Trip to Paris and Switzerland.

Old Jul 27th, 2015, 04:26 AM
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Trip to Paris and Switzerland.

We are a family of three (2 adults and a 7 year old child) travelling to Paris in first half of November.It is a budget trip for 9 days 8 nights.
We are planning a nice quite holiday with more countryside stay rather than commercial places.Want to have a relaxed holiday with some beautiful views and simple walks around the place.
I need your advice on;
1) Places to visit in Switzerland in November and number of nights we should spend in Switzerland.
2) Should we add Germany or Italy to our itinerary.
3) Is the visit to Disneyland worth it in Paris in November and number of nights we should spend in Paris.
4) Which area in Paris should we stay in.
5) Which rail pass is most suitable for our visit.(We pan to take trains to travel between all the countries).
6) Budget (Beautiful Homestay options) in both places.
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 05:31 AM
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5) Which rail pass is most suitable for our visit.(We pan to take trains to travel between all the countries).>

The only one you would benefit from is the Swiss Pass - and even in a few days it can be cost-effective and handy - for lots of great info on Swiss trains and passes: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.swisstravelsystem.com.

In other countries just buy tickets ahead online for discounted prices - a Eurailpass would not be as beneficial in Switzerland as a Swiss Pass which covers much more like mountain trains, postal bses, lake boats and gives free entry to 470+ Swiss museums.

and IME hed to the fabulous Jungfrau Region just south of Interlaken and ensconce yourself in a cute mountain town like Grindelwald or Wengen.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jung...sm=93&ie=UTF-8
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 08:28 AM
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"a nice quite holiday with more countryside stay, some beautiful views and simple walks around the place"

May be not the best idea in November, a rather cold, windy, foggy and rainy month with very short days (daylight) in both, France and Switzerland.
Most Swiss mountain railways, cableways, mountain hotels, open air museums, caves, etc. will be closed in November and boats on most Swiss lakes will not run any longer.
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 08:29 AM
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Switz is not really the place for a budget holiday - it's one of the most expensive places in europe - prices are much higher than in the US. Much as I love it, I would go elsewhere with mountains at lower prices, perhaps Alps in Germany.
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 10:31 AM
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With only 8 nights, no I would definitely not try to add Germany to both Paris & Switzerland.

Switzerland is one very expensive place & and the weather in November will be winter-time. I was there two weeks in early Nov along Lac Leman one year (Vevey/Montreux) and we were in boots, wool coats, etc.
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 11:02 AM
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If you aren't interested in commercial places, I can't imagine that visiting Disneyland would be a good use of your time/money, nor why you would be interested in it. It is very expensive, also, of course. Now if your child really realy wants to go and you have no access to such a place otherwise, I could understand EXCEPT you want a budget trip and only have 8 days.

So I would not spend my time in Europe doing that. Wherever you live, I imagine there might be a better way to do that. In the US, of course FLorida would be better. If in Asia, there are 3 there. I've only been to the one in the US due to relatives really wanting to go, but I know the one in Paris is not so special, anyway.

You only have 8 days total, you can't do all this stuff. You could do maybe 4-5 days each in Switzerland and Paris. I woudlnt' go to Switzerland in Nov, either, but you could.
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Old Jul 27th, 2015, 11:23 AM
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Well I did not notice November either - not an optimal time for the Swiss Alps for reasons given above.

I'd hed south to Italy from Paris for wearmer better weather - Germany cn be rally funky in November.
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 04:37 AM
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Thanks a lot everyone for your suggestions.
My tickets are booked and are non refundable so there is no option..
I would go skiing in Switzerland, guess that's good for the season..
But no one has yet told me which places in Paris can I stay in..
We are totally new to Europe..
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 07:07 AM
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If you want to do some ski, go to Zermatt or Saas Fee. Most other ski areas will not yet be open in early November.
A Zermatt skipass costs some 90 USD/pax for 1 day and 230 USD/pax for 3 days.
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 08:25 AM
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In Paris, I would pick the most central hotel you can afford.

The neighborhoods are a spiral going outward in number on either side of the Seine river. Anything in the 1st thru 7th arrondissement will be convenient as a tourist.

