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Train for Paris to Basel??

All of you said for my parents and I to skip the Berner Oberland, but we already booked our hotel. We will be driving back from Normandy to Paris early in the morning and want to take a train from Paris to Basel and then onto Lauterbrunnen. How is the train ride from Paris to Basel??? Is it scenic and how long is it?? Thanks!!!

Posted by
19118 posts

Although your route is not in Germany, you can find schedules, i.e., how long, at the German Rail website. It looks like the most common route is to Strasbourg, then up the Rhein to Basel, 3½-4 hours. It's in rural France. Don't expect the scenery to be spectacular. Farmland - not ugly, but not spectacular either.

Posted by
12040 posts

I'm not sure of the exact route the train would take, but based on what Lee wrote, you may be able to catch a glimpse of the Vosges mountains. They're not the Alps, but still impressive. If the train travels within sight of the Rhine, don't expect too much. It looks like any other river at this point. Basel isn't ugly, but neither is it particularly scenic.

Posted by
4684 posts

Since the high-speed line opened, all of the trains from Paris to Basel run via Strasbourg. The scenery, as other people have said, isn't spectacular.