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Paris-Nice/Italy-Interlaken/Interlaken-Paris Need help with routes?

Posted by (Vancouver) on

Hi there! me and my GF are looking to put together bookings for our euro vacation in May, we will be going Flying in and out of Paris [CDG] and will be looking to do a loop:

Paris to Southern France
Southern France to Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra - Piza/Florence/Milan,etc

Then from Milan ive read there are train routes into the Interlaken region of Switzerland? but im having a hard time finding info on these routes?

Once in interlaken from my understanding it's a relatively painless trip to Berne, and then from Berne we can take a train directly back to Paris

my main concerns regarding the travel is the route from Paris to Nice and from Italy into Switzerland?

Paris to Nice most flights with the economy airlines during the day we land [May 10th] are either too early, or much later in the day [8pm+]

if we were to take the TGV we could leave paris from CDG at 12 and arrive in Nice at 7pm, is this probably the best bet?

Posted by
20980 posts

Hmm. If I were going to Nice from Paris, I certainly would not go out to the airport to get the TGV, since there are frequent departures from central Paris at Gare De Lyon. Milan to Interlaken also has lots of trains, usually changing at Spiez. Are you planning on visiting Paris for a few days before going to Nice?

If not, just book the flight into Nice from the get go.

What website are you using to look at train schedules. By far the best is www.bahn.com. Its the German railway site, shows quickly 99% of all European trains, has English version, is easy to use, has lots of details like intermediate stops, transfer times, train origin and final destination. It only shows prices for bookable trains starting or ending in Germany, but you can go to the other country's website to see the prices and book tickets.

Also consider flying open jaw: into Paris and out of Zurich. Saves the long trip back to Paris to get a flight home.

Posted by
32330 posts

tras,

The trips you're planning are all fairly straightforward. As the previous reply mentioned, you can use either the Bahn.de (German Rail) website or the sbb.ch (Swiss Rail) website to plan your trips. These are the trips you'll likely need:

  • Paris to Nice - VERY easy. Take the high speed TGV (300 kmH). The trip is about 5.5 hours direct (no changes).
  • Nice to the Cinque Terre - You'll need to specify one of the towns, as the Cinque Terre is not a destination in itself. Using Monterosso for example, the trip from Nice is very easy. You'll travel first to Ventimiglia, where you'll transfer to the Italian trains. From there the train will probably go through Genova and travel time will be about 6 hours.
  • Pisa / Florence / Milan - I'm not entirely clear on your plans there? You can easily visit Pisa on the way from the C.T. to Florence. I'm not sure it's worth actually staying there if you're only going to see the Tower. Are you planning to stay in Milan for a few days?
  • Milan to Interlaken - again, VERY easy! That trip is about 3 hours. If you're going into the Lauterbrunnen Valley, your destination station will be Interlaken Ost (there are 2 stations there).
  • Interlaken to Paris - your best route is probably via Basel, rather than Bern. You can connect with the TGV there and that trip will only take about 5 hours total (3 hours from Basel SBB).

You'll need to be clear on which stations you're using in each location, as most major cities have more than one. You'll also need to be clear on the concept of "changes" when travelling by train, as that can be confusing for some. When using trains or other public transit in Italy, there are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of. If you need more information, post another note.

Happy travels!

Posted by
6898 posts

How much time do you have for your vacation? You have a lot of train travel time for the itinerary you have posted. It might surprise you.

Posted by
169 posts

Are there direct TGV lines from Charles degaule though? Most of what I've tried on the train route sites say either a change in Lyon or marseille?

Our trip is over 3 weeks with roughly 5 days in each destination. However, the Italian portion outside if the initial days in the cinque terra is pretty wide open. While at the cinque terra we will either be staying in Levanto or Manarola.

However now our connection in Milan is not going to be around so we are thinking of going to Florence instead?

The train route from Florence into Switzerland is seemingly the same one that you would take through Milan no?

Posted by
32330 posts

tras,

I don't believe there are any direct trains from CDG to Nice. If departing from the CDG TGV station, there appears to be at least one change (Avignon?), depending on which train you manage to connect with. Check the options on the bahn.de website to find one that works for you.

Note that Levanto is not "officially" part of the Cinque Terre, but it's still a good option for that area. It's only about a four minute ride from there to Monterosso, the nearest of the C.T. towns. Manarola is also good, but I'll have to leave it to the others to suggest lodging choices there.

For the trip from Italy to Switzerland, Milan is a better option than Florence (IMO), as it's closer and has good rail links. Could you clarify about your "connection not being around in Milan"? If you travel from Florence, you'll likely still pass through Milan and the trip will take longer. Your choice....

Posted by
169 posts

Sorry by "connection" it was just a friend of my girlfriends who lives In Milan, however she will not be around during the we are passing through so if need be we can skip Milan, or if we were to go to Florence we could stop in Milan for a day on the way into Switzerland

Is there a rule of thumb as to days like a Sunday or somthing where most of these routes do not run?

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