You can tell by the postal code. For example, 75005 Paris, France would be in the 5th.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrondissements_of_Paris
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 08:31 AM
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I'm not understanding your goals. Skiing is extremely expensive. And ski resorts aren't that easy to get to by public transportation, usually, as they aren't on main train lines. And you need special clothing. And November is not ski season in most places.

Paris and Italy make more sense in November. But you say your tickets are bought and are nonrefundable, so where are your tickets to/from? If RT Paris, I wouldn't go that far away from it in only 8 days. It's kind of far to go to Italy and back (not to mention Germany). You'd have to fly. You could go to southern France and back by train OR to Belgium/Amsterdam or London. That isn't exactly country, though. November isn't that great a time anywhere IMO, but southern areas should be a bit better.

I think you need to figure out your itinerary before worrying about specifics as to exactly where you stay in Paris. There are thousands of hotels there, it's not a problem, many places you could stay.

What do you mean by "homestay?" I'm not familiar with that term except for exchange students. Do you mean to rent an apartment? Or do you mean B&B?
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 10:46 AM
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Skiing in November can be iffy - again as said before many lifts out of operation for repair during the off season before the real winter sports season begins.
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 11:29 AM
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I agree, there is no way to make "skiing in Switzerland" a "budget" trip.
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 01:51 PM
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there is little way to do anything in Switzerland on a budget - whatever that means as it means various things to various folks.
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Old Jul 28th, 2015, 09:43 PM
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Just chiming in to say I disagree strongly with Christina's comment:

"And ski resorts aren't that easy to get to by public transportation, usually, as they aren't on main train lines."

I'm not sure if she's talking about Switzerland, where this is really not true. In fact, for most of the Swiss ski resorts I've visited, you can ONLY get there by public transport -- Zermatt, Wengen, Grindelwald, Bettmeralp, Riederalp.

For those looking at this thread in the future -- yes, getting to Swiss ski resorts by public transport is dead-easy.

s
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Old Jul 29th, 2015, 06:37 AM
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Since vehicles cannot reach the ski slopes how would people get to them - no main train lines don't quite go there but mountain trains and aerial gondolas and ski-lifts do from where trains kick off. You do not want a car when going to a ski resort area.
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Old Jul 29th, 2015, 01:43 PM
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3) Is the visit to Disneyland worth it in Paris in November and number of nights we should spend in Paris.>

do you have easy access to a Disney Park at home - if it is your only chance to do so and especially with a 7-yr-old you may want to avail of the opportunity - if you have vistied Disney already then you will not find a lot terrible different.

For a French/European themed park near Paris try Asterix.
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Old Jul 31st, 2015, 09:19 AM
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I just returned from 2.5 weeks in Switzerland and 4 days in Paris. The cost difference was amazing! Switzerland was SO EXPENSIVE. It made Paris seem like a budget trip. We hardly ate out at restaurants in Switzerland; we ate mostly home-cooked food. Grocery store prices were still staggering. It cost me over $30 just to buy ingredients to make one large pan of lasagna! Ridiculous. Wish I'd known this before we travelled & bought most of our gifts/souvenirs in Switz rather than Paris. I expected Paris to be more pricey, but it wasn't.
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Old Jul 31st, 2015, 09:52 AM
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Paris is cheaper now than last year due to the decline of the Euro - Swiss franc has held fairly steady thus more expensive compared to Euro countries.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 01:57 AM
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" It cost me over $30 just to buy ingredients to make one large pan of lasagna!"

Prices of Lasagna ingrediants in Swiss supermarkets:
pasta: CHF 2.50/500gr
flavour: CHF 0.85/kg
butter: CHF 2.90/250gr
pomodori pelati: CHF 0.50/400gr
parmigiano or so: CHF 9.00/500gr
minced meet: CHF 1.00/100gr
oinions, carots, etc.: about CHF 1.00/kg
pepper: CHF 0.80/40gr
italian herbs: CHF 1.60/40gr

Price of Lasagne Bolognese ready to put into the oven: CHF 5.00/kg

1 CHF = 1 USD
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