We are traveling from Paris to Basel, staying in Switzerland and touring there, then returning back to Paris. My plan is to take the TGV and I wanted to know should I buy a Eurorail France -Switzerland pass? Is the TGV covered under this? Or is it more economical to purchase point to point tickets for my family of 5?
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
If you will be spending the majority of your time in Switzerland and only transitioning to and from Paris, I would suggest point-to-point tickets on your Paris to Switzerland journeys and consideration of some kind of pass while in Switzerland. Note that each person will need a pass. As to whether or not a Swiss pass will help versus point-to-point depends a lot on how long you will be there, how much train travel you will be doing and things you want to see. It's hard to say where the break point might be but if you are there more than 4-5 days and traveling all around the country, some type of pass might be of value.
Here's a link to the Swiss RAILPASS PAGE. You can look at the links on the left for more detail. Note that the Swiss pass would not work outside of Switzerland.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
I agree with Larry. A Swiss pass could work well for you, but you won't benefit from a France-Switzerland pass.
The standard 2nd class adult fare for the Paris-Basel TGV is 84€. Booked well in advance (up to 90 days allowed) at www.voyages-sncf.com, you can get a Piccolissimo fare of 20€. Leave France as the default country, do NOT choose cancellation insurance, and choose to pick up your ticket at a station or SNCF boutique. Click on the British flag in the lower left-hand corner for English.
Posted by
Hendersonvlle, NC
486 posts
Remember, that a country pass is good for travel to/from the border. We had a German rail pass a number of years ago and wanted to go to Brussels. We purchased a ticket from the border to Brussels and used the pass from Cologne to the border.