Rohan5484

Hi,

I'm planning a trip in December 2014 with my wife over France and Switzerland. My wife is a big Paris fan (though I'm not). What I propose is as follows

24/12 - Arrival into Paris (evening arrival)

25/12 - Paris

26/12 - Paris

27/12 - Paris to Strasbourg (3 hours) - take a reasonably early train so that we get the bulk of the day in Strasbourg - visit the Christmas Markets

28/12 - Strasbourg - visit the Christmas Markets and general sightseeing in the city

29/12 - Strasbourg to Lucerne (3 hours) - take a reasonably early train so that we get the bulk of the day in Lucerne. We propose to thereafter use Lucerne as a base and make day trips.

30/12 - Lucerne

31/12 - Lucerne

1/1 - Lucerne

2/1 - Lucerne

3/1 - Lucerne to Paris (6 hours)

4/1 - Paris

5/1 - Paris

6/1 - Depart Paris (evening departure)

Apart from any suggestions on chopping or changing the itinerary, I was wondering if anyone could help with the following:

Q1. Do we have enough time in Strasbourg or is it just too short a trip? I've heard of people doing the Christmas Market as a day trip from Paris so I thought this may be enough.

Q2. Is Lucerne a good choice as a base that time of year? What day trips could we take around Lucerne?

Q3. Would anyone recommend Bern or Interlaken (or any other place) over Lucerne? We're not intending to ski.

Q4. Which is the best panoramic train journey which could fit into our itinerary?

Q5. Considering we're in Switzerland for as little as 4/5 days, does it make sense to buy a train pass (Swiss Saver or Swiss Flexi or Swiss Card) or simply buy point to point tickets?

Thanks in advance to anyone who took the time to read my long post and chose to help. Any and all suggestions would be very much welcome.

Cheers,

Rohan

jamikins

I would put all your Paris time together at the front of your trip, then head to Srrasbourg (assuming the markets are still open when you plan to be there) then head to Switzerland then fly home directly from there to avoid back tracking and wasting time getting back to Paris. Or vice versa, but then you will likely miss the markets in Strasbourg.

kja

I second jamikins's advice -- find a way to fly open jaw!

Personally, I would not spend that much time in Lucerne -- but at that time of year, where to stay really depends (I think) on what you want to do / experience.

I thought the Michelin Green Guide particularly useful for Switzerland.

Enjoy1

Rohan5484

Thanks so much for your replies! I should have mentioned that our flight tickets are already booked in and out of Paris.

You're right that ideally we should put my Paris time together at the start of the trip but then we'd definitely miss the Christmas Markets in Strasbourg which are open only till December 31 - and are, frankly, the only reason we're going . So I really don't have much of a choice there.

As for Lucerne, would you say that it makes more sense for me to go from Strasbourg to a place like Interlaken for 2 nights and then head west to Lucerne for 3 nights before making my way further west to Paris?

Would really appreciate advice on the other questions in my post which essentially relate to the Switzerland portion of our trip.

Thanks a lot.

Rohan5484

As for what we want to do with our time in Switzerland, basically we're not looking to ski or hike. We're essentially looking for some picturesque places to make day trips to. Mt. Pilatus is definitely on the agenda. So is Jungfrau if we go to Interlaken.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Would anyone recommend Grindelwald, Murren or Wengen over Interlaken at that time of year?

jamikins

Land in Paris and immediately head to Strasbourg either by connecting flight or train and then put all your Paris time at the end.

Rohan5484

Hi,

Thanks for your post but the reason I'm going to Strasbourg on 26/12 is because I'm told the Christmas Market will be closed on Christmas day. By the time we land into Paris in the evening 24/12, we won't make it to Strasbourg till very late at night or even early morning. We'll end up spending Christmas eve on the train. Though it would be ideal to spend it in Strasbourg, We would rather make the most of it and spend it in Paris.

Rohan5484

Sorry...going to Strasbourg on 27/12...for the reason indicate above.

neckervd

Jungfrau/Titlis (the Pilatus gondola will not run in December), etc:
I suppose you know that it makes only sense to go to the 0 degrees Fahrenheit area of these mountains if the weather is fine. Otherwise you may see nothing but fog and clouds.

If the weather is bad, the visit of medieval city centers might be the better choice.

The "best place to stay" depends really on your interests.