Planning a trip to Switzerland and France in April 08. My husband is a watch freak and is planning to attend Baselworld (a watch convention) in Basel, but there are no accommodations available in Basel due to the large amount of atendees so we need to be in a neigboring city. We plan 3 full days in Switzerland, then on to 3 full days in France (not counting travel days)


1) Should we base our stay in one city and if so which city? Zurich, Bern or Lucerne? All seem to be about 1 hr train ride to Basel. I will NOT be going to the conference, so should we do ne night in Zurich, one night in Bern and one night in Lucerne so I can see more of Switzerland? My husband will be using the train to go back and forth to Basel so I don't think it will matter for him.

2) Next we will go from Basel to Paris by train (3 hours) and spend 3 days there. Is the France-Switzerland pass the best way to go for our entire trip?

3) Any good hotel recommendations for 3 nights in Paris? budget about $250/night?

Welcome to the forums! You can "top" your own threads (that means if you add anything to it, it will bring it back to the top of the list momentarily).

I'm not certain, but at a glance it doesn't seem you need any kind of a railpass, just point-to-point tickets for the amount of train travel you mentioned.

If you search "Paris hotels" in this forum many threads about Paris hotels will come up.

1. Yes, I think you should base yourselves in one city. If you change hotels every day, yes, you'll see more of Switzerland, but it will be all cities. If you stay in one city, you'll have the time to get out onto a mountain or into the countryside. As nice as Swiss cities are, the mountains and countryside are far, FAR nicer! Also remember that you lose half a day every time you change hotels, with packing up & checking out, then checking in & unpacking.

I think Luzern would be your best base. It sits at the foot of a system of lakes at the base of some mountains, so you get the whole Alps and Alpine lakes experience. You can spend your days walking on mountaintops or visiting villages around the lakes. More info at www.luzern.org and www.lakelucerne.ch.

If you don't want to stay in Luzern, my second choice would be Bern, a beautiful and historic city that's not far from the high mountains of the Berner Oberland. From Bern, you can get to the villages of Wengen & Muerren, and also to the peaks of the Schilthorn and the Jungfraujoch.

2. I agree that you may not need a pass; point-point tickets may be cheaper. You may want to look at the Swiss Half Fare Card, which costs 99 chf and then gives you half off every train and ferry and some cable cars.

Good luck!

s

If you go on the website www.hrs.com and enter "Basel" you will get 21 available hotels with 3 stars and up.

It is right that most of these hotels are in the surroundings of Basel, including some in Germany and some in France.

The train rides are:

Zürich -> Basel 0:52
Luzern -> Basel 1:06
Bern -> Basel 0:54

April is not the ebst month to see Switzerlan. For one, the weather - especially in the mountains - is very unstable, clouds/rain/sunshine changing every few minutes, with possible snowfalls in the mountains. Of course it creates a very interesting atmosphere, but you won´t get the postcard Switzerland. On high slopes there might still be some skiing opportunities while the valleys will start to get green.
Many cable cars might be closed at this time unless there is still skiing available at the top.
I agree with basing in one city though. From Bern or Zürich most of Switzerland is reachable as a day trip.

Thanks, I think we'll spend one night in Zurich (the day of arrival), and then the next two nights in Lucerne.
Thanks for the HRS website, it's great!


There are so many hotels to choose from in Paris, I've looked on tripadvisor and it's difficult to know which ones are close to a train station, easy to get to tour spots, etc unless you read all the reviews.

Hi clelbong,

Just a note on Paris hotels --

Don't try to get too close to a train station, as in my experience the areas around the stations are a bit undesirable. Most (all?) hotels are only a few steps or a block or two from a metro stop, and that's what you should be looking at.

You may also want to think in terms of arrondissements, which is the sections of Paris. The 6th & 7th are popular here; they're on the left bank and are where students historically have gathered. I personally like the 4th & 1st on the right bank -- near the Tuileries and the Louvre. That should get you started.

Good luck!

s

Hi C,

>We plan 3 full days in Switzerland, then on to 3 full days in France...should we do ne night in Zurich, one night in Bern and one night in Lucerne ...<

This is not a visit, it is an expedition.

