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Paris to Geneva (1 overnight stay) Geneva to Florence

Hello!

I'm trying to plan my honeymoon for early September and we are looking to take the train from Paris to Geneva. Any advise would be greatly appreciated; my plans in Paris are already made - having trouble figuring out the trip over to Geneva and then down to Florence.

Which train line do we take from Paris to Geneva?
Would you recommend purchasing ahead of time?
Suggestions for hotel/B&B's in Geneva?
Must-see sites and/or restaurants in Geneva?

Which train line do we take from Geneva to Florence?
Would you recommend purchasing ahead of time?
Should we get a rail pass if we are planning on visiting other cities within Italy?

Any other tips or tricks?

Thank you!

Posted by
11294 posts

Do you have a specific reason for going to Geneva? I haven't been, but that's because it's always cited as a non-highlight of Switzerland. Not an awful place, but an expensive one lacking in appeal compared with the rest of the country. Again, I don't have personal experience.

From Paris to Geneva you will take the direct TGV, booked on French Rail http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/
or Capitaine Train https://www.capitainetrain.com/# (the latter is often easier for US residents to use). Tickets are much cheaper if you book early and can accept non-refundable and non-exchangeable fares, and prices go WAY up closer to travel or if you need flexibility. If you book early enough, you can get first class for only a few euros more than second class - a win-win.

For more on this train, see The Man In Seat 61: http://seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Paris.htm#Paris-Switzerland

I'll let others who know more answer the second set of questions, except to say that you can find schedules on Swiss Rail: http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html.

To find train schedules easily for most of Europe, you can use the Bahn (German Rail) website http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en, following Rick's tutorial: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/online-schedules. However, this will only have prices for trains that start or end in Germany (so, not for your routes).

Posted by
34 posts

Harold,

Thank you so much; this is very helpful. Honestly we were thinking about taking a plane from Paris to Italy but we've had several people suggest a train through Geneva since the views are so nice. We figured we could stay for a half of day in Geneva but maybe if it's not worth the quick stop we should check into a different route that goes straight from Paris to Florence. I think we were just trying to incorporate the french/swiss alps scenery if we could!

Posted by
11294 posts

I do not enjoy scenery from a train as much as others do, so in your situation, I'd fly from France to Italy. However, as I said, many do enjoy scenic train routes. So, if that's what you want, you will need to get input on the most scenic route from Paris to Florence. It will take some time, as the most direct routes will avoid mountains.

Geneva itself is on a lake, but not right near mountains; don't go to Geneva to see mountains.

Posted by
20089 posts

Vueling has a nonstop from Orly at 6:50 pm that is relatively inexpensive. There will be extras for luggage.
The most direct train route is a TGV from Gare de Lyon to Milano Porta Garibaldi station and connect to an Italo train to Florence. The TGV goes by way of Lyon and Chambery through the Frejus Tunnel to Torino then to Milano, so it will be passing through the Alps. Trains are at 6:28 am and 10:41 am and with the connection in Milano it is a 10 hour journey.
www.capitainetrain is giving connections with Trenitalia, but they do sell both TGV and Italo tickets. You may need to contact them to get the routing using Italo. Cost less than 100 euro per person.

Posted by
16893 posts

We recommend flying, since the most scenic portion is only about 3 hours out of either train route.