Travel between France & Switzerland...???
 

Hi all -

Hoping your expertise might help as I plan a trip to France in October....

Looking to head from Paris to Reims (to explore Champagne), then to Interlaken Switzerland, then on to Monaco (or Nice)....and have the following questions:

1) Recommendations on train or renting a car for each leg?
2) Thoughts on Interlaken vs another area of Switzerland?
3) Champagne - has anyone ever visited during the fall? had success with seeing vineyards?
4) Is it a waste to see the S. of France in October? (Too cold?)
5) finally, are we being too ambitious to fit the Reims-Interlaken-Monaco travel into 5 days?

Really really appreciate the help!

Probably too ambitious.

Yes, that's way more logistics than you could probably handle in 5 days. Getting from middle-France to Switzerland and then down to the south of France will take up as much time as you'd have to sightsee. I'd drop Switzerland.

It's certainly not cold around Nice and Monaco in October; quite the opposite most of the time, though it gets a bit nippy in the evenings.

The harvest will likely be over in Champagne in October, but of course the vineyards will be there, and thousands of people enjoy them every year.

I'd do Reims as a daytrip on the train from Paris (hire a tour company to take you around to the champagne houses if you don't want to plan it yourself), then take the TGV south for the remaining 4 days. Take the TGV back to Paris or right to the airport (preferably not on the day you fly home).

You can easily find out just how long it takes to travel between these destinations by train:

reiseauskunft.bahn.de

or by car:

www.viamichelin.com

and decide for yourself if what remains is worth traveling to the destinations mentioned.

Too ambitious. You'll be all travel and very little seeing anything. You definitely need to cut something.

If you had more time I would reco renting a car - since it makes it much easier to see vineyards - and is really helpful is seeing a lot of the smaller places on the cote d'azur.

Thank you all for this wonderful advice! It has definitely helped me narrow my focus a bit more!

Couple follow up questions -

1) Anyone have recos on days needed in Champagne? Can we spend 2 days in Reims and get a good feel for the surrounding vineyards?

2) Has anyone ever made the drive from Reims through Alsace-Lorraine? Is it a pretty drive, or would we be better off taking a train?

Appreciate the insight!

Some people enjoy renting cars in Europe. I'm no expert on that particular route, but if a train's available and convenient, that would be my pick. It just seems more relaxing to me to walk to the train station, and ride the train, then the logistics of renting a car, figuring out what paperwork you need, navigating the route, etc.

You've already got this part answered, but I agree you had way too much for 5 days mentioned in your OP.

In October, unless you are really interested in Champagne, I would just spend all 5 days in Provence.

Five days (including transportation time) is about right for Interlaken/Junfrau, and 5 days might be a tad short for the Cote d'Azur. Five days for Champagne, Interlaken, and the Cote is absurb, unless you want to spent all your time getting from A to B to C and not much time enjoying the sites at A, B, & C.

The drive through Alsace/Lorraine is quite scenic - but I don't know how you could possible add that into the mix in 5 days. You won't need a car in the Interlaken region. Like St Cirq mentioned, a day trip to Reims is probably the best way to see this site - assuming you've either already spent a week or two in Paris on prior trips (or on this trip).

Don't just limit your travels on the Cte d'Azur to the coast - the Nice hinterland is fantastic (if you have a car).

Stu Dudley

thank you all for the feedback.

Greg - those websites were a huge help, thank you so much!

We're now looking at day trip to Champagne from Paris...

Anyone have recos on must-see Champagne houses, or a guided tour from Paris? Given the short time frame, I thought it might be easier to take a tour...