My family and I will be travelling
Decmber 19 through Jan 4th . I have never been to Europe so I would appreciatte any advice. Do I fly into London ? how long should we stay ? we would like to go to Paris do I take the train ? How long should we stay in Paris ? also would love to snow ski in Switzerland a few days is that possible ? Thanks for any help at all
Larry

Let's see...

That gives you about 15 days on the ground, so dividing them equally between the three destinations should work. If you don't need that much time in the snow, add days first to Paris (mainly because it's cheaper).

I would fly into London, ride the Eurostar to Paris, then the TGV to Switzerland, and fly home from there.

We always move to a new base in the evening rather than wasting valuable daylight sightseeing time traveling.

Where are you coming from? You could try booking a flight into London and out of Paris or Zurich, that way eliminating some backtracking.

You could fly into London and sightsee then catch the Eurostar to Paris. The train is much easier than flying, less hassle and your journey starts and ends in the city centres. The earlier you book, the cheaper the tickets will be. Details on www.eurostar.com

There is lots of good info on www.seat61.com regarding train travel in Europe. You can click on Switzerland and see how you can get there from Paris. You could also fly from Paris to Switzerland, there are lots of low cost carriers in Europe.

You could split the time you have into thirds, a third each in London, Paris and Switzerland but don't forget to allow for travel time, you can easily lose a day just getting from A to B. I'd probably choose two places only. There are lots of flights from London to Switzerland (Zurich, Basel, Geneva, etc) if you want to skip Paris but it depends on what your main interests are. If skiing is high on your list, choose Switzerland.

Kay

thanks for the help , we are flying from Los Angeles Ca.

Larry

Be aware in your planning that London tends to shut down tight during Christmas proper and the day after, so I would try to avoid being there at that time.

I would try to give at least 5 nights to Paris, and 7 would be better.

If you've not got a burning interest to see London, I'd avoid it entirely (much as I enjoy London). It's expensive.

Since you'll be packing all those warm clothes anyway, you might have more fun visiting a different capital at Christmastime, perhaps one in Austria or Germany.

Just a thought.

You will probably be very, very tired when you arrive. So plan the 20th for getting to the hotel, reconnoitering around the area, having an early meal and then to bed.

We fly to London from Phoenix, and always find a little pub and not try to do too much on arrival day.

You can consider the 4th a total loss unless you're returning home on a very late flight.

By the way, is this family all adults or are there children in tow?

2 adults, 16 year old daughter , 12 year old son

Thanks for all the help !!!

Larry

Eurostar runs trains to winter sports destinations from London.

Hmmmm. I think the teens will be very excited by Paris, and perhaps London too. But as a California native, I worry about all of you when it comes to short, damp, dark days, which can happen in both places. I think I would find it easier to put up with snow in Paris than bone-chilling damp in London. Moving around London is always a lot about marching around outdoors -- it's as big as LA, but you won't have a car. In Paris, the metro is niftier and quicker, with lots more stops.

If the kids or anyone in the family expresses a lot of interest in seeing London, I'd definitely go for it. Otherwise, I'd explore the possibility of other pretty European cities, including Nice, which I understand can be quite charming over the holidays, or something in Germany/Austria.

FWIW, my kids love both Paris and London - the first time they were in London they were 13 and 11, second time 17 and 15, third time in two weeks (23 and 21). I wouldn't skip either one in favor of skiing in Switzerland (unless that was accompanied by some sightseeing), BUT be aware (as zeppole alluded to) daytime are very short at that time of year (I think it gets dark in London around 4:30 p.m.)

