Atlantan

My girlfriend and I are flying into Stuttgart on July 4 and flying out of Paris on July 14. We may or may not stay in Stuttgart for a night but we will definitely spend two nights in Heidelberg to visit family friends. The last three to four nights will be in Paris. Our main question is what to do between Heidelberg and Paris? We will have four or five nights between the cities and were thinking about taking the trains down to Switzerland (probably interlaken or Geneva) and may even go all the way down to Nice and take the TGV to Paris. Lyon is also a thought. Any thoughts or tips will be appreciated as we are not sure what is practicable. We are trying to be somewhat budget conscious and we don't really want to rent a car unless it will really enhance the trip? We are planning on getting the three country Eurorail pass for about 304 USD per person.

Absurd

You could spend the first night in Tübingen, an old university town not far from the airport.

Alsace is on the railway between Heidelberg and Paris. Strasbourg and Colmar with a side trip to some wine villages.

There is a useful night train from Strasbourg (20:55) and Colmar (21:34) to Nice (9:11).

oberost

If you can get a night train to Paris-sleep on the train and arrive with an extra day in Paris!

CharlieB

Atlantan- Actually the major rail link from Heidelberg to Paris is via Mannheim, Mainz, Cologne, Aachen, and Brussels. May I suggest you consider a day or two along the Rhine changing to a "local" train in Mainz to St. Goar or Boppard, then continuing on to Cologne and then Paris.

Betsy

After you nail down your itinerary, go to www.railsaver.com to be sure that a pass is cost-effective. You may be surprised to find out that point-to-point tickets are less expensive.