Linblue

I am traveling from Paris to Venice the end of September, with one night to spend in Switzerland in between. I have not yet organised my departure from Paris and want to maximise the little time available to see the older and scenic parts of Switzerland.

I have 2 dilemmas. the first is the mode of travel to Switzerland from Paris and then onwards to Venice the following day. The second is what part of Switzerland offers a pretty village landscape/ views to stay the night, but is easily accessed given time limitations?

issue 1 - mode of travel. I have researched that flying out of Paris is an option, or taking a high speed train. Once in Switzerland, there is a scenic train route on the Berlin Express, after which I would have to somehow find my way from Tirano to Venice? Alternatively, I could just stay in the one spot and explore the area before flying onwards to Venice, or maybe depart by high speed train?

Issue 2 - location. I have learnt from reading posts from others that Lucerne is beautiful, as is also the Lake Geneva area. But, If I must choose only one location, where is best?.

I do not ski, but snow is good and mountainous scenery is definitely a must! Nor do I hike, too old for that now. But am generally up to most things that involve historical architecture, history generally, and traditional culture.

Any advice is welcome. What would you who have experience do if you were me?

nytraveler

I fear that in one night you will see next to nothing. To fly from Paris to Zurich is an option - but have no idea what it wold cost. You wold take a train in the basement of the airport to Lucern and check into a hotel and have part of an afternoon and an evening in Switz. From Lucern there are a couple of mountains with easy access - IF you get there in time to ascend (end of Sept the last ascension might be fairly early - you would have to check).

Then the next day take a train to Venice.

I think the one you are refering to is the Bernina (not Berlin) express - but I don;t know the details.

Frankly - this seems like a waste of time and money - since if you are delayed along the way you won't have time to actually see or do anything before leaving for Venice. I would want at least 3 nights (2 days) in Switz.

swandav2000

Hi Linblue,

Well, flying won't be any faster than taking the high-speed train. You need to take into consideration --

Getting from Paris to the airport, 45 minutes
Waiting at the airport, 90 minutes at least
Flying, 60 minutes
Waiting for bags, 20 minutes

In contrast, the fast train will whisk you from the city center of Paris to Basel in 3 hours, and you can begin your vacation in Switzerland from there.

But the difficulty comes, yes, in deciding what to do in Switzerland. I think that nytraveler's idea of staying in Luzern is a good one. Luzern has a bit of all of Switzerland in one place -- mountains, lakes, history, and monuments -- so it really gives you a good introduction to the country. In addition, it is easy to get to and it lies on most train routes. It is only about 1h15 from Basel, and the train trip to Venice would be about 6-7 hours with one or two changes.

The Bernina Express starts in the far eastern part of the country -- it starts in Chur. It will take you 2h to get from Basel to Chur, and the BE to Tirano will be 4h. You could conceivably go from Paris to St. Moritz in one day (7h30 of travel), spend the night in the mountains there, then continue the next day from St. Moritz on the BE to Tirano and onward to Venice (about 9h). But to me, that's just too much train travel in too few days.

I think you should just minimize the amount of train travel and spend most of your time outside enjoying the mountains. Staying in Luzern would give you that option.

You can check all the train schedules at the Swiss rail site at

www.rail.ch

Have fun!

s

Ingo

While I like Luzern a lot I'd replace it with Thun. The latter is really on the main rail route to Milan (-Venice). Luzern is a short detour. Also, the mountains near Thun are more impressive than around Luzern. And with only one night you'll do not much more than gazing at them from below.

swandav2000

Hi again,

That's excellent advice, as usual, from Ingo. Thun lies right on its own lake, and, yes, the mountains are more impressive and stunning than those around Luzern. In addition, Thun has a castle and it is a smaller city, so it has more of a feel of coziness and charm.

Paris - Thun 4h30 with one change in Basel (departing Paris at 10.23)

Thun - Venice 5h or 6h depending on the time you departed.

More information at:

www.thunersee.ch

s

nytraveler

Thun is cute - but is actually a small town (Lucern is a small city IMHO). Thun has a shopping area with overhead for the snow, a castle great for the calf muscles, and a lake with steamers. Not sure about mountain access - since we went there from Interlaken one rainy day we were waiting for clear weather to ascend the Jungfrau.

Linblue

thanks everyone. I just submitted a response but it has disappeared into cyberland.

Without repeating it again in case it reappears as a post, I am keen on the suggestion to train to Thun on route to Venice. Thun sounds exactly like what we will enjoy, especially after the bustle of Paris. Plus it has the bonus of being on route without detour.

I had scrapped the flight idea and scenic Bernina express as too time consuming and costly for a day and was beginning to think the overnight Thello to Venice was most practical. But... Thun it will now be!

I also want to thank Swandav2000 for help with train times. I am struggling with the many trains in Europe; a reflection on me, not the information available.

I am excited about sampling Switzerland and seeing a mountain or two. Thanks everyone!