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England - France - French/Swiss Alps in 10-12 Days

England - France - French/Swiss Alps in 10-12 Days

Old Apr 26th, 2014, 10:43 AM
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England - France - French/Swiss Alps in 10-12 Days

Hello potential repliers!

I'm in the process of creating an itinerary for my 1st trip to Europe scheduled for August or September of 2014. I greatly appreciate any feedback/advice you can share.

Here's what I'm looking for:
- Visiting a friend in London, so I'm planning on arriving there and spending 2-3 nights
- I love everything French, so this would be my main focus in my travels. I'd like to spend ample time in Paris and take occasional day trips from a home base in Paris
- Hiking and exploring scenic summits is another love of mine, so I would like to experience the Alps (the question is where)

Other notes:
- I'm traveling alone and will rely on public transit only (not renting a car)
- Love the arts and plan to visit museums and catch any music I can

Need advice on:
- Should I travel to Switzerland for the Swiss Alps or travel further in France for the French Alps and possibly cross over into Italy?
- If I explore the French Alps, is it realistic to plan to see the French Riveria as well?
- Where to hike? Best day hike for mountain scenery, waterfalls, glacial lakes, wildlife, and wildflowers?
- What city should I fly out of?

Thank you so much for your help!
Kaufkj44 is offline  
Old Apr 26th, 2014, 11:07 AM
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It sounds like you are trying to bit off too much in too little time.

First - how many days do you actually have "on the ground"? That means you don;t count the day you leave the US, the time you arrive in London or the day you fly out of wherever.

Second - what is your budget like? Switz is way more expensive that France or England (and both of those are about 25% more expensive than the US.)

Assuming you have a total of 10 days really on the ground and spend nights 1 and 2 (1.5 days) in London, then transfer to Paris for 6 nights (nights 3 through 8) (5.5 days is a reasonable time for a first trip although I don;t know if I would call it ample) that leaves you 2 nights (1.5 days) to get to the French Alps, see them and do a day hike - for a total of 10 nights.

If you can expend the trip to 12 nights on the ground you can spend more time in the Alps.

If you are counting the days you arrive and depart and your total is 10 - you can see you friend briefly, spend 3 days in Paris (NOT ample) and a couple in the French Alps - probably flying home from Geneva (the airport is on the border between France and switz).
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Old Apr 26th, 2014, 11:09 AM
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Sorry - also be aware that much of europe goes on vacation for the month of August (quite a few plants/companies close for the month) so expect lots of other tourists everywhere.
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Old Apr 26th, 2014, 12:14 PM
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Do French companies still close in August? In Italy, that's a thing of the past.
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Old Apr 27th, 2014, 06:00 AM
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Most companies close in August in France still, and many restaurants in Paris, although that doesn't make it hard to find a good meal. But since the French think that anything worth doing is worth doing en masse, absolutely everyone takes a vacation between July 14 and September 1.

Train transportation is a real issue to the mountains and around them once you get there. Time consuming!

Maybe this trip should be about enjoying London and Paris? As nytraveler says above, 3 of 4 days is just the beginning in either one of those cities.
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Old Apr 27th, 2014, 06:28 AM
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I'd recommend the French area near Pontarlier. To the south and east of this town are many lovely meadows with fine views into the alps and a lot cheaper than the Swiss side. There are many walking hotels up on these meadows. For example http://www.les-fourgs.com/ you catch the train to Pontarlier and a bus the rest of the way or you could hire a local car.
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Old Apr 27th, 2014, 04:51 PM
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Thanks for your thoughts everyone!

@nytraveler - I'm planning on 10-11 days on the ground. My budget is $2500-$3000 including airfare. I just received an email from a buddy in Paris and I may be able to stay with him for a few days, so that could save me some money Regarding time, I suppose I should plan on traveling in early September then.

If I cut Switz out of my travels, then that could open up time to travel to Provence and see some of the French Alps there. Maybe I could have a day hike and travel to Nice for a day and then fly out of Aéroport Nice Côte d'Azur. Or is this also too ambitious?

