France/Germany Itinerary
 

My husband and I are making plans to visit France and Germany for two weeks in late September. We will be flying into and out of Paris and combining car and train travel. Other than spending a few days in Paris and having the opportunity to include Dijon there are no set criteria. We just can't seem to bring together an itinerary. What would you suggest?

I think you posted the answer to your own question. Without set criteria, how do you decide on one itinerary over another? Why would you include a destination and not another? Are you perhaps trying to come up with one perfect itinerary? Perhaps it is easier to come up with several different itineraries and compare them side to side.

Also, by booking a round trip flight to Paris before looking at the ground itinerary, you have probably foregone an effective tool, multi-city flights, to eliminate the backtracking overhead.

You can typically get advance-sale train tickets for 29€ between Paris and Germany if you buy them 92 days in advance (when they first go on sale) at www.bahn.de, or maybe a little more if you dawdle. Trier is a fine destination about 3 hours from Paris on the Mosel River, and nearby towns offer a variety of experiences too. But like greg says, what sights and experiences interest you?

Hi CG,

>plans to visit France and Germany for two weeks in late September. We will be flying into and out of Paris...<

Why?

You can visit Paris,
Train to Strasbourg where you rent car to visit Alsace and return car in Strasbourg
train to Baden-Baden where you rent a car and visit Rothenburg ob der Tauber
drive down to Lindau on the Bodensee
drive up to Stuttgart where you leave the car and fly home.

You could also drop the car in Colmar and train to Freiburg and do the trip in reverse.

Be sure to have flammekeuche and real Meunster cheese in Alsace.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

If Dijon is a must, train from Paris to Dijon. Rent the car there and proceed as above.

PPS,

I can highly recommend http://myhomeindijon.com/