mcinrow

Hi,

I will be travelling to Zurich & France in October along with my wife. (3 days Switzerland & 2 days France)

I would like to know if it would be cheaper to book my city tours in both places after reaching or is it cheaper if I take package tours from my travel agent,

I am interested in visiting maximum touristic spots in both countries, and i have no idea about local transportation cost.

Pls help

Gretchen

I don't think you can see Switzerland and France--even the most famous sites--in that length of time. Your "travel agent" has obviously told you can see everything. I think he's wrong but you had probably better book through him, since he knows what to do and has it available. LOL

FrenchMystiqueTours

If you mention the places you'll be going in each country you'll get better responses. I hope you're not spending 3 days in Zurich.

nytraveler

Agree that Zurich is a business and not a tourist city. You should get out of it as soon as possible into the mountains - which you can visit either from Lucerne (hop on a train - 1 hour form Zurich) from which you can do Lake steamers to cute villages and ascend one of several mountains by cable car or cog railway. Or head to Interlaken and visit some of the villages/mountains from there.

As for 2 days in paris - there is no need for a tour. With so little time you should pick 5 or 6 sights - the most you will have time for - and simply go to them and see what they have to offer. Trekking around in a tour bud is a complete waste of time (unless your TA is suggesting individual tours, which would be VERY expensive.)

mamcalice

Seriously, you have a travel agent? Seriously? Are you flying into Zurich and out of Paris? As nytraveler says, get out of Zurich right away and see the mountains. Get to Paris after 3 days and do what you can to see a few sights. On one evening, take a Seine River cruise. We like the Vedettes du Pont Neuf. You can download a certificate on line to get a discount.

Dukey1

Zurich is not totally bereft of things interesting to see such as museums and some churches. I am sure you would enjoy at least a city tour of Zurich and you can easily sign on for one after you arrive. Hotels, etc., have plenty of information.

OTOH I would not, as others have suggested, spend three days in Zurich, especially when you can quickly reach other areas rather quickly. You can actually cross the entire country (Switzerland) in less than 5 hours by rail.

You need to tell us more about your actual interests. If it is mainly scenery then I agree, leave Zurich immediately.

mcinrow

Thanx for your replies guyz..

Yes Mamcalice,I will be flying into Zurich & flying out of France
My main point of interests in Switzerland is Mt Jungfrau & Mt Titlis, and a brief stopover in Lucerne & Interlaken, are visiting these spots possible(in 3 days) if I stay at Zurich?(or is it a better idea to book a hotel in Lucerne?)What about transportation to the above points, is it convenient & inexpensive?

I also plan to take the rail service from Switzerland to France,is it faster travelling by TGV or what?

In France, The river cruise, including Disneyland, Notre Dame de Paris, Château de Versailles Gardens & Eiffel tower. What is the most cost effective transport mode?

Michael

Disneyland is outside Paris to the east, Versailles is outside Paris to the southwest. I do not know about the former, but the latter will take the better part of a day. Between that and spending a day along the Seine, your time in Paris is fully booked.

Michael

To go to Switzerland to see two mountains in three days could be disappointing if the weather does not cooperate.

nytraveler

No - you cannot see those mountains while staying in Zurich - you would be on the train the entire day.

And you must understand that the mountains are high enough to be in the clouds - so if the weather is bad -there is no point in going up - since you can only see a couple of feet in front of you. (We were in Interlaken 3 days before we got one clear at the top of the Jungfrau - although the valleys were clear.)

IMHO you can do Lucerne and one mountain or Interlaken and another - since you will also want to see the lakes, small mountain towns, etc. Pick either one and pray for good weather.

Disney is not near Paris and is a complete waste. Versailles is a gorgeous palace - but with only 2 days in Paris I wouldn;t go there (since the Louvre is another gorgeous palace in the middle of the city).

WildWanderings

I totally agree with nytraveler. I can't add anything else except you asked about the TGV. Since you don't know from where you depart, here's the train time table where you can chack departure/arrival times from any city/town/village to Paris:

http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

As for train passes, you have to pan out your trip to see if any of the passes are cheaper than point-to-point tickets. No Swiss pass is valid for going up to the Jungfrau, you'd receive a discount of 25%. Alternatively, you could buy a Good Morning Ticket from Interlaken for CHF 130 per person (return from Jungfrau before noon). But don't buy any tickets up to the Jungfrau until right before you leave, because, as nytraveler mentioned, if the weather is not good, don't go. You can buy the ticket at the train station right before you leave. There are plenty of alternative things to see and do instead.

Right now, there's a deal "2 for 1" for Swiss Passes, but as I said, it's maybe still too expensive if you only use it for two days of travel:

http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/en/home.html

Safe travels!