France: Bernese Oberland to Paris
 

Planning a trip next August. Driving from Nice-CT-Bellagio/Mennagio- Bernese Oberland and then on to Paris for 4 days. Any suggestions where to stop between BO and Paris? We do not wish to do a 7+ hour trip in one day. We do not drink,but love good food and quaint villages, forts ,castles, medieval cities. We will have our 2 boys 12 and 17 with us.

Also should we drop off car in Paris(we are comfortable driving in Europe, have done so in Rome,Madrid etc to pick up a car) or drop off in a smaller city and train into Paris. Thanks.

Hi Dock,

Here are some possibilities (do a search here on the name, or, if one strikes you, ask about that one again):

Gstaad, Chateau d'Oex, or Saanen -- right at the junction of German & French Switzerland. This is lush, rolling country as the mountains settle down into the plains & fields of the Lake Geneva region; the countryside is dotted with brown-wood chalet villages.

Lake Geneva region, either Montreux or Vevey. These are small, French-oriented cities right on the lake, and you'll see lots of flowers, lakeside cafes, and lakeside promenades. Of course, Chillon castle sits just outside of Montreux.

There is a scenic train covering your route from Interlaken to Montreux called the Golden Pass Panoramic, and a TGV train links Lausanne & Paris. Because of that, I would drop the rental in Interlaken and enjoy the Swiss train experience. Schedules at www.rail.ch.

Have fun!

s

If you take a TGV from either Bern or Lausanne to Paris it will be faster than that 7.5 hour trip you are dreading. Unless there is somewhere specific in France you want to see I would drop the car in Italy and train into and through Switzerland...unless you can find a way to avoid what I suspect will be a hefty drop charge for renting in one country and dropping off in another.

Thanks for the help. There is a huge drop off charge if we pick up in Italy and drop off in Switzerland so that is not an option. We are considering somewhere close to Lausanne. Does anyone know if Lyon or Dijon would be a nice 1 day stop?

Hi again,

I think Dukey's point is to pick up your rental in Italy and then drop it off in Italy just before going to the BO. I would drop it in Milan and then train up to the BO -- save all that $$ and enjoy the trip more. A car will be mostly useless in the BO anyway, as many spots are car-free.

s

ps,

I don't think either Lyon or Dijon are "close" to Lausanne as both are about two hours by car. Montreux is about 30 minutes by car, Vevey about 15.

s

I've gone from the B.O. to Dijon, don't remember how long it took, but Dijon is definitely worth a visit, a very interesting town.

You can always drop your car off at the Basel airport (in France) or the French part of the Geneva station and then take the train to Paris. Otherwise, Besançon might be a logical mid-way point.

Thanks all we will look at a map, via michelin and info about all the various towns and hopefully find somewhere that is fun fo all of us. Montreux is on our shortlist. thanks again.

Hang on to the car til you get to Paris - find out the cheapest drop-off place for your one-way rental. Could be an airport - has to be a high-traffic branch with big turnover, and it will be a one-way drop-off within France so none of the cross-border penalties will apply.

Buy a "vignette" road-tax sticker as soon as you get to the Swiss border, if you drive without it on major roads in Switzerland you get fined a lot of money.

On leaving the Berner Oberland you have tons of choices as to routes and places to see on the way. Having your car will let you respond to wishes from within your groups, and proceed as the weather and mood allow.

Just a list of suggestions - use google etc. to check them out and make your own list:

Still in Switzerland on the way to France:

Murten (Morat in French, fortified old town on lake - http://www.murten.ch/_anglais/index.html),

Avenches (Roman excavations from when it was called Aventicum - http://www.avenches.ch/ota/index.php?lang=eng),

La Chaux-de-Fonds (in Jura mountains near French border, Canton of Neuchatel, they do tours through watch factories! - http://www.neuchateltourisme.ch/e/home/).

Then across the border: Ronchamp (Le Courvoisier's Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut - http://www.demel.net/fs-ronchamp.html),

Belfort (castle/fort - see http://www.interfrance.com/en/fc/fc_belfort.html),

Nancy (see http://www.ot-nancy.fr/uk/centre_historique/index.php),

then either scoot west to Troyes (http://www.tourisme-troyes.com/welcome/index.htm) or head up to Chalons-en-Champagne and Reims - by now you're in Champagne territory, and Troyes and Reims are worth a visit for reasons besides the wine.

This would keep you off the major expressways and show you more about the real France - good but secondary roads, stop where you like, soak it up.