Would it be worth spending a day in Colmar or some other town in Alsace-Lorraine on the way to Switzerland, or would that time be better spent on a night train to Switzerland? Am also budgeting three days in Switzerland - where should I hit up? Been there about ten years ago for a couple days as a teenager, but don't remember too much from that.
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
Mike, Strasbourg and Colmar are very well worth a visit! Strasbourg is a beautiful charming city, Colmar an old charming town. Both come with some Venice-feeling as a river cuts thru them several times... Take TGV From Paris to Strasbourg (2 hours and something), spend the day in Alsace and arrive in Basel in the evening...
Posted by
Redding, CA, USA
1568 posts
We took the night train from Paris to Zurich and now regret not seeing the sights in between.
Agree with the 1st responder.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
Where to go might depend on the rest of your itinerary, but coming from Paris the Bernese Oberland is a good bet.
Alsace is charming but whether a day there works for you depends on what you are going to feel like doing at that point in your trip.
The good or bad news is that the sleeper leg of the train ride from Paris ends a good bit before you get to Switzerland. This means plenty of opportunity to watch the scenery--but also a very early wake up.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
I'm just thinking out loud so to speak, so forgive me if I'm missing something....We took the TGV from Paris to Geneva which only took 2-3 hrs if my memory serves me, so why would an overnight train be better? Wouldn't that actually be longer? We loved the Berner Oberland as the previous poster wrote....we stayed in Murren and absolutely loved it there.