Days on the ground:
3 - London
4 to 5 - Paris
2 - French Alps area
1 - Nice
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Old Apr 27th, 2014, 05:18 PM
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>>Days on the ground:
3 - London
4 to 5 - Paris
2 - French Alps area
1 - Nice
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Old Apr 28th, 2014, 06:27 AM
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- I'm traveling alone and will rely on public transit only (not renting a car)>

For getting a good fix on European trains - buses only run a few routes at odd times inter-cty with buses basically only running where trains do not - check out these IMO superb sites: www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - check the latter's free online European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of rail-oriented itineraries and places to go.
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Old Apr 28th, 2014, 09:15 PM
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@PalenQ, I love Rick Steves' site and books. I'll definitely check out the rest of these links.

After heavy consideration, I've decided that my third destination should just be another metropolis that's easy to fly out of. Maybe it's best to leave the scenic countrysides and hikes to when I travel with with a partner. That said, I'm planning to fly to Berlin from Paris. Here's my new itinerary:

Day 1: Take red eye from NYC to London
Day 2: Arrive in London
Day 3: London
Day 4: London
Day 5: Take chunnel from London to Paris in morning
Day 6: Paris
Day 7: Paris + day trip to Versailles
Day 8: Paris
Day 9: Fly out of Paris to Berlin
Day 10: Berlin
Day 11: Berlin
Day 12: Fly from Berlin to NYC

This seems more realistic, right? Thank you everyone for your thoughts!
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Old Apr 28th, 2014, 10:45 PM
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Much more realistic!

I might - just might - add a day to London and take one from Berlin. Not because Berlin isn't 'worth' the time. But you only have 2.5 days in London and w/ the pretty much inevitable jet lag that means really only 2 usable days. London is massive w/ many MANY major sites.

But that is really a quibble - even adding a day wouldn't give you enough time to do much. You'll have other trips and other chances to see London.
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Old Apr 29th, 2014, 05:06 AM
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@janisj - solid point. I may just add another day to my travels after I speak to my friend in London.

Since I'm just getting a taste of each city, are there any major sites/museums that anyone would deem overrated in that it's not worth the time/money if I'm only in the city for 2-3 days?

My apologies for the vague question but I'm now prioritizing what I'll be doing in these places.
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Old Apr 29th, 2014, 06:33 AM
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buy your Eurostar ticket ASAP - cheap fares sell out quickly on many trains - for best bets for good fares try for mid-week later in the day or early in the morning. www.eurostar.com is the official site but www.raileurope.com on Eurostar tickets can also be competitive as folks have shown here recently - but ask about fees in that case. www.seat61.com has good info on discounted tickets and also check www.ricksteves.com (I'm sure you are familiar with his site!) and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Too bad you cannot add at least one day to each stop.
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Old Apr 29th, 2014, 09:04 AM
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All of those cities have way more A list sights than you will hae time for. London has at least a week's worth, Paris almsot as much and Berlin 4/5 days.

Your problem with be picking the best of the best - and allowing enough time for each. Do have a realistic idea - you just can't see the Tower of London in an hour unless you jog all the way through and ignore several of the buildings. And do allow time for lines to get in - or be there first.
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Old Apr 29th, 2014, 04:22 PM
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Rick Steves has you rushing through stuff. I think his book recommends two hours for the Tower of London. We were there for 5 hours and we didn't even go into every single building.

London has so many sights--Tower of London, Westminster Abbey,climbing to the top of St Paul, British Museum, National Gallery, Imperial War Museum, Churchill War Rooms, etc. Hampton Court Palace-a short train ride away. More to do in a month let alone just a few days.

Paris is smaller but has a fair share of major sites to see==Notre Dame, Luxembourg Gardens, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomph, the Louvre, St Chapelle, the Orangerie, Musee de Orsay not only for the art inside but for the architecture too etc. etc. You have to really narrow down what you want to see with only a few days in each place.
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Old May 4th, 2014, 08:07 AM
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A few hours at the mobbed Tower of London were more than enough for me - I guess without the swarms of crowds it may have been more inviting for poking around but here I agree with Rick Steves

I also agree with many here that two days in either Paris or London is scratching the tip of the proverbial ice berg - three full days IMO is a minimum for anything but a rushed look.
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