Train Trip Or Car

I have no idea which mode of transport would offer the best scenery, but keep in mind that:

• The more dramatic the scenery, the less of it the driver will be able to enjoy for reasons of safety.

• The cost of renting a car in Austria and dropping it off in Paris will be incredibly high.

I'd do the trains.

More relaxing. And better chance for both people to actually see and enjoy the scenery (if driving, one of you will be eyes-on-the-road).

Not much to see with a drive-by through Lichtenstein by the way.

I think the easiest way to decide between the train or a car is simply to price out a rental car with a drop off in another country. Unless you have very deep pockets, you're in for an unpleasant surprise.

And having done several driving trips in Europe, I agree that the driver misses a good deal of the scenery because he has to concentrate on the road.

The major train lines and major roadways are often quite close together. From Innsbruck to Zurich, the direct RailJet trains follow a scenic route similar to the A12 and S16 highways before crossing the border at Buchs. You can see train lines on Google Maps if you zoom in close enough.

You can also see stops along the route of a given train departure when you drill down into details using the Deutsche Bahn train schedule link at Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online. However, the map view is less detailed if the train doesn't make many stops.

Not only does the driver have to keep his/her eyes on the road, the navigator is pretty busy, too ("do I go left or right here? What do you mean you don't know ??")

Doug, you say "from Germany (Fussen) . . . . (Innsbruck to Zürich to Bassel to Paris)". My comments would be:

• Have you costed the surcharge for one-way international drop-off (already mentioned)
• Have you costed fuel AND tolls. You will need to buy autobahn Vignettes for Austria and Switzerland, and normal "per Km" tolls for French autoroutes.
• Why are you stopping in Zürich? It is a city, not mountains, and the main attraction of Switzerland is mountains.
• Do not assume hotels have parking, ask. Especially in cities (including here in Basel) you would have to pay to park overnight, and you cannot use a car to drive between locations in a city centre.

If you want to make this a car trip, that is best suited to rural areas, not cities.

Just to clarify. I have will have a car to start with. I will pick it up in Germany and use it the first 5 days or so. In part because I will be visiting family and such and in part because I will be traveling with my father and he is elderly and has bad knees. We learnt last year in France that sometimes the car is simpler and easier on him.

As for the cost of the car itself. It is not that much more to rent it in Germany and return it in Paris. From what Sixt says on ther website it appears that a car for the Germany to Paris portion of the trip is about as much as the train trip from Innsbruck to Paris about $500 or so. (One car vs two passengers). So from what I have seen it is cheeper to Drive. I can’t believe the tolls are over $250.

And while I understand the train allowes you to look vs drive. It assumes you are on the “good view side” of the train and with a car I can take short detours or stop and look at the view so there are pluses to the car. As well as the train.

According to https://www.viamichelin.com/

• Munich to Innsbruck: 164 Km, fuel €16.23, plus Austrian Autobahn Vignette €9 for 10 days
• Innsbruck to Luzern: 302 Km, fuel €28.98, Plus Swiss Autobahn Vignette CHF 40 (you've already got an Austrian one).
• Luzern to Paris: 597 Km, fuel €54.78, French autoroute tolls €21.10

Total: approx €130

$154 (CHF152) for a saver ticket for two from Innsbruck to Paris is a bit less than $600.

For the drive in a car calculated by Chris F from Innsbruck to Luzern you also have to add one of the 5 tunnels and highways in Austria not covered by the Vignette. The Arlberg one near St Anton is a very expensive one - €10 for the longest tunnel in Austria, 13.976 km long, once the longest road tunnel in the world. To go around is very difficult and complex.

Hummm, after taking in various comments maybe I am pushing this trip to hard and trying to do to much.
Perhaps I am better off to take the time and add it to Germany and just skip Switzerland on this trip until I can come back and actually spend time in Switzerland...