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Switzerland and France in June - recommendations for accommodations, trains, and sights please.

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Hello! After having to cancel our 2020 trip, we have started over. Flights are booked, now I’m planning the details.

We will arrive in Geneva on a Sat. Planning to take a train to Paris that same day (aggressive start but flights were much lower arriving in and departing from Geneva!). We will most likely arrive at Gare de Lyon late that evening. I’m looking for accommodations near the train station, but far enough away that noise won’t be a major concern (light sleepers). We plan to visit Versailles on Sun (all day) so any advice re: train to take, tips would be helpful. Any recommendations regarding tentative itinerary noted below would be appreciated!

Mon:
1/2 day in Paris
Train to Reims - pick up a rental car in Reims

Tues:
Visit Veuve and Pommery?

Wed:
Drive to Strasbourg
Notes of interest are- Notre Dame (I know it isn’t the more famous one!), petite France, parc de l’orangerie, and parc de l’etoile. Recommendations

Thurs:
Either drive to Bern and turn in rental car or, turn in at Strasbourg and take a train to Bern.

Fri:
Bern
Gurten to mountain top?
Visit Interlaken?

Sat:
Geneva - need recommendations for lodging and dining.

Posted by
6418 posts

Either drive to Bern and turn in rental car or, turn in at Strasbourg
and take a train to Bern.

Have you checked the cost of returning a French rental car in Switzerland?

Posted by
486 posts

Hi smiley_melissa,

Just a comment on your ideas for Bern. If you are hoping for a mountain top experience you might be disappointed in Gurten, it isn’t really very high. I have been there a few times, nice city view and if the weather is clear you can see the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau in the distance - very pretty - but if I had limited time it wouldn’t be my first choice, unless you are traveling with kids as it is very family friendly.

The Bern rose garden has great city views and is closer to the old town area than Gurten is.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/experiences/rose-garden/

If you want to go up mountains then a day trip to the Lauterbrunnen Valley will be much more spectacular.

Posted by
865 posts

My thoughts:

You are looking at just over a 3 hour journey from Geneva to Paris. Depending on when you land and catching the train shuttle to the main station, it may add an hour to your flight arrival time. Plan for that. Regarding lodging in a quiet spot near Gare de Lyon, search AirBnB in the map function. Look for SuperHosts. Decide from there. Consider how close your lodging will be to a Metro station. This will be a time saver.

Spend a full day in Paris. It is worth it. Then catch a train from Gare de Lyon to Colmar. Base in Colmar and day trip to Strasbourg & Bern via train. 30 minutes to Strasbourg, 2 hrs. to Bern. I have never spent time in Bern but I can tell you that Strasbourg is nice, but not all that. Of course, this is subjective. You may have specific reasons to visit there, so go for it. Rent a car for a day if you want to tour the Alsace region. Avis (I think) has an office right at the train station. Unless you book ahead plan on having a manual shift. From Colmar, train to Lauterbrunnen. Interlaken is only useful for catching a ferry ride on either lake. Otherwise there is no real appeal to the town.

I hope this helps.

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