stephmont

I am trying to plan a few days in Europe in early July for my husband and me. We will be in Great Britain for eight days and then we have about five days to do something else. I know this is a ridiculously short amount of time but we may never make it back to Europe and wish to see as much of the scenery as possible. Ideally we would like to see something in Germany for one or two days, something in Switzerland for one day maybe and then have a couple of days in Paris. Is this enough time with all the travel times we will face? Please be kind and don't berate me for "cheapening" the experience. I know this is not ideal but I'm trying to make the best of it. Any and all help is very much appreciated!

PalenQ

Try flying into say Munich from London then work your way back to the UK via Switzerland - putting up a few days in the fantastic Interlaken-Jungfrau region - the very essence of the Alpine Wonderland - the glcier-dotted high snow-capped peak vision of Switzerland etched in our minds' eyes before going to Switzerland - the highpoint of Switzerland literally and figuratively IMO - For some great itinerary tips check out www.ricksteves.com and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/si...s/rg011210.pdf.

From Switzerland it is just about 4-5 hours to Paris then take the Eurostar Chunnel train back to London in just a few hours - book early on the Eurostar to get the elusive deep discounted fares - www.eurostar.com.

greg

Of course it is not enough, but of course it can be done.

Do you have to go back to UK? It is not clear from your message whether you have your flights locked up already. If you have no latitude in this area, you have to back track to UK as noted by the previous poster.

If you still have not bought your ticket, you can recoup almost one day, that is almost 20% of your time, by flying back home from, for example, Zurich. If you stick to destinations along high speed rail lines, you can minimize the travel time as a portion of overall available time given the distance you want to travel.

UK-Paris by Eurostar
Paris - CÖLN/Frankfurt(area to visit the Rhine) by ICE/TGV
CÖLN/Frankfurt - Lucern by ICE

Stay in Lucern until departure.

An itinerary including Munich would be best done by flying.

Deb_Underwood

Great ideas. I plan to use these ideas on a future trip!

hpluss1

You should skip Germany and just do Geneva and Paris. That would be wonderful and doable in 5 days. I guess if Cologne is close then you can add that, I've heard it's a beautiful city.

Aramis

But she wants to go to Germany.....

"If Cologne is close then you could add that" Close to what - Geneva or Paris?

It's not really close to either, and I have never heard it described as a beautiful city either.

Stephmont - no berating here. Travel like you want to.

Do you plan to take the train or could you fly? PalenQ's suggestion of The Jungfrau region is terrific - it is the "Switzerland" most people have in their imagination - but to enjoy it and somewhere else in Germany you really need to get down to the south of Germany pretty quickly, and then to Bern, Lucerne, Zurich, or Basel.

It's not exactly what you proposed, but since Zurich is only about 2 hours from Interlaken by train, and is pretty "Germanic", it could stand in for Germany, while providing you with easy access from London and onward.

nytraveler

I really think you will need to pick just 2 of the 3 places or you will spend the bulk of your time n transit. If at all possible, get open jaws tickets - into London and out of Zurich.

Then from London take the Euostar to paris (a 6 or 7 am train so you have almost 2 full days in paris. Then train to Lucern so you can see the Berner Oberland (Switz is ont about cities but about lakes and mountains). From there you can fly home out of Zruich (the train from Lucern to Zurich flughafen is only about an hour).

stephmont

I'm so excited about all of your replies! I have so much to research now! I did forget to mention that our flights home are already booked. We fly home from London so we must make our way back to London after our five days in other countries. I am gathering that it is best to choose two places instead of the three. That's fair. I think we'll try to do just Paris and as much Switzerland as we can. Considering Zurich sounds wonderful since it can maybe substitute for Germany. Thank you SO much for all of your help. Any other advice for me? It's been twenty years since I visited Europe. I need lots of help!

Aramis

Something to realize about Zurich is that it is not "in" the Alps, but just north of them. While it provides a great access point from London and Paris, especially if flying, to get a Swiss alpine experience, if that is what you want, it would pay to move the 2 hours south to the Interlaken, or another, area.

stephmont

Thank you, Aramis. That is my next question: where to stay. Perhaps we should stay more south and take a day to visit Zurich. Where would we have the best chance of finding good lodging near Interlaken?

StCirq

I wouldn't go out of my way to visit Zürich, especially if I were pressed for time. If you want the pretty alpine experience, Zürich may be the place to fly into, but unless you're into clocks and banking, not the place to hang around.

nytraveler

Zurich is really a business city and there is no reason to go there (except catch a plane). Lucern is much prettier and closer to mountains and quaint villages. Or, if you want to hike, stay in one of the small towns up from Interlaken. Just be aware that Swiz is the most expensive country in europe and everything costs LOTs of francs.

PalenQ

Just be aware that Swiz is the most expensive country in europe and everything cost>

have you been to Norway - more expensive IME - nothing there is cheap whereas at least in Switzerland I can go to a supermarket and buy reasonably cheap food - wine and beer much much cheaper than in Norway - but in Norway even food in supermarkets seems sky-high - Switzerland can be really expensive but if you fix your own food, picnic and shop in the many supermarkets it need not break the bank - but yes restaurants and even coffees in a cafe can be dauntingly expensive.

And the Interlaken area also has surprisingly cheap accommodations on the lower end - lots and lots - saw none of these in Scandinavia or in many places in Switzerland for that matter - Zurich has none really but very pricey hotels - so it also depends on where you base - in Interlaken I have gotten bed and breakfast for $40 in recent years - a buffet unlimited breakfast where I can stock up my gut for several hours and not have to buy other foods.

PalenQ

I always advise folks going to Switzerland to bring whatever they can from home or from France, Germany, etc with them - anything they will need - cosmetics, over-the-counter pills, tooth paste - anything as such things will be about twice as high often in Switzerland or much higher than discount stores back home.

suze

I would split the 5 days between Paris and the Lac Leman area outside Geneva (Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux). It's an incredibly beautiful area and reasonably easy to get to from Paris by fast-train. Then fly out of Geneva back to London for your flight home (to save time on the ground).

stephmont

Oh, thank you all! You have been so very helpful.