Paris to Switzerland

Hi Kent,
We will be hiring a car and driving ourselves (the budget wont extend to chauffeur:) - we just want to avoid the challenges of trying to drive and navigate our way out of Paris so we thought we would all travel by train to somewhere like Tours, Dijon or Lyon and pick up a hire car there to begin our journey. regards Pam

Pam, "where to go" is a pretty broad question, especially without more information about your family's interests.

The Berner Oberland (mountains south of Berne) is a justly popular Alps destination, and one interesting part of France that is more or less en route from Paris is Alsace. (Think of it as France with a German accent.)

You could also visit Burgundy without much of a detour to that part of Switzerland. Burgundy is very rural with some charming towns and ruins, and like any region of France it has its own character.

I don't know much about driving in Switzerland, but it could be expensive--you have to buy a sticker to use the roads, and your rental agency might charge you a stiff drop-off fee if you are flying home from there. (Doing that might help you make the best use of your time.) I do know that you don't need a car to see the Alps.

So, I would learn more about these regions and decide what would make the most pleasing trip. Good luck!

Pam, you don't indicate which time of the year that you wish to travel into Switzerland. If it's soon, a car may be a liability in or near the alps as some of the more scenic areas (Zermatt, Berner Oberland) have a lot of snow. During any part of the year, tourist cars are not permitted in many alpine villages such as Wengen, Muerren and Gimmelwald which are places you may want to visit in the alps. However, you can easily drive to Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen and take trains, buses, gondolas, etc. for the remainder of your visit.

You might look into the Hotel Silberhorn in Lauterbrunnen. They have a nice parking lot and it's a very nice place to stay. We have stayed there and would again. There web page can be found at www.silberhorn.com. They do respond quickly to emails. Ask to stay in their new annex (if they have a room to hold six). Great restaurant also.

As far as France outside of Paris, I recommend the Loire valley with its chateaus. Very nice. As far as Switzerland, I am currently planning 4 nights in Switzerland as part of my itinerary, 1 on Lake Geneva and 3 at Interlaken. Good luck.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts - as always so very helpful. We will be in France/Switzerland in July. We would like to see some highlights of the French countryside before heading to the Alps. We were thinking of travelling through Burgundy via Dijon then head out to Interlaken for a few days. Depending on the travel time we would love to be able to visit Lake Como and Annecy on the way back to Lyon (We will be able to catch a flight back to London from Lyon).

Our interests are hiking, chateaus/castles, icecaves and breathtaking scenery. Would there be some better alternate route to take? Pam

PAM,

That's a lot of area to cover in 7 days! Trying to cover Burgundy & Dijon, the Alps (Interlaken?) and Lago di Como and then back to Lyon is a lot of driving.

Have you calculated the driving times? Perhaps it can be done, so I'll wait to see other opinions.

You might like the Fontenay Abbey, outside of Montbard. Montbard is a pit--don't linger there--but the Abbey is remarkable and in a beautiful setting. There is a randonee (trail) from Montbard to the Abbey, or you can drive--it's aboput 4 miles, as I recall.

Alternatively, you might enjoy Vezelay, a small hill town with a dramatic prospect and an historic and beautiful cathedral. It is a UNCESCO World Heritage site, in a very pretty part of Burgundy. Nearby are salt springs that are the site of celtic and Roman ruins.

For a short stay in Burgundy, I think a small town like Beaune or Semur-en-Aixios is more accessible than Dijon, which is interesting but sprawling. Both towns have interesting mediaeval remnants, and there is a worthwhile chateau just south of Beaune though the vineyards, in La Rochepot.

In making these suggestions I am guided mostly by your interests in "hiking, chateaus/castles, icecaves and breathtaking scenery." No ice caves, but 3 out of 4 isn't bad.

I hope this isn't too late, but about an hour east of Vezelay is the Chateau de Guedelon where a medieval castle is actually being built, using authentic techniques and tools. Your children would probably LOVE to see this. Go to their website at www.guedelon.fr and check it out in the RS 2008 France book.
Rick gives this a 3 star for kids.

http://picasaweb.google.com/DanFranPics

Hi Pam,

... The village of Riehen (a suburb of Basel) looks like the perfect place from which to explore Switzerland, the French countryside or the Black Forest of Germany. In Riehen, here's how Dan (of above link)describes rail travel: "The regional train runs right through the middle of the village. This is not bad. This is good. The trains are electric, don't pollute, and never blow any whistles or horns. There are four trains per hour, two south, two north. Trains north takes us to villages in Germany's southern Black Forest. The southbound trains take us to the Basel main station in 15 minutes. We can take trains from there to anywhere in Europe."

Pam, the above link takes you to several albums of Dan and Franziska (who live in the Riehen-Basel area). Viewing their photos and consulting a map, will give you a better idea of the region which appears to be of interest to you. Gute Reise! P