Hello,

I am planning a family trip for 8 weeks in Europe (Mar/Apr 06) and need help with the first and last week. Here's our plan so far. We're flying from Boston to Geneva and will mostly travel by train.

Wk 1 Arrive Geneva travel through Switzerland, preferably by rail although if it's way better we could drive, ending up Garmisch for wk 2. What would be the best stops? We'll have 5 nights in Switzerland and are unsure of how to break it up. We'll probablty stay in Lausanne the first night and then we don't know!

Wk 2 & 3 Garmisch, train to Prague
Wk 4 Prague Flight to Koln (where we're meeting family), train to St Goar
Wk 5,6 & 7 St Goar
Wk 8 Make our way from st Goar into France and down to Geneva. Here we have the same problem as Swit. where to sleep along the way. We'll have a car for this week.

I know some people will say 3 weeks is too long in St Goar, but we have family joining us for part of the time. We'll also have a car for one week and we'll be venturing off to various side trip destinations. My DH and I are also leaving the kid for a week with grandma to go on a river cruise, so we won't really be there three solid weeks.

Any help will be appreciated, thanks Fodorites!!!
Betty

I'd say yes to Swiss trains, but I don't know anything about the lakeboat schedules or the weather for Mar/Apr. However, I'd stay two nights in Lausanne so you can boat or train to Chillon, Montreux, or the lavaux villages, and then three nights in Lucerne or in one of its nearby lakeside villages. From Lucerne you can visit all sorts of places including Rapperswil, Zurich, and even Lugano in Ticino. That is, if you like trains through beautiful countryside. 8 weeks! I'm green with envy. J.

Hi Betty,

I'm also planning a trip to France and Switzerland this year, in late May, and like you we'll be flying out of Boston. Have you found any deals on airfare? I've seen some decent fares(under $500) for your time frame March/April, But nothing for late May yet.
As far as itinerary help for you, I would expect that you would want to spend some time in the Berner Oberland riding the lifts and mountain trains; and as you head from Switzerland to Garmisch, you might like to poke around lake Konstanz. There's lots to do there, though it may be a bit chilly in March. The one place I didn't get to see this past May in Germany was Bamberg. It would make for a nice drive (3 - 4 hrs) from St Goar, and you could check out Wurzburg and Nuremberg if time allowed.
Good luck, Whitey

The Geneva airport is the best, and the train station is connected to it, so it couldn't be an easier arrival.

While you are in Lausanne, also visit Vevey and Montreux, the next two towns along the lake. Most Swiss towns have tourist information websites with addresses such as:

www.vevey.ch
www.montreux.ch

Thanks for the suggestions! Our first draft Swiss pan is

3/6 Fly
3/7 Lausanne
3/8 Lausanne
3/9 Luzern (only 1 night because we've already been)
3/10 Bernina Express- and due to the fact the bus doesn't run from Tirano-and back. This seems like a lot but DH really wants to do it.
Where to sleep? Chur?
3/11 Travel to Garmisch
Any suggestions? Improvements?

Whitey

Where did you find air under $500? Is that with taxes? The best I've found is on BA $550 pp.

Thanks so much!!

As to fares, look at these sites if you haven't already:

www.onetravel.com
www.mobissimo.com
www.itasoftware.com

The boat schedules on Lac Leman out of Geneva and Lausanne will expand sometime in early April.

If you get tired of Lausanne I would recommend a visit to Vevey or Montreux which are easily reached by rail; in Montreux you could also visit the nearby Chillon Castle or for spectacular views over the lake take the cog wheel railway from Montreux up to Rochers de Naye. The trip up is scenic in and of itself; the only drawback is that clouds above may obscure any views.

Consider taking one of the Golden Pass trains from Montreux on your way to Luzern.

Hi Betty,

I was getting fares of $450 - 500 going to Paris or Nice. If you fly into Geneva, you're right, BA has a flight for $529.66, which is really pretty good when you consider the fare is only $283 (the darn taxes are an additional 246.66). I'd be pretty happy with that fare, I can't imagine you'd find anything to Geneva for much less, unless Iceland air has a sale but then you are talking three flight segments instead of two. I'd be tempted to book it right away, and focus my attention on the places to stay and see...

Good Luck,
Whitey

Not Lausanne, that's a boring town up on the hill - stay anywhere else on the lake Geneva - in Vevey, in Montreux, above Montreux in Glion, or below Lausanne in Ouchy which it Lausanne's "port" suburb.

Check www.cgn.ch/en/home/index.php for the boats, they may not run yet at full tilt that early in the season. You can alway email them to ask.

There isn't much to see in Montreux at that time of year, too early for flowers in the promenades etc. I'd say go see the Chillon castle and move on.

Maybe a train ride up to Zermatt for an overnight stay in the hope of seeing the Matterhorn from up close? (Won't be cheap.) Or a couple of days in Montana/Crans for a day of skiing or boarding or skating?

Or a train ride to Brig and a ride on the Glacier Express (book long in advance!) to St. Moritz, prime spot in Graubünden, with excursions in all directions (depending on snow etc.)?

Or a train ride on the Montreux-Oberland Bahn from Montreux to the heart of the Berner Oberland (Gstaad, Zweisimmen) and on to Interlaken with all the grand spots like Jungfrau Joch, Schilthorn (if open) and so on? Staying in Interlaken puts you at the hub of all such destinations, and the local tourist office will tell you what's open and what's still closed (high mountain passes don't become open until late May).

If the weather turns lousy, head for cities like Bern and Luzern, plenty to do there inside. They're only an hour or so away by train.

Luzern might provide some great excursions to mountain tops like Rigi or Pilatus if weather permits - bring your camera!

Then head for Zürich, an important city not just for commerce and such. Or leave it for the return trip?

If you like hiking (weather permitting) ask local tourism offices and bookshops for info on the hiking trail network called Wanderwege.

WK

Of those towns I prefer Vevey 1st or Montreux 2nd over Lausanne. They are smaller, more picturesque, easier to get around (Lausanne is quite a bit larger).