Suggested itinerary

The bigger question might be: Why are you going somewhere you seem to know absolutely nothing about? How can you even begin to choose among the resposes you'll get?

If you tell us what month you are going and what your interests are, it will be easier for us to help you :)

A little harsh, Ed. Yes, Debra should indeed read at least the section on Burgundy in RS' France book and perhaps watch the video. But in an earlier post she presented the problem of flying into Geneva and out of Amsterdam, with Paris in between and only about 3 or 4 extra days and asked for opinions...the consensus opinion was Burgundy, which lies directly between Geneva and Paris. She has plenty of time to learn about Burgundy before her trip. Actually another post currently up on this site has someone's specific Burgundy recommendations. My own would be the town of Beaune, Dijon, Semur en Auxois, a trip through the vineyards...that's a pretty good three days right there.

This is a great site to find hotels. http://www.Chambresdhotes.fr/ An awesome hotel in the area is: http://www.chateauderosieres.com/mainuk.html
it is a real castle with incredibly nice owners. It is a true French experience......although probably not after I post it here for everyone to see ;-)

Okay, I came across as a mean sob instead of my usual charming self. Sorry. The arguments will favor Beaune over Dijon. Beaune is small and will bore you to tears after a half day. Dijon has a lot more to offer and you can scoot over to Beaune for a while if you want. Consider Auxerre instead. It's just as quaint/interesting as Beaune and more compact than Dijon -- a good compromise that actually gets you the best of bothl.

Auxerre? It's okay. The old streets near the river have lots of charm. And it's handy to the Chablis region, and not too far from Vezeley. But I'd prefer Beaune, or another town like Semur--or one of the smaller towns along the Serien. Ed is right that three days in Beaune would get very old. But three days with a car is another story. Or a car and a bicycle. You've got several points of interest close at hand, such as the chateau at La Rochepot, and more-distant attractions such as Fontenay and Vezeley work as day trips. Chacon a son goute.

Hi Everyone - let's go back to my original post. We are flying in to Geneva at 8:00am on the 7th of June and flying out of Amsterdam on June 16th. (4 of us Mother, me and two daughters, 24 & 20) Where we travel to is open to any ideas. I thought touring Switerzerland, France, and Amsterdam would be nice, but all the earlier posts started leaning towards skipping Switzerland and leaving 1-2 days in Amsterdam, spending 4 days in Paris and 3 days in the Burgundy region. (I was wondering why you were suggesting that out of a 9 day trip, 7 was spent in France...I just assumed you all LOVE France) So, if anyone out there is familiar with Switerland, France, Belgium, Amsterdam, and can offer an itinerary, I will look into the suggestions, and probably follow most of your ideas. Ive only been to Ireland, Rome and Pompeii, South Korea & Thailand. Never the above countries. Car or train, it does not matter, I can do either. We have no reservations so we are free to explore....THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS....It is really helpful!

Debra
its a matter of what is close to what. Amsterdam is North(ish) and Switzerland is South, with France in between. In only nine days you dont want to spend 5 travelling. It makes sense to spend major time in Paris- its definitely worth seeing. After that its a choice between doing North to Amsterdam or South to Switzerland. Switzerland is gorgeously scenic and its towns/Cities (Lucerne, Zurich, Interlaken) are all good for one day. But its impractical (unrealistic) to try and do both Amsterdam and Switzerland on the same short trip.

What a shame to land in Switzerland and see none of the country... one of the most beautiful countries in the entire world, imho.

Debra: I did not realize that you were open to an all-rail trip. Not having to factor car pickup and drop off changes the possibilities. Arriving in Geneva, you could easily train to Berne and/or Interlaken, for access to classic Swiss hiking & scenery. That might well absorb three days (and keep in mind, weather will be a major factor in visiting the Bernese Oberland...again, Rick has excellent info on this). From Bern, Paris is only about 3 1/2 hours from Basle by train, and Basle isn't far from Bern or Interlaken. In this plan you would skip Burgundy, which really is best by car, but you would do Switzerland, Paris, and Amsterdam, which would be a great trip. Be sure to give Paris as much time as you can...Amsterdam could get 1/2 day (the morning traveling from paris), but adding another day would allow you to see the great art museums as well as riding on the canal boats, strolling the streets, and all the other pleasures of Amsterdam. In 9 days, I think you can do 1 1/2 Amsterdam, at least 4 in Paris, and 3 or so in Switzerland.

