Lexma90

Before trying to decide how many of those top attractions you can fit in, I would suggest that you tentatively rank which of them YOU want to see the most. I'm a huge art buff, so would list all of the museums (including some you didn't mention); not everyone would do that. Except that I'm not so interested in modern art, so I would put the Pompidou low on my list (obviously, if you like modern art, make sure to fit it in). I love Sainte-Chappelle, and have visited it on almost every trip to Paris, but it won't take as much time as, for example, a museum. Visiting Versailles, you should budget an entire day, though it probably won't take up your entire day.

Include Sacre Coeur on your list if you want to visit the area of Montmartre generally; it's a charming area, especially if you're interested in the Impressionists.

I love visiting the Arc de Triomphe, mostly because it's so fun to watch all the vehicles whizzing in and out of the streets nearby. It fits in well with a visit to the Eiffel Tower. After the Arc, you can walk down the Champs-Elysees if you like; I'm not a big shopper, and don't care for the area much, but you can walk down in as far as you want, then hop on the Metro when you've had enough.

nehaprm9

Hi I am going to Europe and My plan to to go swiss 2 days ,3 days italy and 3 days france and 2 days spain.So I hav ebrought eurorail pass for 4 coutnries for 10 days .Please let me know is it good deal or what ?I mean buying eurorail ?Will it give me unlimited travel freedom plss help I am first timer.

Np

Aduchamp1

Oddly enough museum walking is tiring. We usually do a museum plus something else one day, the next day of activities without a museum, then the third day a museum again.

We are inveterate museum goers, however.

The one thing your schedule does not mention is walking. Paris is one of the great walking cities of the world and includes wondering the neighborhoods.

And remember you lose most of any traveling day because of time getting to and from airports, waiting and security time, packing, unpacking, checking in and out etc.

zatrams999

Thanks Lexma90 and Aduchamp1 for your input.

Yes, for Paris attractions, I have a top 6 - will try to fit in some more, but only if time allows. I'll probably leave out Centre Pompidou and Cimetiére du Pére-Lachaise for this time. Shall remember your tip about the museum visits and plan accordingly.

Yes, was looking into walking tours too, picked out two books from the library last Sunday, am a bit overwhelmed with all the amazing options. To narrow it down, I was looking at Rick Steve's walking tour recommendation in the Paris 2012 guidebook. It'll be a full day. To make time for this, should I just skip the Seine cruise for this time?

One more thing. Should I visit the Swiss Alps first and then Paris, or do you recommend the other way around. Since I do not speak French (except for a few words) and this would be my first time in Europe, would starting with Switzerland be a better option?

Appreciate the great feedback on here.

suze

I like the combination of Paris and Geneva - but in Switzerland stay outside Geneva along Lac Leman (lake geneva) in towns such as Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux. It's not the Alps but a very very beautiful part of the country.

<Since I do not speak French (except for a few words) and this would be my first time in Europe, would starting with Switzerland be a better option?>

Depends where exactly in Switerzland you choose, but they speak French there too (lol!) or German or Italian.

Lexma90

As it's your frist time, in Europe, I would suggest Paris first. You'll be in one place that's easy to get to; if you can't figure out the Metro, for example, you can always walk. I'm a little unclear on what you will be doing in Switzerland, but getting to Lauterbrunnen will involve various forms of transportation, mostly in German. If it were me, and my first trip, I'd wait until further in the trip for the complexities of getting from place to place.

I love any sort of self-guided walking tour; I think Rick Steves' Montmartre tour is particularly good. I have a book, don't know if it's still in print, called ParisWalks. I liked it because it includes interesting details on various buildings. Suggestion for the Seine cruise, which will also address the question of how you might want to spend your evenings - take an evening cruise! It's pretty amazing to have your first view of the Eiffel Tower as it's all lit up at night. The only boats we've ever taken are the Bateaux Vedettes du Pont Neuf, which are smaller boats that leave from the more centrally-located Pont Neuf.

hazel1

My sister and I managed to find our way to Lauterbrunnen on our first trip to Europe, without knowing/speaking a word of German. We traveled through Germany, Switzerland, & Austria using Rick Steves' "Europe Through the Back Door". It certainly can be done, even by newbies. It just takes preparation, a good guidebook or two, and a sense of adventure.

zatrams999

Thank you suze, Lexma90 and hazel1 for the feedback.

hazel1, thank you for the encouraging feedback. I am reading from the guidebooks as well as posting online and hope to have this figured out. This forum has been very helpful for me.