There typically will be no snow in Paris i believe except a dusting or two during a typical winter and the temps would be far above freezing usually in Dec i believe

Paris sous neige can be incredibly nice but it rarely happens i understand

As for Eurostar tickets - yes like KayF says early bird gets the worm in this Byzantine pricing structure - walk ups can pay hundreds of bucks more than though who grab the limited number of cheaper seats that often sell out way before the train.

check both www.eurostar.com for fares in Pounds and also raileurope.com in the U.S. for fares in dollars - one can be cheaper than the other so always check both sources. there are especially cheap fares for youths under 26 and kids 15 and under i believe. I always advise for any Rail Europe product calling BETS 800-441-2387; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and have these very helpful and eurostar experts IME do a manual search done for the cheapest fares which may not be even shown IME on raileurope.com, which Fodorites also have claimed can send back your apparent booking with a higher fare. You can book up to nine months in advance in the U.S. For best fares on the Paris-Switzerland trains where similarly the cheaper tickets can sell out early go to www.voyages-sncf.com and look for PREM fares which again can sell out early just after they come on the system i believe. Or RailEurope also has some competitive discounted fares on these routes.

London, December 20

Sunrise - 8:02
Sunset - 3:52

sunrisesunset.com

Paris especially can glow at night with all the illuminations along the Seine and the Eiffel Tower all decked out at that time of year.

Yes, Larry, as zeppole mentions, London public transport shuts down completely on Christmas Day - and I think there is not much running the following day either but you could check on the Transport for London website. So you could have a great deal of trouble getting to the airport or train station if travelling on Christmas Day. Also most restaurants and shops are shut on that day.

Kay

We purchased our Eurostar tickets at www.eurostar.com and it was in dollars. We had the tickets before we left home.

The price varies so much according to the day of the week and time of day and what level of ticket you want. We went the cheapest way and it was great.

If you haven't bought plane ticket yet, why not fly into London and fly out of Paris? Spend 1 week in each city. Take the train from London to Paris one-way.

Skip Switzerland, unless that's truly a priority, because it makes the trip quite a bit more complicated and expensive.

Suze's recommendation makes sense but if you really want to ski a few days in Switzerland the TGV from Paris now takes about 4 hours i believe to Bern and less than an hour from there to Interlaken and the Berner Oberland, one of Europe's most popular winter sports Alpine meccas. In that case of course fly back from Zurich, which has direct trains to its airport hourly from Interlaken. Buy the Paris-Switzerland ticket on www.voyages-sncf.com for cheaper advance prices - which are also available at times from RailEurope in the U.S. Just show up and you could pay twice as much. Hotel reservations are essential in Interlaken at that time of year

Most ski resorts book by the week in high season and now would be the time to reserve.

So I would say you can forget that part of your plan.

If you head straight to Switzerland, the week before Christmas you may be able to book for less than a week. Plus, many Swiss and British wait to head to the mountains Christmas Day or the day after and then it gets very crowded that next couple weeks. Some resorts even require a 2 week booking - how nice, huh?

I think you need to have a family meeting and decide whether you want a ski vacation or not, and what your kids are interested in seeing. 12 and 16 are tricky ages for moving around a city en masse. Of course, your kids may not get tired, cranky, or hang faces, but lots do, and then a ski trip is better since they are active and can be off together having fun and getting exercise instead of hanging with the 'rents all day. Skiing in Switzerland can also mean sledding, and sleigh rides, beautiful winter hikes and thermal spas if there are those in your party who aren't big skiers.

If you are skiing at higher altitudes, the first day or two can be tiring until you adjust, so I wouldn't go for less than 4-5 days.

I know lots of people on Fodor's will disagree and say how wonderful their kids are in museums and hanging out as a family - and I know they aren't lying, but I've seen miserable teens with mom and dad all over Europe in the past 18 months. Sometimes, I do confess, those kids have been my own until I administer the proper lecture/beating Jetlag and teens can be brutal...

As a city for a family tour, I like Paris better because it is very walkable. You can let your teens do one thing while you do another and meet for lunch or dinner. London more often involves the tube to get from one thing to another or back to the hotel.

Both my teens preferred Paris to London, but in London you have the theater which many teens really enjoy - and that was the favorite thing my kids did.

After you decide for sure on cities and/or skiing, please post back so we can give some ideas that will keep you all happy...

gruezi