All,
We are traveling as a family of four (2 kids, 11 and 15) to Paris for four days, Zermatt for three to four, and Florence for a week. (Flying into Paris and out of Florence) Does anyone have suggestions or ideas for the best trains to take from Paris to Zermatt Switzerland and Zermatt to Florence, how and when to purchase the tickets, and which class to book? Thanks!

If you go to the GermanRail site:
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
you'll find that the fastet rail timing Paris to Zermatt would be via TGV to Lausanne changing there for another tyrain to Visp and changing there for Zermatt; about 7.5 hours in total.

You could speed this up by taking an early morning flight on EasyJet from Orly to geneva and perhaps getting a Cisalpino from there to Brig (they don't stop in Visp) and then backtracking slightly from Brig through Visp up to Zermatt. Actually a non-Cisalpino which is only slightly slower from Geneva to Visp might do you just as well.

From Zermatt to Florence..back down to Brig with a change there for a train through the Simplon Tunnel to Milan with a probable change there to an Italian Eurostar service to Florence.

You might be able to wait to purchase tickets once you get to (and immediately) Paris.

Non-Cisalpino services wholly within Switzerland are often non-reservable and unless you are in one of the First Class Panorama cars (if you happen to get one of the Glacier Express segments from Brig/Visp up to Zermatt on the Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn) you wouldn;t need seat reservations for the Brig (or Visp) to Zermatt portion.

Sorry..one more detail: if you change trains in either Visp or Brig (and you would definitely be doing so in the latter for the Zermatt-Florence portion, be aware that you will be changing <b>both</b> trains and railroads. However, the changes are easy as in both cases the station for the Swiss Federal system upon which you'd arrive is right across the street from the Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn station (the line to and from Brig/Visp-Zermatt).

Thanks for the information Dukey. By the way, what is a Cisalpino? Also, what train service would I use from Brig to Milan?

Thanks again, Dave.

The Cisalpino services use tilting (Talgo-type) equipment which allows the trains to round curves faster. (www.cisalpino.com) However the timing between either Geneva-Brig or Lausanne-Brig isn't that much faster than a more regular Inter-City service.

I had mentioned earlier the possibility of flying to Geneva and Geneva has the advantage of having an airport with a train station attached. However, by the time you factor in the time getting out to Orly, going through Security, etc., you'd probably be better off leaving from Gard de Lyon on a TGV to Lausanne.

You may be able to get a Cisalpino service from Brig to Milan (not sure) but again, the difference in timing may not be worth waiting for. There are a lot of services between Brig and Milan (check the Bahn site) on regular trains.

Dukey has given you excellent advice.

All trains between Switzerland and Italy are now or will soon be labeled Cisalpino, even the non tilting, slower ones according to www.cisalpino.com web site. So don't let names slip you up.

For Paris-Zermatt best prices go to: www.voyages-sncf.com and book the cheapest Paris-Visp ticket - look for PREM's - deep discounted tickets that often are sold out when they come on the system 90 days in advance i believe. Change at Visp to the BVZ narrow-gauge railway to Zermatt (buying a return ticket at that station because it's cheaper than two one ways. It will be worth it for you to buy your kids the Swiss Family Pass - 20 SF each so they travel free on everything you buy a ticket on - including any conveyances in the Zermatt mountains. A great deal even for your limited use. And to save more money - buy your PREM ticket Paris to Geneva or Lausanne, then get off the train buy the Swiss Family Pass and tickets from there to Zermatt and both your kids will go free then - saving a lot more moolah. Kids under 16 can use the Swiss Family Pass.

And I would second Bob's advice although to reiterate the old BVZ (Brig-Visp-Zermatt) railway has been renamed the Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn.

As I mentioned earlier, the change in both Brig and Visp are easily done with a couple minutes' walk at the very most. The trip uo to Zermatt from Vips is fairly spectacular scenery-wise as the hour or so ride uses rack (cog) railway portions on a majority of the route; somewhat slow but definitely memorable.

Changing at Visp would save a few francs as trains from Brig - assuming you come down the Rhone Valley route, the quickest way, but i advise going to Brig as this is where the Zermatt train starts at and will be standing there - a more leisurely change and better chance to get best seats. Come to think of it the Rhone Valley train may not even stop at Visp, but certainly will at Brig. Note that some Brig-Zermatt trains are Glacier Express trains that normally require reservations and a supplement but i think you could board these at will because i've read that local journeys Brig-Zermatt can be taken on Glacier Express trains just like the hourly local Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn - but ask conductor first - quicker train and dome cars usually but often packed to the gills.

Again Bob gives good advice...Rocklin, have you looked at a map of this area? You'll see that Visp is only a few miles west of Brig and if you do end up taking the train to Brig and &quot;backtracking&quot; it isn't all that far.

As Bob has pointed out, those MG trains to Zermatt start out at Brig so you'd have a better choice of seats (and a lot of this depends on WHEN, i.e, time of year, the visit takes place).

Visit will be in later part of June. Thanks all for advise!