I'm still figuring out the Switzerland part of the trip, shall look into Lausanne too. The boat tour in Seine/Paris at night sounds like a good idea.

Thanks for the input.

apersuader65

I wouldn't nix the Seine cruise just yet. Your arrival day is generally a difficult one with jet-lag, and I find being outside in the sun as long as possible on the day of arrival helps get over the jet-lag. Coming from LA, you'll be 9 hours different in Paris, so jet-lag could be a problem. I'd recommend Vedettes du Pont Neuf for your arrival day. It gives you a brief overview of the city via the Seine and you'll get interesting photo opportunities from the boat. You can buy tickets on-line from http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/ and save a couple of euro as well.

zatrams999

Thanks for the input apersuader65, shall look into the cruise.
Sounds like a great plan.

Ok, seems like I have the Paris part of the trip under control now. Would be helpful to get some input on the Swiss Alps part.

I would like to spend 3 full days in Switzerland, although I am somewhat flexible on that. From Paris, I plan to get to Lauterbrennen, shall make this town my home-base for my stay there. I would be flying out to LA from Bern/Geneva/Zurich.

Weather permitting, I would like to see the famous mountains and the beautiful scenery that Switzerland is known for, do some hiking, see some places of cultural interest, and if time allows, take a 1/2-day cruise on one of the beautiful lakes.

Can you please advise on what would be a good itinerary for me? Thank you.

annhig

I'd recommend Vedettes du Pont Neuf for your arrival day. It gives you a brief overview of the city via the Seine and you'll get interesting photo opportunities from the boat. You can buy tickets on-line from http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/ and save a couple of euro as well.>>

make sure you pick up their brochure while you are there to get €4 off the canal st, martin cruise.

Haven17

We spent eight nights in Switzerland last summer, and it wasn't nearly long enough!

We spent two nights in Interlaken, four nights up in Murren, and our last two nights in Luzern. We flew home to Chicago from the Zurich airport.

Interlaken is at the base of the Lauterbrunnen area. I didn't want to spend any nights there, and would have much preferred to spend six nights up in Murren, which is up in the mountains above Interlaken. Interlaken was nice, but very touristy, and the higher towns--Murren, Wengen, etc.--were absolutely wonderful. I would highly recommend staying in Murren or Wengen over Interlaken. You'll go through Interlaken to get to either of them, so you'll still get to see it, but it pales in comparison to the towns higher up in the mountains.

While in Interlaken we went on a boat cruise on Lake Brienz, which was lovely. We got off at one point and did a short hike to find some waterfalls tucked into the mountains.

From Murren we went all over the area and hiked. I bought Rick Steves' Switzerland book, and it was filled with wonderful information. This forum was priceless for itinerary help, as well.

Luzern was beautiful, and a really nice last stop before heading home. I prefer the more remote areas, so I would have probably added another night in Murren and spent only one night in Luzern. But we live in a big city and adore it, so I think that's why I'm never that excited about being in cities when we travel.

The rail system in Switzerland is wonderful, easy to navigate, and very reliable. I speak minimal German, and no Italian or French, and we managed just fine.

I think you'll love the Lauterbrunnen area as a solo traveler. There is so much hiking to be done, and so many lovely little places to stop and enjoy. We traveled there as a couple and met many, many people. We stayed in the Chalet Fontana and loved it. (Link below.) I was a bit terrified about sharing a bathroom with other guests, but it was a non-issue. Our room had a sink, and we felt like we were renting a home with several friends, rather than sharing with strangers. Denise, the owner, is wonderful and spent a lot of time talking with us and helping us make the most of our time there.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...wiss_Alps.html

I really don't think you can go wrong in Switzerland unless you stay in Interlaken and fail to go up to any of the higher mountain towns. You can't even see all of the mountains from the base, so you'd really be missing out!

