daylems

I will be traveling with a friend during August. We are starting in Paris, and I am trying to figure out a reasonable--and scenic--route to get to Italy. We end out journey out of either Rome or Venice.

We would like to go through Switzerland, but I am not sure which route would make more sense. I was thinking of staying a night in Colmar, then staying 2 nights in Lucerne, Interlaken or Zermatt ( i am really open to suggestions ).
Alternately, we could skip staying in Switzerland, but travel through Switzerland to Chamonix, though it looks complicated ( 4 transfers). If possible we would love to be able to take one of the scenic trains en route-maybe the Centovalli or the Wilhelm Tell Express?

We then want to take the train from Switzerland to La Spezia.(Cinque Terre)

Here is our tentative itinerary. Any comments or suggestions are appreciated. Aslo, we will be using a Eurail 3 country Select pass . We are both 21 and could get the youth pass, but we are wondering if getting a 1st class Supersaver would ensure reservations during that busy time?

Thanks.
Day 1-5 Paris
Day 6- Depart Paris-Colmar ( 1 night)
Day 7- Depart Colmar for Interlaken or Lucerne or Chamonix
Day 8 Interlaken/Lucerne/or Chamonix
Day 9 Depart for Cinque Terre(via Milan?)
Day 10, 11, 12 Cinque Terre
Day13 Depart Cinque Terre for Florence
Day 14, 15, 16 Florence
Day 17 Depart Florence for Rome
Day 18, 19, 20 Rome
Day 21 Depart Rome for Venice
Day 22, 23, 24 Venice
Day 25 Depart for Home

PalenQ

To me the essence of the Alpine wonderland of Switzerland - the ice-girdled jagged peaks and chalet-sytled wooden houses lying far below them in verdant cow-strewn valleys is in the Interlaken area - the Jungfrau Region or Berner Oberland as it is also called. Take a train from Paris to Bern then take a local train to Interlaken-ost - end of the line and then take the tiny mountain trains up to a place like Grindelwald or Wengen - two small towns with totally awesome views of the Jungfrau Massif and valleys and.... just mind-boggling vistas.

And this is about half way between Paris and Venice - just off the mainline Bern to Milan to Venice.

anyway for lots on train travel and passes (the only one you would consider would be the Eurail 3-Country Select Pass - good in France, Switzerland and Italy - if going first class (as I after decades of incessant European train trip adamantly advice for anyone on the trip of a lifetime) the pass may well be a great deal.

Check out these fab IMO sites for lots on European trains and passes: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com. For train schedules in all of Europe I find the German Railways online schedule is the best I've seen for all European trains - www.bahn.de.

PalenQ

You can more easily perhaps go to Chamonix thru France with only one change of train on some rail links - in St-Gervais-f-les-bains where the wider main line tracks end and the narrow-gauge tiny train to Chamonix begins

Then to get to Switzerland later take the fantastically gorgeous IMO Chamonix-Martingy tiny train - a mountain-climbing train with exhilarating Alpine scenery - comes down to Martigny in the Rhone Valley which is a short train ride from Visp where you change for Zermatt - the whole way is dramatically scenic.

greg

Since someone mentioned Martigny-Chamonix train; which side of the train has the better view? In the Swiss side, the tall mountains seem to be on the north side while in France the they are on the south side.

PalenQ

Leaving Martigny you want to be on the right side - south side as this train rolls along a narrow ledge going steeply up overlooking the Rhone Valley far below. but the train is usually not full so you can hop from side to side as the scenery dictates. Only on the official Mount Blanc Express - like the Glacier Express may you have chock full seats but the regular hourly or so trains no reservations are possible and the train is really a local train with folks getting on and off every few miles.

Man_in_seat_61

Use French Railways own site www.tgv-europe.com to book Paris-Colmar and Colmar-Interlaken. There may be cheap fares if you pre-book, making it cheaper than a railpass. Tip: If you're from the USA, select 'Canada' or 'Great Britain' or even 'Afghanistan' to avoid being bumped to Rail Europe).

www.sbb.ch will give prices and times for trains in Switzerland. This is the one place where a pass can often work out cheaper than normal tickets, but it depends on the mileage you do.

wwwsbb.ch can also book tickets from anywhere in Switzerland to Milan, with Bern or Basel or Geneva to Milan starting at just CHF34 (about $35) if you pre-book, max 90 days ahead.

Then use www.trenitalia.com for Italy. Even buying full-price tickets is usually cheaper than a railpass in Italy, unless you plan to do the equivalent of Milan-Rome or more every single day you use the pass. You can get cheap 'Mini' prices if you pre-book, eg Rome-Florence for maybe 19 euros.

daylems

Thank you all for such wonderful suggestions.I wish we could add another week

PalenQ

A railpass however allows for flexible travel to decide which trains to hop as you go along - the online discounts are often train-specific and non-refundable I believe. And again first class is the way for the average traveler on the trip of a lifetime to go IMO - and a pass in first class should be very cost effective all told and also provide flexibility.

PalenQ

Scenic train ride from Martigny to Chamonix

1 min - Sep 14, 2009
Mont Blanc Express mountain train between Martigny, Switzerland & Chamonix, France.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfR1VNTEHDE

PalenQ

colmar to Interlaken - first take a regional train - no reservations needed on most I think to Basel then take any of the hourly or more trains to Bern, often changing there for Interlaken - either the West station in town center or the Ost or East train station at the end of the mainline and jumping off point for trains to Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, etc.

PalenQ

It takes a very few trips to make a Swiss Pass pay off if you do not buy another pass strongly consider the Swiss Pass as it covers travel in full around Interlaken to Alpine resorts like Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen or Wengen and also would cover in full travel to and from Chamonix from Martigny, even on the part in France.