Paris to Zurich best method train, plane or auto?

Fastest and most comfortable is by train. There are direct TGV high-speed trains that do the run in 4 hours. Check schedules and book tickets at TGV-europe.com The sooner you book (90 days allowed) the cheaper it will be.

Thank you Michael

Both Swiss and AirFrance have numerous flights daily from CDG to ZRH. The non stop flights tend to be expensive though (not enough competition on that route). However I would do a search on Kayak.com just in case, because the TGVs aren't cheap either.

"...TGVs aren't cheap either..." By booking in advance one-ways fares can be had for as little as 39 euros. That's cheap in my book.

"Best" is very subjective. If you go by air you will miss some really beautiful scenery but you will have less time to spend in big cities.

Well, I don't think carbon footprints and other environmental scares should be part of a car vs plane vs train decision. I think Paris - Zurich is a borderline case on the rail vs. plane travel time. They probably even out on a hotel-door to hotel-door basis. Fortunately they improve services on that route a bit, it used to include a disgustintly slow speed sector near the French border, now bypassed by a higher speed link (I mean sectors with speeds below 100km/h for about 50km). Driving between two cities can be expensive if you were planning on renting a car specifically for that trip.

Sig, My preference would definitely be travel by train on that route. As the others mentioned, you'll likely be going via TGV which is FAST! It travels at up to 300 kmH once it gets going, so that will be much faster than travel by car and you can still enjoy the scenery. I haven't checked, but I doubt that air travel will be much (if any) faster, once the "extras" are factored in (ie: time to the airport, security, check-in, waiting, etc.). Happy travels!

Take the train! Book ASAP to get the €39.00 fare mentioned by Michael. They sell out fast. Even if you buy a full fare ticket (€121.00), it will be a lot cheaper than flying either Air France or Swissair. And when you include the time it takes to get to and from airports, check in, and go through security, it will be just as fast as flying. And you'll have a comfortable seat with lots of leg room. And you'll be able to see the scenery. And you'll reduce your carbon footprint. If you drive, you'll pay a hefty fee for picking up a car in one country and dropping it in another.

Well, Andre, the Man in Seat 61 would support my encouraging people to be environmentally conscious and take the train when flying isn't any faster. And as I said in my previous post, it's a lot cheaper than flying for this particular route.