two weeks in July : France & Switzerland

Logistically, you have a couple of outliers here, Strasbourg and Annecy. I'd pick one and skip the other. Besides, You need at least 3 and better 4 nights in Paris. Chamonix can be visited from Switzerland and the Swiss Pass will get you there from Switzerland. If you choose Strasbourg, you really don't need a car at all. The TGV will get you there in half the time it takes to drive. I'd skip Bern and substitute Luzern for Zurich. You can easily get to Zurich airport by train in an hour from Luzern.

Thanks Sam ! I would prefer Annecy over strasbourg. Can you suggest something to replace strasbourg which is not that off-route (I was thinking to move from paris to swiss border avoiding zigzag route to avoid fatigue & save time).
Also instead of Paris I would prefer some scenic town/village. Does Loire valley, or provence fit-in?
Considering That I leave Paris on 16th Morning by Car - what best options do I have to see in 4 days?

Sorry, what are the asterisks for?

Sorry for the asterisks. Actually whole text was appearing jumbled-up in preview so I put asterisks as separators :-|

I don't have location advice, just logistics. I think that your options for accommodations will become fewer and fewer as the days pass. I would make some reservations soon. If you make sure to book refundable fares with no cancellation charges up to a few days before your stay, you will still have flexibility to change.

Maybe a stop in Beaune would work. Its about halfway between Paris and Annecy. After Annecy its an easy trip up to Chamonix. Check a place to drop the rental car either in Chamonix or Annecy. If in Annecy, its about 2 hours by train to Chamonix. You can enter Switzerland with your Swiss Pass from Chamonix, and it is relatively close to Zermatt. Assume you know about the Swiss Family Card which would mean the kids travel free.

I don't know if you realize that July 14 is the French July 4 with lots of crowds, fireworks, and street parties. I would think that hotel reservations are definitely mandatory as well as plans as to transport from the airport to hotel. I will be in Paris from the 12th-15th myself so have my hotel reserved. I understand that the fireworks over the Eifel Tower are wonderful. I was in Carcassonne in southwester France on the 14th several years ago and was told by the hotel that we could not drive out of town on the 14th as the roads thru town were closed. We stayed 2 nights and the fireworks over la Cite were incredible!! My New York daughter said they were better than Manhattan.

Annecy is a lovely and walkable town with nice views over the lake. The 2+- hour train trip from Annecy to Chamonix is beautiful - especially if the weather is good - always the case in the mountains. The same is true for Chamonix - if it is clear, take the chair lift up to Aiguille du Midi at 12,602' for a view of Mt Blanc which is the highest mountain in Europe. The view is breathtaking as well as the ride up! The weather in the mountains is usually best in the early morning.

Happy travels.

Barb

wow, didn't realize 14th July is French National Day..hope would be able to enjoy the celebrations.
Annecy is surely in the list, 2 nights in Paris and 2 nights in Annecy leaves me with 2-3 spare nights. If I am renting Car their then will hault either in Beaune or vezelay (Considering they are on the way Paris - Annecy).
Other option I was thinking is to get eurail pass (France & Switzerland) - in that case I would like to cover either Provence or Loire Valley along with Annecy?
Just wondering which option would be more economical 'renting car in France+Swiss Travel pass' or 'Eurail pass+paying extra for special trains/uncovered transport'?

Your two countries look like our family's plan! Since you're still thinking things through, maybe you'd like to see another possible itinerary:

We're staying in/near Paris for about 9 days, with a few days outside of Paris to visit Versailles and Rambouillet with friends.

Family recs for outside of Paris: In a prior trip, our family enjoyed the Loire Valley chateaux, especially Chenonceaux, Amboise, and Le Clos Luce, where daVinci spent his last days. There were models of daVinci's inventions at Le Clos Luce that my kids found interesting. So, I would recommend considering Loire Valley stops for some of your France days. Chartres is beautiful, too. Giverny was really memorable, but we got there early (first visitors to get to the famed pond and waterlines), and we enjoyed the serenity before the masses arrived on the tour buses. We all found the Normandy beaches and especially the American Cemetery to be moving and memorable (again, recommend getting there early in morning). Bayeux's town and tapestry was also a part of that trip, and was interesting as well.

This time, we're hoping to revisit favorite sites in Paris, using a 2 day Museum Pass and taking advantage of the Hop On, Hop Off buses for getting acclimated for the first couple of days. The tour is helpful and fun, and the mode of transport is great, getting you to many main sites without needing to buy Metro passes for those two days. I'd recommend a longer Museum Pass than 2 days for your first trip - it just won't work for us this trip. Then after that part of the trip, we will see our friends for a few days, and then return to the city to explore on our own. There is a DK book called Family Guide Paris that might give you some new perspectives in addition to Rick's books. :-) Last time, I found the RS Pocket Paris Guide very helpful, especially for the maps and tours.

We are planning on 5 days in Switzerland, so here's our route. We'll take the TGV train from Paris to Basel (booked early on captainetrain.com web site). Once in Basel, we'll get Half-Fare cards (our youngest kid travels for free - both of yours will be free) and continue on to Luzern, then Engelberg for a couple of days/nights in the mountains, hoping for a good weather day to go to Mt. Titlus. We didn't think we had enough time to get to the Interlaken area, but wanted some snow and hiking, I'm mentioning this in case it is something you'd consider. I got a lot of good info on this RS site via forums, videos, and trip reports - even though there isn't much mention of Engelberg/Mt. Titlus in the RS book. Check out this site: http://www.titlis.ch/en/glacier/glacier-cave. This Swiss Family Hotel sounded great for kids: http://www.edelweissengelberg.ch/English/ We're ending the trip with a few days exploring and relaxing in Luzern (including a water taxi cruise on Lake Luzern so we can be on the water, and also get off and explore some of the small towns around the lake), then taking the train to Zurich for our flight home.

So, there are some ideas to consider as you're planning your trip. I think your kids will love exploring Europe as a family! Have fun!

Laurie