France and Switzerland Train Advice

First of all - when riding the TGV from Paris you take it into Switzerland and then you change to a train that continues on to your destination. That may involve several train changes along the way. That's just the basic nature of how trains work everywhere.

Why is Paris -> Grindelwald "not that easy" and what makes you think a 2-country rail pass is going to make it any easier?

The basic route according to the official Swiss Train website (www.sbb.ch/en) is Paris Gare de Lyon -> Basel -> Interlaken Ost -> Grindelwald. That's the simplest connection. It's really not that difficult, but if it is too difficult for you then a Rail Pass is not going to make it any easier.

You can purchase the whole journey (Paris->Grindelwald) as a single print-at-home-ticket from www.sbb.ch

You do not need or want a 2 country pass.

If you plan to visit the Jungfrau then you may as well buy the Swiss Half Fare Card which will cut the cost of all your Swiss travels by 50%. The savings from the Jungfrau trip will practically cover the cost of the HFC.

If you do purchase the Swiss HFC then when you book the Paris->Grindelwald ticket via www.sbb.ch be sure to indicate that you have the HFC. The website will then calculate the correct price for your entire journey.

For any additional trips in Switzerland just buy the tickets at the ticket counter anywhere in Switzerland. Tell them you have a HFC and the price will be reduced 50%.

Quick summary of Tim's excellent post: do not use RailEurope and do not get a 2-country pass. You may want a Swisspass of some type for Switzerland, depending on your plans.

Thanks sorry to be so "green" the train option is something I've dreamt of since a child (riding through the alps) seeing the sights etc.

If trains are your lifelong dream then you'll be heaven in Switzerland! Their integrated transportation system is among the best in the world: efficient, clean, punctual and the trains, buses, boats, funiculars, gondolas all work seamlessly to take you from point A to B.

Plan all of your journeys at www.sbb.ch/en (en for English) and you'll see all of your connections and details (times, platforms, etc) laid out perfectly clear for you.

When you go on the SBB website, if you leave off the "/en", scroll all the way to the bottom until you see the small Swiss clock with the current time on it. Just to the right of it in feint type you will see "de fr it en" which are the two letter abbreviations for the languages available on the website. Click "en" and everything will change to English.

If Swiss trains are your lifelong dream, here's a bit of trivia.

The website suggested to you uses the abbreviation German language version of the name of the Swiss Federal Railways, which is SBB.

On their website and on the sides of trains you will also see CFF and FFS, which are the French for SBB which is CFF, and the Italian which is FFS.

They match the three large areas of Switzerland where the German, French or Italian languages are spoken. Those three are three of the four official languages of Switzerland. The fourth language is Romansh but their abbreviation doesn't get into the name of SBB/CFF/FFS.

In Geneva you will be in the French language area, the rest of the time you will be in the German. If you had taken a main line train from Luzern to Milan and onwards to Venice (would have been my choice as the overall train vs plane time is pretty close and no hassles) you would have gone through the Italian language area until just before entering Milan. If you had chosen to take the Bernina Express between Chur and Italy you would have traveled through the incredibly beautiful Romansh area.

Yes, there is a learning curve for trains. But one great starting point is to stay away from Rail Europe! They do not list all trains, and they can mark up tickets they do sell (sometimes substantially). Unless you have a specific reason to use them, just avoid them.

Instead, start with the rail guru The Man In Seat 61. He has so much information it can be overwhelming, but he really does know his stuff.

Here's his introduction to European rail: https://seat61.com/Europe-train-travel.htm

And here's his Switzerland page: https://seat61.com/Swiss-trains.htm