snowbird1

We are planning a trip to Paris for our anniversary and while there we would like to visit bruges and Switzerland. Is it easier to rent a car and drive or should we use the trains system? Right now we are thinking train but we also love road tripping. If train, then please suggest possible route. I have a rough itinerary right now and would welcome any suggestions on what train to take or what to visit in our short time frame. We love nature. Architecture and chocolate and pastries! Thank you so much! .

12/20 arrive in Paris
12/22 leave for brugges. Stay overnight
12/23 leave Brugges for St. Gallen Switzerland (visiting friends here)
12/26 leave switzerland for paris. Have to be in CDG by 11 am to pick up our kids for 2nd part of trip.

janisj

Not really doable if you want any time in Bruges. Paris to Bruges by train takes about 3 hours (w/ a change in Brussels) and driving would take 4-ish hours. Then the next day trains from Bruges to St Gallen would take more than 10 hours, and driving would take about 9 hours w/o stops.

If St Gallen is a must -- then you probably need to cut Bruges.

Kathie

I agree I'd cut Bruges. It just makes your trip too imbalanced in terms of ratio of being in a place vs. travel time. Of course, I am someone who found Bruges too sterile and disney-esque for my tastes - many people love it. But I think you need to save it for another trip. Even cutting Bruges gives you a mere two full days in Paris.

Can you re-arrange this trip so you spend time in Paris until your kids arrive, then go to Switzerland? It would make more sense than criss-crossing from Paris to Switzerland and back to Paris.

tower

Kathy, maybe I have blinders on when I traveled, but I fail to see anything Disney-esque or hokey about Brugge. Historical, beautiful, interesting, good food and beer choices...and chocolate...yes! But Disney, no.

Snowbird...here are some pix of a recent visit to Brugge...keep an open mind.


See pics below.

tower

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...russelsAntwerp

Christina

In theory, it does give you half a day in Bruges to sightsee, so that's some time. I also wouldn't bother given the cost and time it adds to the schedule for a half a day in any city, unless it were right on the route I was going anyway, so didn't take me out of my way. Then I would. I just don't have the energy for those kind of trips myself, don't think I ever did, even when very young. I really wouldn't in the middle of winter. I don't care how much I liked a place, it wouldn't be worth going to that trouble for half a day. Also, I don't think you can easily get from there to Gallen, you have to go all the way back to Paris to get the train to Switzerland. It takes 10 hours and multiple train changes.

You can go through Germany also, but I think it takes just as long and also multiple train changes. So it would be a lot easier to just go from Paris.

hetismij2

I realise you actually want to spend Christmas with your friends in Switzerland, but given you need to be at CDG at 11 am on 26 December would it not make more sense to go to Switzerland immediately - perhaps even flying into Switzerland, and then spend Christmas in Paris so you have any easy, less stressful trip out to pick up your kids?
Driving is, in an case, probably not a good idea, what with holiday traffic and the risk of poor weather.

greg

When you mentioned, "we also love road tripping," were you referring to driving this route at this time of the year? Or did you automatically assume that because you love driving elsewhere at some other time of the year, you would also like driving this route?

Moving around at this time of the year, whether on ground of any kind or by air can be unpredictable and a tight schedule like this is problematic. I presume you have already boxed yourself into landing in Paris, so that the suggesting to fly into Zurich, for example, to reduce unnecessary long distance backtracking, would now add cost and logistics issues?

I have traveled in this area in December. Yes, the trains get delayed under heavy snow also, but I rather just hop onto delayed trains instead of having to battle snow covered white-out foggy roads in an unfamiliar car.

snowbird1

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! Sorry, I just realized i put december instead of end of february which is when we are really going. You all are right about driving in the snow! So no car, train sound good. From reading posts in Fodor Ive found the site Man in seat 61 which was really helpful for train info. Ive been to Bruges before and fell in love with it so i wanted to take my husband there. After we pick up kids in paris, we are going skiing for a week in France so only time we have to visit switzerland is before kids get there. I know its a lot of traveling but we are used to it. I think I'm set. Thanks again for your input. I'm from iCAlifornia and and would love to return the favor if anyone has questions about CA (or our neighbor Las Vegas). ��