Is this auto trip too much?
 

We are seven, three of which are children 9,11,14, traveling from Paris to Nice. Never been there and want to keep it simple, focusing on the beauty. My sister has her heart set on Switzerland for a brief visit so the only way I see by auto is:
Paris to Dijon by train and pick up car.

Drive Dijon to Alsace.

Drive Alsace to Zermatt

Zermatt to Lyon

Lyon to Provence

Provence to Cote D'Azur
If my calculations are correct, other than side-trip to Zermatt, these cities are only 2-3 hour drives between them and we can stay two nights if we like at any we choose. Then we can drop off car and fly out of Nice.

From what I read, so many people choose to do too much and that will spoil it for us. We enjoy restful times centered around good meals and pretty and interesting sights. Each of those towns I chose appears on the way and has something special to offer.
I am uncertain whether to start with this itinerary or not. I said I wanted simple but it doesn't sound very simple does it?
All your insights have gotten me so thrilled about planning this but I can't get a good starting place. Thank you very much

You do know that you can't drive to Zermatt, I assume.

Where in Alsace ? from south-Alsace to north it's about 3 hours driving
Zermatt-Strasbourg (for instance) would be close from 6 hours (500 km)

Uh-oh. No, I did not know you can't drive from Alsace to Zermatt. Back to the drawing board.
I guess I will have to substitute the train for the car for the Dijon-Alsace,Alsace-Zermatt, and Zermatt-Lyon portion and then try to begin the car trip in Lyon.The train travel seems more difficult to figure out.
Thank you so much.

Hi df,

You can drive to the town of Zermatt Centre. You have to take a train to Zermatt.

See www.viamichelin.com

>My sister has her heart set on Switzerland for a brief visit ...<

Do you have to visit both Alsace (where in Alsace) and Switzerland?

Does it have to be Zermatt?

((I))

I would suggest it the other way round.
Train Paris-Strasbourg(-Colmar)
(possibly renting a car for a few days there; the train connections along the main line Basel-Mulhouse-Colmar-Strasbourg are excellent, frequent and fast, but outside this the public transport leaves a lot to be desired in Alsace)
Train via Basel to Zermatt.
Train from Zermatt via Geneva to Lyon.
Make a day trip from Lyon to Dijon by train.
Rent a car to get around, esp. in the Provençal countryside and around Dijon
Drive to the Cote d'Azur or take the train - the traffic jams along the Cote d'Azur can be horrible.
As a rule, the public transport in France is very efficient and comfortable along the main routes but hardly available outside of thise; in Switzerland the bus/train network is very pervasive even in the countryside and some mountain towns like Zermatt simply don't have a road access.

Where exactly does the road stop before Zermatt : Taesch ?

>Where exactly does the road stop before Zermatt : Taesch ?

Yes.

Thanks !

You might think about renting a car in Switzerland to avoid having to pay for the Swiss autoroute vignette (CHF 40) when you cross the border. But I have not checked the car rental prices in Switzerland to see if the price for renting a car there erases the savings or not.

Hi df50,

I wonder why you're diverting to Dijon & Alsace -- are they destinations you definitely want to include?

If not, just get the TGV from Paris to Geneva, then connect to the train to Zermatt, about 3 or 4 hours more.

When you leave, you may consider taking Easyjet from Geneva to Nice.

Good luck!

s

You are so helpful, thank you all! I just plunged in, choosing towns from where we begin in Paris and where we want to end in Nice, incorporating at least a little bit of Switzerland in the plan. I chose Zermatt because from my reading it sounded like quintessential Switzerland.

I chose Alsace because of the storybook village Riquewihr.

I chose Dijon and Lyon because they appear on the main route between Paris and Nice and keep the driving distance short between stops.

Really, we just want to see a little variety of the French highlights, with ease of travel and the convenience of having a car when one is handy. But now I am going to study all your alternatives and come back with more questions probably.

By the way, we are going next May.

Thank you once again.