Honeymoon: Paris, Switzerland, Italy
 

My fiance and I (mid-20's) are currently planning our October 2013 honeymoon. We plan to visit Paris, Switzerland and Italy during our 2 week visit (12 days in europe). We are flying into Paris and out of Rome. Our preliminary itinerary looks something like this:

Paris (3 days)
--Recovering from jet lag/shopping/food!/wine!
--Eiffle Tower/Louvre/A few other "traditional" tourist things
--Outdoor activity??
Southeast France (1 day)
--Train to southeast France to check out some of wine country/small towns
Switzerland (3 days)
--My family is originally from Bern, so we'd like to check that out for a bit.
--I've heard great things about the Jungfrau Region
--We really want to do some hiking!
Italy (5 days)
--Still trying to decide where to go -- Venice, Florence, Rome. I think Venice will be too much for this trip. Thoughts?

My fiance and I don't particulary enjoy typical "tourist" activities. The more off the beaten path, the better.

Any recommendations on itinerary or travel tips would be great! I hear the Select Pass does not include France for 2013, so I'm thinking our best option/price is the Global Pass. Any thoughts? Thanks! :)

You are trying to cover a huge amount of territory in very limited time 912 days total - but really 10 to see anythng)

In the days you have you should do three (3) cities/hotels - no more - or you will end up spending a lot of your time just getting from one place to another.

This means Paris, Bern (i presume) and Rome, since that is where you are flying out of.

I think you need to make some hard decisions - for you will findyou have spend a lot of money and your enitre honeymoon in train stations and airports.

Agree, but too bad you can't fly out of Venice, as it would be super romantic for your honeymoon and closer to Bern.

Hmmm... I would have said the same, keep Venice, skip Florence and Rome.

Venice is personally one of the most amazing places I have ever been. I would absolutely recommend it for a romantic honeymoon trip!

Personally, I'd skip the day in SE France. That's not a whole lot of time to get around to see things and you'll have much of it eaten up in travel time. I think you'll appreciate having the time elsewhere. And I'd skip Florence in favor of Venice and Rome.

I totally understand trying to fit a lot of things into itineraries! I often fall prey to the "but we'll already be in ____" syndrome. :) It's not for everyone, but we've had some great trips that way. Sounds like you're going to have a wonderful honeymoon, any way you arrange it!

Oh, and for outdoor activities in Paris: You could spend all 3 days just walking around the city and never run out of beautiful things to see. Bike tours of the city are very popular--we've never done one, but they look fun. Or you can rent Velibs and bike around on your own. Versailles is a short commuter train ride away--it sounds like the palace wouldn't be your thing, but the grounds are huge & stunning. It would be easy to spend a day outside exploring them. If you're not set on the Louvre in particular, could I recommend the Musee d'Orsay instead? If you were only going to do one, I think the Musee d'Orsay is more fun and easier to take in. You can get a combo ticket for it and l'Orangerie, where you can see Monet's waterlilies--gorgeous.

Start with the assumption you just want to pre-book cheap train tickets at www.tgv-europe.com (for journeys within or starting in France), www.sbb.ch for journeys within or starting in Switzerland, www.trenitalia.com in Italy or starting in Italy.

Only think railpasses if you actual NEED unlimited travel or total flexibility, and are prepared to pay top dollar for it.

It's exactly the same principle as booking your flights to Europe - you don't want an unlimited mileage all-over-the-word airline pass, you just want a cheap return flight to Europe! Trains are the same, and western European trains now work like air fares with budget fares if you pre-book!

I second mango805 suggestion to skip Southeast France, it's not worth the effort to travel there and only stay for a night. Put the extra day in Paris or Switzerland instead. Luzern and Interlaken are fantastic choice for scenery and trekking, you can stay 3N here and 1N in Bern before taking the train to Venice (2N) and finishing your 3N in Rome.

p.s If only you have an extra day, I will definitely recommend visiting Florence

Thank you so much for all of your advice! We have not officially booked our flights, so flying out of Rome is still negotiable. I plan to rethink our itinerary these next few weeks and try to figure out a way to spend as little time traveling as possible. I want to see much more than train stations and airports on my honeymoon!

Thanks again! Keep the ideas coming. :)

We went to Italy on our honeymoon in 2011, and it was heaven on earth. We did 3 nights in Rome, 2 nights Sorrento, 3 nights Ravello, last night in Rome.

However, even though I think Italy is an amazing honeymoon destination, it sounds like you have a lot squeezed in to your tentative itinerary. If you're set on Paris and Switzerland, I would probably remove Italy altogther and send couple days on the French Riviera in Nice or Cannes. You could fly in to Paris, then travel to Switzerland, then fly home from Nice.

On the other and, if you have your heart set on Italy, I agree that you should skip SE France because there simply won't be enough time.

I loved the Bern Oberland Switzerland area in the Summer. We found out our family has roots there too.

For a honeymoon I would spend time in Venice and Paris, strolling hand-in-hand. Crowds shouldn't be bad in October. For two weeks, I wouldn't include Rome. Just not enough time if you also include Switzerland. You'll get a taste of 3 different cultures with Paris, Switzerland, and Venice and without rushing too much. Switzerland also gives you a break from the Urban environments.

Well this is helpful! My fiance and I are planning an October 2013 honeymoon as well. Currently we are thinking Prague, Amsterdam, Paris and one more place? Everyone seems to be raving about Switzerland....will it be cold in October though?

October in Switzerland:
usually sunny and dry in the Alps (in Canton of Valais even somewhat warm as long as the sun shines) with cold nights;
fog or at least a compact clouds cover over the lower areas The Lake areas (Interlaken, Lucerne, Zurich, etc.) can get really bleak in October.
Snow limit usually between 2500 and 3000 metres.
But weather is always unpredictable in Switzerland. I gave the most probable evolution, but in some years, it's just the contrary.
All mountain railways, cableways etc. in the German speaking part of Switzerland and in Engiadina will run until about mid October; in the French speaking part, most will be closed.
Zermatt railways and cableways and the Jungfrau railway run all the year round.