TGV from Paris to Zurich
 

Has anyone taken the TGV from Paris to Zurich? What are the sights/views like?

Thanks

From Paris to Montbard you'll be whipping along at 180mph. You don't see many things that close to the train. It's best to look out farther. You'll see a lot of rolling hills and farm fields. I like looking at the livestock in the pastures.

If you're there the end of April to beginning of May there will be huge fields of rapeseed in bright yellow bloom. If you're there when leaves aren't in the trees you'll see these big balls of vegetation in a few types of trees. I asked around enough to be told that it's mistletoe growing. It's a parasitic plant.

At Montbard the rail switches to regular lines and the speed drops to 70mph or lower. Between Montbard and Dijon out the right hand side (you'll be heading south) I remember seeing a couple of pretty villages from above. I saw several nice examples of Burgundian roofs with their colorful, geometrically patterned, glazed tiles.

You won't see much of Dijon as the tracks are down low through the city. From Dijon to Dôle it was more rolling hills, pastures and farmland. The hills do start to get bigger as you get further into the Jura Mountain region.

That's as far as I've been on that route so I can't help with the rest of the views into Lucerne and Switzerland.

I don't know what your priorities are (speed, price, scenery), but you could add some really nice lake vistas to your trip if you took the TGV all the way to Lausanne, then got the SBB to Zurich. Like this one:

<b>http://www.vaioshutdown.com/2004/dscf0181.jpg</b>

Thanks. I am looking for speed so that I can maxmize my time in Zurich, but the photo does look lovely.

The TGV trains to Z&uuml;rich that require no changes leave Gare de Lyon at 7:44 and 16:44.

The last time I took that particular train, part of it was bound for Lausanne. The trains divides at Frasne.

Once the train crosses the Swiss border, the G falls out of TGV because the pace decreases remarkably.

I thought the views rather ordinary.
Some of the area between the border and Bern are pretty, but much of the route is over flat farm land.

Once you leave Bern, the route seems to be down in a roadcut and you see the side of an embankment and a few stations.

If you go to Lausanne, the train to Z&uuml;rich follows a slightly different route through Fribourg, but once it gets to Bern, the route to Z&uuml;rich is over the same set of tracks.

Other than the Fribourg variation, taking another route adds considerable time to the trip.

I suppose you could detour via Luzern, but that is the long way around.
The route still takes you to Bern before you change for Luzern.

One final note, although the car I rode in was non smoking. There were several addicts who could not sit still. Every 10 minutes one of them would run to the smoking car, with a cigarette in his mouth.

I walked through the smoking car on my way to the snack car and I could instantly understand why even the smokers wanted no part of it!

It was half empty!

One final note. On the train I took, the snack/bar car closed at Frasne.
I was bound for Lausanne that trip and noticed that the snack car did not reopen. The attendants counted the till and got off at Frasne.