PARIS
We are stopping over in Paris for a day. Arrival at 12 noon and departure the following morning 10AM.

Where should we stay (2 adults + 2 kids)? Near the airport or downtown? What is the best way to commute from the CDG to downtown? We would like to do a city tour (half a day tour)

ZURICH
From Paris we are stopping over in Zurich for a day. Arrival at 12 noon and departure the following morning 10AM.

Where should we stay (2 adults + 2 kids)? Near the airport or downtown (or other place)? What is the best way to commute from the Airport to downtown?

Can't say anything about Paris, but in Zurich, I'd suggest staying in the city as there is plenty to do. It is a short hop by train back and forth to the airport. There is very little to do by the airport anyway. You would be stuck in a hotel, pretty much, unless you took the train into the city.

We always stay at a Hotel near the Bahnhofstrasse. For us, the Seidenhof is perfect. I don't know if they can accomodate families. There are only the two of us (DH and me). The hotel is pretty simple, but it is so close to the Bahnhofstrasse, the train station, and much of the major shopping and dining that I don't complain at all. It's Zurich, though, so you pay a lot for a hotel room.

IF you opt to stay by the airport and then take the train into and back out of the city, I might suggest the Park Inn. It has a free shuttle to/from the airport, a restaurant within the hotel, and is attached to McDonalds for your coffee and quick breakfast before flying onward in the morning. Again, not sure about family sized rooms, but you could certainly get two rooms. Rates are more reasonable than in the city. This hotel is also pretty simple, but close to the airport for an early flight out the next day.

If staying by the airport, you can always train into Zurich upon arrival, spend the day walking around, maybe taking a boat ride or something, and taking in a nice dinner, and then train back out to the hotel. I know we took the shuttle to the airport from the Park Inn, and then trained into the city for a walk around. I can't recall where we met the shuttle back to the hotel on our return to the airport, but I'm sure it was easy to do!

Have a great time. I always enjoy Zurich!!

Carol

Thank you very much

As you will be in Paris for less than 24 hours, it probably is best for you to stay at a hotel near CDG. My very picky French MIL generally stays at the Hilton when she has an early morning flight. You can take a bus or train from the hotel into Paris and they are incredibly helpful. She has also stayed at the Sheraton which is built into Terminal 2. She said that it was incredibly convenient and surprisingly quiet. You can catch the metro from the hotel which will take you directly into Paris.

Happy and safe travels!

May I first suggest that you consider taking the train from Paris to Zurich. The journey will take 4.5 hours and requires no changes on the super-fast TGV. Door-to-door this is virtually the same as flying when you count in (i) travel time to CDG, (ii) having to arrive early at CDG for check-in and security, and (iii) the almost inevitable delays with intra-Europe flights. With the train, you can arrive moments before departure, and you depart from downtown Paris and will end up in downtown Zurich, saving travel time and money commuting to airports, esp CDG. This will give you more time in Paris (boy, that is a short visit with a Noon arrival at the airport and then you want to go into downtown Paris; for info on public transport options from CDG see http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/e...lic-transport/.)

Plus the train is quite scenic and fun and I am guessing your kids may not have been on many trains, or any trains, before.

Otherwise if you have to fly to Zurich, then I agree that staying near CDG makes the most sense, although you will spend a lot of time going back and forth on your one short afternoon “in Paris”. You might try the Courtyard Marriott Saint-Denis which is just a few minutes drive from the airport and is at the Carrefour Pleyel stop on the Metro.

For Zurich, no need to stay at the airport even if you fly, as the airport is about 11 minutes by train from town and downtown Zurich is far more charming and interesting than the area around the airport. Can you give a budget for hotels, Zurich ones are all over the map, it’s a fairly pricey town for hotels. If you have points for hotels, this would be a good town to consider using them in. The Marriott has a quite decent location walkable to the train station and is good for one night. There are Sheraton options that would work as well.

If you are going on to Munich from Zurich (can’t tell from your various posts what your current itin is), you might consider taking the train, journey time is 4 hours which again would be quite close to the door-to-door travel time by air.

Having seen your other posts, I would skip Munich to the greatest extent possible and concentrate on other places. Munich is dull compared to the other cities on your itin, IMO, although you are really rushing it, especially with kids, and I am not sure you will “see” anything in any of these places. You could for example, skip Paris and do something like a drive down the Romantic Road south of Munich to see castles, quaint towns and Alps, including Neuschwanstein in Fussen, which kids would think of as a fairy tale castle.

I agree with taking the TGV Lyria service from Paris Est to Zurich...just did it in April and doing so again in September..fast, efficient, etc.

As to hotels..are you ADVERSE to staying somewhere like a Marriott..there's one about a five-minute walk from the main rail station..usual type place but may be out of your price range