Hi there! We are trying to figure out how to spend time in both Bologna and Nice, while also dipping our toes into Switzerland. In addition to travel days, we have 10 days on the ground, but can POSSIBLY stretch to 11. I had it all worked out, until flying out of Nice or Marseille are not options. This was my original plan:
Land in Zurich early morning, spend 1 night there and 2 nights in Lucerne
Train from Lucerne to Bologna 4.25 hours and spend 4 nights there
Then Bologna to Nice - 6.5 hours for the last 3 nights and fly home
(or could do 3 in Bologna, 4 in Nice)
Now that we can't fly out of Nice, we would either have to train to Milan to fly home, which means adding a night there, or reverse the order of the trip, flying into Milan and out of Zurich but that would require a REALLY long train ride from Nice to Lucerne.
(Also The Last Supper tickets are already sold out or an overnight in Milan would be more enticing).
I have researched for so long, and tried so many scenarios that I can't think straight! I'm hoping someone here with more experience and fresh eyes can offer a better solution. We are not tied to Lucerne or Zurich. My husband's ancestors are from Switzerland and we really would just like to see the Alps and spend a little time. We planned on a couple of churches, museums and boat ride in Zurich and then we were going to include Mt Pilatus in our time while in Lucerne.
Our fav spots so far have been Barcelona, Florence, Provence and Rome. I love Paris especially for the art, as I am an impressionist painter. We love good food. We both also enjoy coastal towns (enjoyed Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre). All of this to say, just a couple of nights in Switzerland with beautiful scenery and some good food would be great!
Thank you so much!
April
P.S. My other idea was to do Lyon instead of Bologna which could help with train distance, but I really like the idea of Bologna and side trip to Modena and possibly Ravenna.