Hope everyone has had a great year and some excellent travel.

Wy wife and I are preparing to embark on a winter trip.

- Start Dec 29 - Milan
- End Jan 17 - Paris

Our goal is to start our trip from Milan, and make our way to Paris via trains while making a few stays along the way.

*Something to keep in mind. We need to book a hotel for New Years. We want to find something good in a great place. We've already stayed in Lucern (for New Years 2017), and would like alternatives.*

**My questions for you**

- If you were taking this sort of trip, what other recommendations of potential itineraries would you propose?

- What stops would you consider on the way from Milan to Paris that might be worth visiting in Winter?

- Could we pack in some cities in Switzerland and Austria?

- What are some ski-resorts where non-skiers can also have a good time?

- Where would you stay for New Years in Switzerland or Austria? (Excluding of Lucern, we already spent 2017 NYE there)

**Here’s the only idea we had so far**

1. Take the Glacier Express from St Moritz to Zermatt, or the other way around

Thanks your suggestions!

My first idea was to head down to Southern France(Riviera, Provence) and work your way up to Paris.

Austria is a bit out of the way, but in nearly 3 weeks you could go pretty much anywhere you wish.

" Take the Glacier Express from St Moritz to Zermatt, or the other way around"

That's a great idea if you enjoy long train trips. And to get from Milan to St. Moritz the Bernina Express(or any train on that route) is at least as great as the Glacier Express.

There are about 10 main itineraries which can make sense, mainly

Milan - Genoa - Riviera - Provence - Avignon - Paris
Milan - Turin - Sestriere - Chambery - Paris
Milan - Aosta - Chamonix - Lyon or Switzerland - Paris
Milan - Stresa - Lausanne/Geneva - Paris
Milan - Stresa - Bern - Basel - Dijon - Paris
Milan - Zurich/Eastern Switzerland - Paris
Milan - Bernina Express - Glacier Express - Brig - Lausanne or Basel - Dijon - Paris
Milan - Bernina - Zurich or St. Gallen - Paris
Milano - Bernina - Scuol - Landeck - Nassereith - Reutte - Fuessen - Augsburg - Stuttgart - Strasbourg - Paris
Milan - Bolzano/Bozen - Merano/Meran - Landeck - St. Anton - Bregenz - Stuttgart - Strasbourg - Paris
Milan - Bolzano - Bozen - Innsbruck - Munich - Stuttgart - Strasbourg - Paris.

Most of these itineraries can be combined and all offer the possibility to make tons of side trips.
You will have to make a choice according to your interests.

I suggest you make a quick stop at Bern since the city looks like something from a fairytale during wintertime. Also, there are some skiing resorts in the Canton of Bern which you might be interested in, however, can not comment on them since I haven't visited them myself.

Good luck with planning and enjoy the traveling experience

"What are some ski-resorts where non-skiers can also have a good time?"

You could try your hand at sledging at Preda - a stop on the Glacier Express.

https://www.rhb.ch/en/world-of-railw...darlux-berguen

Most somewhat important winterski resorts offer a network of prepared winter hiking trails.Some of the most panoramic one's in Switzerland are
Riederalp - Bettmeralp - Laxeralp - Fiescheralp (Aletsch area)
Riffelalp - Riffelberg - Gornergrat (Zermatt)
Aminona - Plumachit - Vermala - Plans Mayens (Crans-Montfana)
Maegisalp - Kaeserstatt - Bidmi - Hasliberg (Meiringen)
Maennlichen - Kleine Scheidegg - Wengen (Wengen)
Muottas Muragl - Val Muragl (Pontresina)
Prui - Motta Naluns - Sent (Scuol-Tarasp)

The most popular sledging pists are around
Bravuogn (St. Moritz)
Grindelwald
Melchsee-Frutt
Rigi
Klosters
Les Diablerets