Californiagirl

We're making a trip to Europe in June -- my husband's first time there. Our must-sees are Paris and Venice (him), Amalfi Coast and Tuscany/Umbria (me). We also need to make a stop in Lausanne to visit friends. <BR>Please give me your advice on our itinerary... we are in our early 30s, enjoy a combination of both cities and scenic villages, good food, and hiking/long walks. I'm definitely budget conscious so am a bit concerned about the expenses on the Swiss part of the trip -- that, and the fact that I've travelled there before -- explain why it gets short shrift on our itinerary. I've been to Locarno and Lugano and loved them; want to show them to my husband. However, I haven't been to Bellagio, so I'm considering that as perhaps a daytrip.<BR><BR>Day 1: Arrive Paris<BR>Day 2: Paris<BR>Day 3: Paris<BR>Day 4: Paris<BR>Day 5: Paris<BR>Day 6: TGV train to Lausanne -- stay with friends<BR>Day 7: Lausanne - stay with friends<BR>Day 8: Explore nearby areas -- Gruyere or Montreux, etc. Stay with friends<BR>Day 10: Train to Lugano or Bellagio area<BR>Day 11: Lugano or Bellagio area<BR>Day 12: Train to Venice<BR>Day 13: Venice<BR>Day 14: Venice<BR>Day 15: Train to Florence<BR>Day 16: Florence<BR>Day 17: Florence<BR>Day 18-24: Pick up rental car, drive to Tuscany, stay near Montepulciano. Spend a week exploring Tuscany/Umbria.<BR>Day 25: Drop car in Rome, then visit Rome<BR>Day 26: Rome<BR>Day 27: Rome<BR>Day 28: Rome<BR>Day 29: Train+bus to Amalfi area via Naples or Salerno<BR>Day 30: Amalfi area<BR>Day 31: Amalfi area<BR>Day 32: Hydrofoil to Capri, stay over<BR>Day 33: Capri, stay over<BR>Day 34: Return to Rome<BR>Day 35: Leave from Rome<BR><BR><BR>Questions: <BR>1) I want to stop somewhere in Switzerland so I can show my husband a place with typical Swiss mountain atmosphere and scenery, beautiful hikes, and a great train ride, preferably located somewhere convenient to Lausanne. Wengen/Murren look way out of the way. Zermatt was overly touristy, as I remember it. <BR>2) Recommendations on rail passes to get? The big train rides we'll be taking are Paris-Lausanne, Lausanne-Lugano, Lugano-Venice, Venice-Florence, Rome-Salerno or Rome-Naples.

Wayne

Relative to your desire to stop in a non-touristy but appealing village in Switzerland -- northeast of Lausanne, about 25 miles, is a little hilltop town called Romont. It's one of my secret places, and now I guess I'm spilling the beans. But it isn't crowded with tourists, and it has all the features of a typical Swiss village. I never miss going back there when I am in the area. If you stroll around the town a bit, you'll see Swiss life as it typically exists in many towns. And the scenery from several spots is excllent, with the snow-capped Alps in the background. Good luck.

leeg

Where you go depends on how much time days) you have for Switzerland. The best of the best for mountains, scenery etc IMO is the Bernese Oberland region. I was there last June and must say the views are awe inspiring. If this might be your only trip to Switzerland then you must go here. <BR><BR>If time is really short, stay in Interlaken and do at least a day trip up the mountains to one of the villages. My choice would be either Murren or Grindlewald (both beautiful mountain villages). If you can stay longer, then I might suggest you stay up in the mountains for a night or two. Murren is my preference. The mountains are right in your face.

swandav2000

Hello Californiagirl,<BR><BR>Wow, nice trip!!<BR><BR>Sorry, Wayne, but the cat really is out of the bag now -- I checked Romont's website and it does look charming. Maybe I'll bump into you there one day!! The website, in French only, is at www.romont.ch.<BR><BR>Another place for you to consider is Chateau d'Oex, about 1.26 hours from Lausanne by train. There is a change in Montreux, so you may want to combine your Montreux excursion with this one. Anyway, the website is at <BR>www.chateau-doex.ch.<BR><BR>Best of luck!<BR><BR>s

bobthenavigator

What a great trip in my favorite parts of the world. The overall plan looks good to me with some tweeks. I would spend another day at the Lakes--your travel day there will be long.<BR>The big tweek is to end in Rome. Drive as far as Sorrento or Salerno from Tuscany, drop the car, and spend your last several day in Rome.No reason to stay there twice. Good luck !

RaymondLuxuryYacht

CaliforniaGirl, sounds like a great trip. In fact-- it sounds very much like a trip we made in 2001, when we spent 6 weeks in Italy in most of the same places (as well as a few others, and about 5 days in Paris, our arrival and departure point). Check out my travel site at www.strick.net/travel, where I posted travelogues from cybercafes along the way, and photos from the trip after we returned.<BR><BR>I would say our itinerary involved about 20% more time in each place than yours, but yours seems quite reasonable. And glad to see you included two nights in Capri -- the highlight of our trip. While there, take a taxi (or bus) out to the Faro Punta Carena resort. It's in the far corner of the island, and is a great little hideaway (though don't know how crowded it'll be in June).<BR><BR>Have a great trip! If you have direct questions, you can email me via my Web site.

Californiagirl

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will look into the Swiss villages you suggested. Bobthenavigator, I will definitely take both of your suggestions -- dropping the car in Salerno and eliminating the extra day in Rome will provide one more day in the Lakes.<BR><BR>I'll post again with further details once I've ironed out the basic destinations.