France-Italy-Switzerland - need EXPERT travel itinerary advice
Mar 2nd, 2011, 02:55 PM
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France-Italy-Switzerland - need EXPERT travel itinerary advice
My daughter is in Paris & I plan to join her either there or at a destination and travel around for about two weeks. The areas I'd like to visit seem somewhat spread out ...Naturally I'd like to spend some time in Paris having her be my tour guide but would also like to travel to Interlaken and Cinque Terre - a couple of days in each place. I need someone who has traveled around that area LOTS to tell me the best place to fly into/out of - whether we should travel by train/plane to get around. Desire is to spend about 3-4 days in each place. Also, if you have any other suggestions, I'm OPEN! And places to stay, etc. Thanks - I've been reading some of the other postings and there sure are ALOT of world travelers out there with very helpful advice!
Mar 2nd, 2011, 05:37 PM
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Kinda "iffy" weather-wise for both Interlaken & Cinque Terre in late April. Consider what would happen if you took an entire day getting there, and the weather was bad. We were in the Interlaken region in mid-Sept about 10 years ago for 4 nights. The weather was overcast the entire time. It even snowed one day. We never saw the Junfrau peaks.
Stu Dudley
Stu Dudley
Mar 2nd, 2011, 09:24 PM
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Hi Idelight,
Yes, late April/early May is the tail end of the ski season, depending on how much snow fell during the season. There may be lots of mud on the ground, some hotels closed, and some cable cars also closed for maintenance.
But if you'd like to see the area, you can stay somewhere at a low altitude, enjoy some sight-seeing, and also see the Alps a bit. For instance, you could stay in Thun or Spiez on Lake Thun, or in Bern, and see quite a lot and do a lot.
There are fast trains (TGV) from Paris to Basel that take about three hours, and from there you'd continue on to the Oberland area -- flying won't be any faster. You can get discounted fares for around 30E each if you buy your tickets in advance. The cheapest fares may already be sold out, but it's worth loooking for. Ask your daughter to use the site
www.voyages-sncf.fr to look for and buy the tickets (I'm assuming that her French is better than yours; you can just reimburse her later).
For the trip from Basel to the Oberland, use the Swiss rail site
www.rail.ch
Sorry, I have no idea about getting to the Cinque Terre from the Oberland.
Have fun!
s
Yes, late April/early May is the tail end of the ski season, depending on how much snow fell during the season. There may be lots of mud on the ground, some hotels closed, and some cable cars also closed for maintenance.
But if you'd like to see the area, you can stay somewhere at a low altitude, enjoy some sight-seeing, and also see the Alps a bit. For instance, you could stay in Thun or Spiez on Lake Thun, or in Bern, and see quite a lot and do a lot.
There are fast trains (TGV) from Paris to Basel that take about three hours, and from there you'd continue on to the Oberland area -- flying won't be any faster. You can get discounted fares for around 30E each if you buy your tickets in advance. The cheapest fares may already be sold out, but it's worth loooking for. Ask your daughter to use the site
www.voyages-sncf.fr to look for and buy the tickets (I'm assuming that her French is better than yours; you can just reimburse her later).
For the trip from Basel to the Oberland, use the Swiss rail site
www.rail.ch
Sorry, I have no idea about getting to the Cinque Terre from the Oberland.
Have fun!
s
Mar 3rd, 2011, 09:23 AM
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Stu,
You got me thinking and you certainly seem well-traveled. So, if you were planning an 8-9 day trip that started in Paris with a mother-daughter team - and the desire would be to see Paris but also go an/some out-of-the way places, not too well known (but beautiful & scenic) - not big city. Maybe we just stick to France but I don't know any of Europe that well and I would love to make the most of this trip. If you'd be willing to give me just a little more of your well-traveled advice, I'd be forever in your debt! I've been reading some of the forums for ideas too. I do remember years ago being in Montreux in the fall and the only way I could see the Alps was on the postcards ... so I'm more than willing to heed your warning on the weather. Thanks - Laurie
You got me thinking and you certainly seem well-traveled. So, if you were planning an 8-9 day trip that started in Paris with a mother-daughter team - and the desire would be to see Paris but also go an/some out-of-the way places, not too well known (but beautiful & scenic) - not big city. Maybe we just stick to France but I don't know any of Europe that well and I would love to make the most of this trip. If you'd be willing to give me just a little more of your well-traveled advice, I'd be forever in your debt! I've been reading some of the forums for ideas too. I do remember years ago being in Montreux in the fall and the only way I could see the Alps was on the postcards ... so I'm more than willing to heed your warning on the weather. Thanks - Laurie
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