we plan on visiting Switzerland for 8 days on a
swiss pass. arriving in zurich and then railing down to Interlaken/Thun. We then will go to paris for 7 days. Not sure what is the best way- rail to paris from Interlaken/Thun via Bern or going to Geneva and flying to paris by easy jet. Doing research it seems that airfare is cheaper from Geneva vs Bern. I can't figure out how much it would cost by rail from Thun to paris- we will have the swiss pass but would need to pay from the border (?) to paris. went on the SBB website and can't figure out the cost. when I punched in a date it gave me 180 euros, both with and without the rail pass, not sure if i'm doing it right. Can someone give me a rough estimate of how much it would cost by rail to paris? or if it makes sense to go by air.
Posted by
Powell River, Canada
359 posts
Rail Europe says Thun to Paris without pass about $140; with Swiss/France pass about $23. Both trips through Basel. Might be to your advantage, if pass not already bought, to do a Eurail Select Swiss and France pass. With a week in Paris you can use it to also do a few local trips and justify the 2 country cost.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Taking the train from Thun to Paris via Berne might be your best option. You can take an early train from Thun to Berne and connect with the TGV leaving for Paris a little after 08:00. The standard 2nd class fare on the Berne-Paris TGV is around 80€. Booked well in advance (up to 90 days allowed) at voyages-sncf.com, you can get a Piccolo fare of 25€.
Note that the SNCF site is undergoing revision. For the time being at least if you choose to have your ticket mailed to an address in Switzerland (like your hotel in Thun), you will be re-directed to a page for Swiss customers and the language will switch from English to French.
However, even buying a standard fare ticket for Berne-Paris at any Swiss station will be cheaper than adding France to your pass. If you want help with booking online in French, let me know.
Posted by
OP
Waianae, HI, USA
7 posts
Thank you very much. I guess the general opinion is to rail vs fly. Have not bought any passes yet as we are still trying to figure out the best itinerary. Will keep all of you in mind if I need more help!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17418 posts
Good advice from Tim. Buy your discounted Bern to Paris ticket from SBB, and then get a pass for Switzerland only. The combined France-Swiss pass is only available in first class and thus costs considerably more.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
I decided to check the Swiss rail site to see if discount fares are offered there for the Bern-Paris TGV. Sure enough, they are. You can book up to 90 days in advance and you can choose to print the ticket yourself or pick it up at any manned Swiss station. No need to book through SNCF, mess with handling French, or having to arrange with your hotel to look for your ticket in the mail. Those discount fares sell out fast so book ASAP.