My daughter and I are beginning to plan a trip for next July to England and then home from Paris. We will visit family in the UK so that's taken care of. My question is where to fly and what to see after that. We will have 23 days to spend in all but wish to spend eight or nine days in the UK which leaves about 2 weeks in Europe. Our thoughts are to take EasyJet (or the like) over to see something in Germany and likewise Switzerland before heading into Paris for a few days. We've been to Paris but have never seen Germany, Switzerland or Austria. We will rely on trains. I would very much appreciate any suggestions. We are quite open to whatever order might make sense to follow or which countries might be doable within this time frame. Also, what cities. I've also heard that Colmar is lovely although I'd like to avoid the many tourists I presume will be there at that time of year. I've spent the last three years learning to speak French so I really want to spend time in France as well. Thank you in advance since I realize I'm asking a lot!
Posted by
Texas
158 posts
What kinds of experiences are you looking for in Germany, Switzerland or Austria? What are your interests? Art, shopping, music, hiking...?
I'd start by looking at some 'best of' lists for the countries (or better, cities) and see what appeals to you. Once you have some places picked out that you want to see, you can determine the best order to visit them.
Is the cost important? You could see what cities have the cheapest flights from where you'll be in England. Logically, you'd probably want to fly to Switzerland, then take a train to Austria, Germany, then to Paris for your flight home. Or reverse it and do Germany, Austria, Switzerland, then to Paris so you're not backtracking. Try using google maps for the travel times between cities.... you may find it's too much time on a train for you to enjoy.
Posted by
Paradise
6663 posts
Easy Jet flies into Basel, Switzerland, which is a stone's throw from Germany's Black Forest region, from Colmar and Strasbourg and the rest of the French Alsace, and from Lucerne, Bern and the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland, all great destinations. I could easily see two weeks in these 3 very different regions. A fairly tight travel radius like this one should not overextend you.
You will not avoid other tourists in July.
Note that stays in many Black Forest towns come with free transportation during your stay because of the KONUS program. Since you know French, here's a flyer in French that explains the program and provides a list of towns where you can procure the KONUS card for free just by staying overnight:
https://prospektbestellung.toubiz.de/media/prospekt/file/2514625_KONUS-Flyer_2016_Franzoesisch.pdf
Gutach is a popular village on the scenic Black Forest Railway, just one of the routes that might interest you there.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Fly to Cologne (2N)
Day trip to Aachen
Train to Koblenz (3N)
Day trips to Trier + Rhine Cruise
Train to Heidelberg (2N)
Day trip to Speyer
Train to Strasbourg (2N)
Day trip to Colmar
Train to Dijon (2N)
Day trip to Beaune
Train to Paris (3N)
Posted by
not here anymore
631 posts
That's not asking a lot, you should see some of the requests we get!
you don't say where in UK you will be starting from. If London area you may not need to fly out, you could get a eurostar train to France. Eurostar or Rail Europe will sell you tickets with connections to almost anywhere on the French high speed network, the problem is this will probably mean changing stations in Paris.
You want to see Switzerland and practise your french, Geneva/ Lausanne areas would be the place. There are cheap flights (don't forget the luggage charges) to Geneva from many UK airports, but not every day to every airport, and not always at sensible times. they can get booked up wel in advance. London-Paris-Geneva by train is only around 7 hours - Eurostar and French TGV have operating speeds of around 180mph. OK it's still longer than flying and may be more expensive but you see things and people. Lausanne takes about an hour longer. Lausanne is a better base for touring within Switzerland but Geneva gives the option of the French Alps as well.
From that area of Switzerland you reach the 3 country border at Basel in a couple of hours by train. There are nice little German towns which can cater for tourists less than an hour further on. Bad Krozingen is well placed although their website concentrates on the spa too much, it is a good base for exploring and has the hotels and restaurants that tourists need. https://www.bad-krozingen.info/en it's about 10 miles south of the city of Freiburg (which is worth a visit) but Freiburg doesn't give out free regional travel cards like the smaller towns do!! https://prospektbestellung.toubiz.de/media/prospekt/file/4560694_KONUS-Flyer_2017_Englisch note that although Freiburg does not give the card you can use it on their trams and buses. Even Colmar is easy to reach, train to Breisach (free with Konus) and bus forward http://www.suedbadenbus.de/suedbadenbus/view/mdb/suedbadenbus/angebot/mdb_239707_sbg_fly_euregio_2017_v3.pdf
Bad Krozingen to Paris is around 4 hours with TGV connection from Mulhouse or Basel
Posted by
OP
SK, Canada
59 posts
Oh thank to all of you! Yes, money is an issue and we will fly out of Manchester. My daughter is 15 and not into art but we enjoy scenery, architecture, history etc. I don't want to spend too much time en route in a train although I love seeing countryside. I appreciate your time and effort to write out these ideas.
Posted by
not here anymore
631 posts
from Manchester forget Eurostar just fly straight to Geneva. The easyjet Basel flights are usually at hopeless times of day.
Posted by
OP
SK, Canada
59 posts
Has anyone been to both Colmar and Annecy? Which one is the more pretty or quaint? Perhaps a difficult question depending on what an individual likes...
Thank you for the added info Steve.