We will be traveling the end of June from the Cinque Terre via train to Paris, but would like to pass through Switzerland and spend 3-4 days there. Does anyone have a suggestion which train routes we should take? Which main sights we would have enough time to see?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
689 posts
Switzerland is small and well connected by rail, and you can now take fast TGV trains from many cities in Switzerland right to Paris. So, with 3 or 4 days you could really pick most any (one) destination you wanted in Switzerland. It's just a matter of what you want to see. You could spend a few days hiking in the Jungfrau region of the Berner Oberland (a favorite of many of us here) or you could visit a city like Lucerne. Either way it's not hard to get to Paris.
Posted by
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
430 posts
I'll second the recommendation for spending your time in the Bernese Oberland while in Switzerland.
We went from Germany to Switzerland to the Cinque Terre in 2000, and in our case we opted to take an afternoon train from Interlaken to Milan and spend the night there (intended to see the Last Supper as a sole tourist site before a spectacular dinner... but a strike ensured we had an early but still spectacular dinner...), then trained on to the CT in time to have lunch in S. Margherita and dinner in Vernazza (taking time to stroll a couple of beaches and do a lot of window shopping on the way).
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32352 posts
Carol,
You should have no difficulty finding a convenient route from Paris to Switzerland and then to the Cinque Terre. The trip from Paris to major cities in Switzerland via TGV is extremely fast!
Your route will depend on which locations you most want to see. You could for example spend a day or two in Lucerne and the remainder in the Berner Oberland? That would provide you with a glimpse of both the cities and the classic Swiss alpine scenery.
Have a look at www.muerren.ch/start-e.htm or www.gimmelwald.ch for some ideas on the scenery and activities in that area.
Happy travels!