Travel advice for Paris, Berne, Florence & Rome
 

I am in planning/ scheduling phase for a trip May 9-25th with my grown son and our itinerary will include Paris, Wemmis, Switzerland (by Bern.. his Great Grandfather was raised there) then Florence, Italy... perhaps on to Rome then fly back home via Paris. We will get a urail pass. Any ideas on best avenues of route, transportation or other places we shouldn’t miss?

What do you mean by "other places?"

16 days - say 2 weeks

Paris - 4 full days
Wemmis - ? full days - can use as a base for the Jungfrau Region - to me both lietrally and figuratively the absolute highpoint of Switzerland - an Alpine wonderland.

Train to Lake Stresa and Stresa, on this gorgeous lake

Venice - the world's most beautiful city IMO

Florence

Rome - fly back from Rome.

For lots of great info on trains and passes and other options I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download their free and superb IMO European Planning & Rail Guide for rail itineraries on your overall Paris-Switzerland-Italy route (http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id2.html).

Rather than day tripping to the Jungfrau Region (Interlaken area) from Wemmis consider staying in one of the Alpine villages like Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen, two towns that also have quite a few younger adults in them and hotel balconies have awesome views of the glacier-girdled Jungfrau Massif!

First - there is no need to go back to Paris. Get an open jaws ticket into Paris and out of Rome - it won;t cost any more and will save time and aggravation.

It appears you have 14 days on the ground. visting Paris, Switz, Florence and Rome will fully take up that much time and more. If you want to do a day trip from Paris to Versailles or from Florence into the Tuscan countryside that's fine - but adding more destinations will just increase your travel time and decrease your time sight seeing.

We will get a urail pass.> Note that last year the Eurail Select Pass would have been a dandy for your trip but this year France has chosen to opt out of that pass so it is not an option - but investigate the France-Italy railpass, valid on trains in both countries along with a Swiss Pass, which can pay off in a very few train trips and anyway which is much more useful in Switzerland than a Eurailpass - especially in places like the Berner Oberland (Jungfrau Region) where a Swiss Pass covers many trains and conveyances a Eurailpass does not cover - like lake boats that are fun to take or trains to places like Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen or Wengen or Murren in full.

Thanks, Good ideas...

What I meant as other places is such as PalenQ suggested seeing in Switzerland :) We will do research on ideas regarding the Jungfrau Region.

I would love to fly to west coast US from Rome buttt, checked all fares and it is almost double to as opposed to roundtrip to Paris. We are flying Iceland Air for great fares.

I do love Venice but we were looking forward to a Tuscan countryside wine tour :) If it were up to me... I'd forego Rome and fly to Barcelona for a few days :)) I'm a Gaudi entheuist and loved everything about Barcelona. Buttt, this is my son's first trip and perhaps only opportunity for a very long time so, I want him to see and do things that warm his heart, and give him the desire for "more". We do appreciate all input and after he researches ... the decisions will be his :)

Thanks for Eurail input... it didn't read like that online so would have hated to pay for something we can't get. We will need to take train from Paris to Berne, then on to Italy. We will investigate more.

"I would love to fly to west coast US from Rome buttt, checked all fares and it is almost double to as opposed to roundtrip to Paris. We are flying Iceland Air for great fares."

It should not be double the price. I suspect you incorrectly priced two one-way tickets. Try again, but use the "multi-city" option, which should offer you an itinerary that is not significantly different in price.

IMO not such a great fare if you then have to pay for a fare from Rome back to Paris, possibly another night hotel, meals, etc.
As ellenem said above, check multi-city options for an open jaw itinerary.

I don't know where you're flying from on the West Coast but I just did a search -
Iceland Air from LAX to Paris ($802) ret'n to LAX ($650) Total was $1452.
Then I did a search on Expedia (and there are cheaper sites to check) -
LAX to Paris return -$1223 Delta / $1242 USair
LAX to Paris -- Rome to LAX - $1219 Delta / $1223 Usair.

Just off that basic search the cheapest fare was open jaw.

ttt

We are flying out of Portland,OR to Europe... I really have checked out the flights but problem comes with getting Business Class... It is $2,600 ea. Iceland Air RT to Paris, All other flights RT to Paris are (gulp) around $6,000 ea. About same flying out of Rome. :( I've tried many combinations but unble to come close to $2600 price.. Rome to Paris is $80-$100. Iceland air leaves in afternoon so several flights allow enough time for same day travel.
Thank u again for all your efforts.