bibliotecaria71

Oops! What did we just do? My husband and I (in our 40's) -- in a state of sleep deprivation from working ridiculous hours -- noticed that we had enough AmEx points for a flight to Europe and one late night booked a flight from Boston to Paris and out of Zurich. Who cares that our house looks like it's been abandoned, my job is at risk of defunding, and we just started a new business? Let's take a vacation at the end of August! (Yeah, what were we thinking?)

So, here we are, seven weeks away from an 8-day vacation. (Eight full days, not including travel to and from the US.) Again, are we crazy? This is *so* not our style.

Here is the (my) logical plan:

Land in Paris, spend two nights. (We have spent a week in this beautiful city previously and know that we could spend another week, but I really want to go elsewhere -- especially in August.)
Take train to Strasbourg. (I think the Alsace area looks gorgeous!)
Enjoy Strasbourg and take day trips by train to other nearby towns or perhaps spend a night in Colmar.
Train from Strasbourg to Lucerne.
Day trip by train to mountain towns.
Train to Zurich with final night in Zurich.

We are very light packers. We will only be carrying reasonably-sized backpacks and we are not worried about switching hotels or spending time traveling by train.

(My illogical plan would be to try to squeeze in a visit to Reim and/or Nancy, France. I've already crossed them off my 8-day itinerary.)

Are there other gems that the collective would recommend we visit in addition to these locations or instead of these? We live in NH in the country. We love mountain views but are not big hikers. My DH will not be pleased with another gondola ride up a mountain. (But I could twist his arm.) We enjoy good food and wine, beautiful scenery, and just soaking up the European vibe. We love walkable cities and towns (since we can't get anywhere without driving at home). We have never visited Switzerland and I feel woefully unprepared for our (very) short visit -- although I am aware of the cost of hotels and other things in the country!

I would love to hear your recommendations! Thank you!

kja

Could be a nice trip!

Consider giving Lucerne 2 or 3 nights, so you have about 2 full days there – one day for the city itself an6 one for a boat ride on the lake.

I enjoyed Zurich a lot and am glad I gave it several nights; others are less thrilled with it.

Train travel in Switzerland is ridiculously easy. See
https://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

Andrew

Why not skip Paris if you've been before? Take the TGV train from CDG directly to Strasbourg. I love going back to places I've enjoyed - just re-visited Paris for the fifth time in May - but I had 16 nights, and I had to fly out of Paris at the end. Then you can add more time to other places.

janisj

I tend to agree w/ Andrew. I love Paris but 2 nights there is really 1.5 mostly jet lagged days so it is sort of 'why bother?' Save Paris for another time when you can stay a little longer. Take the train out of CDG to Strasbourg and spend the 2 nights there then on to Switzerland.

OR maybe even consider flying from CDG immediately on to Switzerland and forget about France . . .

greg

>>> we visit in addition to these locations

You have listed four stops over 8 full days. I can't imagine adding more. If anything, drop one.

Unless your flight out of ZRH is super early in the morning, Luzern is only 63 min away by train to the ZRH airport, and there is no need to stay in Zurich for the purpose of flight unless you have a compelling reason. If Luzern is your beautiful scenery stop, it has three different mountains and a lake.

If you are into wine, Strasbourg would require many days to visit numerous gorgeous wine villages between Strasbourg and Colmar.

>>> My DH will not be pleased with another gondola ride up a mountain.

Does he have acrophobia? If he thinks it is a ho hum thing, many gondola rides in Switzerland are breathtaking.

frencharmoire

When I get off a transatlantic plane I like to check into a hotel and sleep, and I have often transited throught Europe speending 1 or 2 in Paris before moving on to another location. I have been to Paris many times, so a night or two is perfect to see a special exhibit at a museum, have a couple of lovely meals plus plenty of pastries. In fact, I so enjoy doing this I rarely think of going to Paris for longer stays anymore (especially since it is no longer possible to rent an apartment). For what it's worth, I really enjoy Paris in August if I don't "need" to see Notre Dame or the Louvre or other tourist magenta. If it's not too hot it's pleasant to stroll the more tranquil streets and enjoy the parks.

Anyway, I would just feel ill (or actually get ill) if I committed to keep traveling for many more hours after getting off a plane. And having gotten ill from lack of sleep while traveling, it really makes for "inefficient" travel.

Your trip sound great to me. I've never been to Alsace (it is on my wish list) so I can't offer specific advice.

Dukey1

I would get off the plane and take the train DIRECTLY to Zurich and onward from there. Yes, YOU and your lightweight backpacks CAN do this so forget all the BS about jet lag, and blah, blah, blah.

"Another gondola ride?" You haven't BEEN to the Berner Oberland obviously so get ready for REAL scenery.

bibliotecaria71

Thanks, everyone, for your advice. I should have also mentioned that we are taking our niece to Paris next summer as a graduation present. We are just looking for a couple of days to get over the jet lag and enjoy some amazing food. Like Frencharmoire, we do not have touristy sites to check off our list during this short visit.

Thanks, Greg, for the advice to train into Zurich on our departure day instead of staying in the city. Our flight isn't until ten, so we might seriously consider that if we can get a train early enough to fit our needs. I've heard nothing but great things about the Swiss rail system and might just risk this. And thanks for the tip to look into more wine villages between Colmar and Strasbourg! Do you have any personal favorites?

I think I can get my husband back on a gondola. It truly was one of the highlights of our trip in the Picos last summer.

Thank you!

thursdaysd

I agree that heading straight to Strasbourg makes sense. But I would urge you to replace Paris with Nancy, or at least make a day trip, if you have interest at all in Art Nouveau. Plus it has a stunning square. (Click on my name for my eastern France TR.)

BTW, if you like cheese, eat at La Cloche a Fromage in Strasbourg.

greg

>>> When I get off a transatlantic plane I like to check into a hotel and sleep
>>> We are just looking for a couple of days to get over the jet lag and enjoy some amazing food.

This depends on your flight arrival. If your flight arrives in CDG at 6:45am, a desire to check into a hotel and sleep and get over the jet lag may be unrealistic.

StCirq

I like to get off a plane and get to my farthest destination immediately. I don't feel the urge to indulge in sleep for the first day or so - take me to my longest point away from where I land and I'm happy. I have never, in decades of travel, felt or been ill from continuing on from my landing point to somewhere else. If I land early morning and indulge in sleep, I'm a jet-lagged mess for the next few days. Not how I wish to begin an overseas trip.

I would go immediately to Strasbourg. Wine villages to visit include Obernai (my favorite), Ribeauvillé, Riquewhir, and obviosuly Colmar.

Whatever your plans for exiting Europe to go back home are, I would never advise being more than a taxi ride away from your departure airport the day you plan to leave.