Why not skip France this trip and actually enjoy Switzerland?

To narrow down hotel choices in Paris, pick which arrondisement you want to stay in (5th & 6th are most central for seeing the sights) and only look there. That makes it much less overwhelming than trying to sort out all of greater Paris!

Dear Clelbong, you say your budget for hotels in Paris is 250/night, well have you tried renting an apartment in the city center instead? I tell you this cause Paris hotels are expensive and the cheap good ones tend to be in the outskirts.
I tried once with this webpage http://www.holiday-velvet.com/paris and I rented one close to champs elysee for 110 euros a night. Everything was ok and we also saved on dinners and breakfasts!
Good luck!

Swandav- so the metro shops are different from the train stations? I thought it would be easier since we will be transferring our luggage, but I guess a taxi is an alternative. In any case we will look at the areas you've suggested for paris. Thanks again.

Ira- we chose two countries because we only get to go to europe about every 7 years and at this rate we'll be 80 before we hit 4 or 5 more countries. Second, I don't want to spend all my time at this watch convention which my husband would do for the entire week given the opportunity!

Hi again Clelbong,

Yes, train stations are different from the metro. There are (I forget exactly) 3-5 train stations: Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est, Gare Montparnasse, Gare de Lyon -- ?? But there are dozens of metro stations, just about one on every corner or every other corner.

You can use the Paris transit site to help you plan your journeys: www.ratp.fr.

I think the 1st or 4th will be more central -- close to Champs Elysees, Concorde, Notre Dame.

s

Clelbong, are you staying in Zurich the first night because you arrive late in the day? Because I agree with the post above about losing a half day with every hotel change. Unless you have your heart set on seeing something in Zurich, I'd get right to Lucerne if at all possible.

Hi C,

>should we do one night in Zurich, one night in Bern and one night in Lucerne ...My husband will be using the train to go back and forth to Basel ....

I would stay in Luzerne the whole time.

2) Next we will go from Basel to Paris by train ... Is the France-Switzerland pass the best way to go for our entire trip?

You can get ticket prices for B to P at www.voyages-sncf.com.

Train fares in CH are at www.sbb.ch/en/

3) Any good hotel recommendations for 3 nights in Paris? budget about $250/night?

We always stay at the Hotel Bonaparte, 61 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th. From 128E dbl w/bkfst. It is located near 3 metro stops. Has AC and an elevator.

Tel 33 1 43 26 97 37
FAX 33 1 46 33 57 67
[email protected]
www.hotelbonaparte.fr

For more info, enter "Hotel Bonaparte" in the "search this forum" box.

Photos are at http://tinyurl.com/ludgd

Enjoy your visit.

I agree with sundown. Unless you are arriving very, very late, you can take the train directly from the Zurich airport to Lucerne. It only takes an hour, and about a third of the frequent departures require no change of trains.

No France-Switzerland pass i think is priced too much for your travels.

Okay, so I think what we'll do is fly into france first, here's a tentative itinerary

Leave sunday
Arrive Monday in Paris mid day
Mon-thur Paris
Thurs am leave for Basel
Thurs, Fri- Basel for husband Lucerne for me
Sat- head over to Zurich for the day
Overnight train sat night to Paris from Zurich leaves 11:00 pm
Arrive Paris 6:47 am
Leave for States 1:00 PM

that way we're only in two hotels, anyone do the overnight sleepcars? Thanks for the hotel advice in paris, will look these up!

Hi clelbong,

I don't see that train on the Swiss train site. The only night trains I see have one or two changes in the middle of the night. I also checked the Dec schedule and there's one at 18.02 (arrives 22.34)and one at 02.00. Are you sure it exists?

Swiss rail site at www.rail.ch

s

I've taken the Zurich-Paris night train a few times and loved it

leaves Zurich Hbf 23:06, gets to Paris Gare de l'Est about 6:30am

could have been scrubbed recently i guess but check www.bahn.de, the German rail site which i find is the best site for train schedules all over Europe