Debra, Given the locations you specified and the time frame, you might consider something like this: > 7 June - Arrive Geneva. Take train from Geneva Airport to Interlaken Ost (there's a departure at 10:01, arriving 12:57, time 2H:56M, one change in Bern). From there use the local train to the Berner Oberland. Given the ages of your group, you might consider staying in Murren. > 8 June - Tour B.O. Hike to Gimmelwald, take the Cable Car to the Schilthorn, explore Murren, take the Allmend-Hubel Funicular and hike back to Murren in the alpine meadows. > 9 June - Train to Beaune or Dijon. Travel time will depend on which location you choose, but it's about 4.5 to 5 hours. While Beaune may be smaller, it's a good "home base" for exploring the area. If you're traveling around, you won't have time to get bored. > 10 June - Touring in Burgundy. I'd highly recommend packing along a copy of the France 2011 Guidebook (available now), as that will be valuable reference not only for Burgundy but also Paris. > 11 June - Train to Paris. One example of the travel time is a train departing Beaune at 09:30, arriving Paris Lyon at 12:37 (time 3H:07M, one change at Dijon, reservations compulsory for one section). Begin touring Paris (wear a Moneybelt!). > 12 June - Touring Paris. Plan your touring carefully so that you don't waste any time! > 13 June - Touring Paris > 14 June - Train to Amsterdam. One possibility would be a train departing Gare du Nord at 10:25, arriving Amsterdam Centraal at 13:43 (Thalys direct, reservations compulsory). > 15 June - Touring Amsterdam. > 16 June - Flight home While there are many ways this trip could be structured, this would provide a brief look at the three countries. Happy travels!

Hi Debra, Don't mind Ed too much. He's really very nice once in a blue moon. My 2cents is to go to Dijon if you like history and wine. It's the former capital of the Duchy of Burgundy and rivaled the kingdom of France, is filled with history, art, good food and wine, but not nearly the size of Paris. Beaune is like going to Napa. Though it does have the famous Hospice and a couple of other historic buildings, and a marvelous painting by Van Eyck in the Hospice, Ed's right that it will wear thin quickly. I'd stay in Dijon and take a tour to Beaune. Auxerre I know well too, a magnificent setting on the Yonne River. It too has interesting buildings and archaeological digs going back to the Gallo-Romans. (Just had to stop a housing project in the center of town to dig when they stumbled on 14thC ruins.) Much less touristic than Beaune. However, Chablis is 15 kilometers away and you'd have to go by taxi, but Chablis has a Michelin one-star that's worth the ride over. Auxerre's one-starred restaurant just lost its star. June in Burgundy is beautiful!

THANK YOU! I'm looking into the suggested itinerary's! Excellent ideas! I wish June wasn't so far away ....getting excited!

I highly recommend a car for Burgundy. Tops on my list of things to do in the area, most of which require a car: Hospice of Beaune - The France 2010 book had a great self-guided tour Vueve Ambal tour + tasting (go during working hours) - very interesting tour of a high tech, modern sparkling wine facility. Plus, the stuff is good and not expensive. I have a friend who used to work for Moet & Chandon and served him one of their sparklings and he complemented it. The Owl Trail in Dijon: but be warned there is major construction in Dijon and getting to/from there can be very frustrating! Abbeye de Fontenay - stunningly beautiful. I didn't think it would be that interesting, but it was *Guèdelon (again, go during working hours and not over lunch). Really interesting to watch them build a castle using medieval methods.
*Semur-en-Auxois - don't pass up the free museum; it's almost a museum of a museum as it looks like it hasn't been touched in over 50 years. I know we shouldn't have found it amusing like we did, but it was really amusing. Also, with a car, you can stay in the family room at La Maison des Abeilles (a B&B in a picturesque setting) and each have your own bed (3 twins and one double). It's about 15 minutes north of Beaune (on the way to Dijon). Jocelyn, the owner, is great with making recommendations and can even assist with reservations if you'd like. We were just there in October. Have fun watching those videos!