All of your ideas sound wonderful for your first trip. I think you're going to have a great time!

emily71

For a Paris walking tour, I'd recommend Paris Walks http://www.paris-walks.com/
We took several of their neighborhood tours and discovered some hidden passageways and buildings that we never would have seen otherwise. Plus as a singleton, it's easy to strike up a conversation with others. We took the Montmartre and Latin Quarter walks and both were excellant

zatrams999

Thanks so much, Haven17, annhig and emily71 for the wonderful suggestions.

I am surely adding the Paris walk tours and the boat tour to the Paris itinerary, they seem like fun. emily71, the website seems to have a lot of useful information. I'll check out the two walks you mentioned, great to know you'll were happy with it.

Haven17, thank you for the tip regarding Wengen and Murren and sharing the very helpful travel information. My initial plan was to make Lauterbrunnen as the base, and make day trips from there. I saw in the map that Murren is higher up in the mountains - do you think it would be a good idea to stay 1 day in Lauterbrunnen and 2 or 3 days in Murren, or stay the entire time in Murren?

I have Rick Steves'"Best of Europe", shall check out the Switzerland book too. I appreciate the help.

euromom

If you want a beach near Barcelona, we went to a city called "Sitges", it was beautiful, while Sandy beaches, the town has alot of ambiance and beautiful, great outdoor eateries at the beach! Loved it!

Haven17

Zatrams--That's a tough question for me because I skipped Lauterbrunnen altogether on our trip. I try to avoid staying anywhere for fewer than three nights, so if I were you I'd stay at least three days in Murren, if not the entire time.

I highly recommend the Rick Steves Switzerland book. It has a lot of great information about the Berner Oberland region. He also includes information about how long it takes to get around the region, which might help you decide whether to stay in different places or not.

I really think you can't go wrong with this trip. You're going to have a wonderful time!

zatrams999

Thank you, euromom and Haven17 for the great input.

euromom, I'll read more about the city you mentioned, Sitges seems like a great place to visit. Would I need to rent a car to get there? I'll have another opportunity to visit Europe next year too, so this information will be helpful.

Haven17, thanks very much for all the invaluable tips. I'll have access to Rick Steves Switzerland 2012 edition in early April and look forward to it. I was looking up "Best of Europe" by Rick Steves - like you mentioned, very detailed info on travel distances/timings, lodging and places to eat in the Berner Oberland area, very helpful. I'll look into staying in Murren.

I have a question regarding the timing for the visit. Rick Steves book mentions that from late April to late May, there are a lot of places that are closed. Will some of the lifts be closed during that time too? Is it a better idea to wait till early June(or even later) for visiting the Swiss Alps? How should I time it? I was pricing my trip and looks like airline ticket prices shoot up right around May 16th.

zatrams999

Hello,

Would like to have some feedback from you'll. The trip will be in early September, visiting Paris and Swiss Alps.

Ok, so I have 4 full days in Paris, 1 day for travel to the Berner Oberland area, then 3 full days in the Berner Oberland area. The last day, thinking of staying in Lucerne before flying back.

Here are the things that I would like to get some feedback on:

Is 3 days too short for BO, exploring areas around Wengen, Murren, Lauterbrunnen? I plan to stay in Murren.

Adding 2 or 3 more days is not a problem, what would be a good way to split these days - more time in Switzerland?

Between Geveva and Zurich airport, which one is easier to get to, from Murren? Looks like Zurich is closer so I picked Zurich for flying back, and Lucerne is already close to Zurich, so I picked Lucerne for the last day.

Or am I better off just leaving directly for Zurich from Murren, the day of the flight back?

I appreciate your help with my trip.