being at London and Europe. I suggest that you fly from the Zurich airport to the U.S.A. I think trying to go to Munich would be too much.

Thank you all - I appreciate the ideas and information.