TRIP FROM PARIS TO SWITZERLAND AND ROME
 

HI , We are planning to go to Europe and visit 3 countries using railpass from 06/07/2011 till 06/17/2011.We are flying out from atlanta via miami to paris on June 6th and reaching Paris 9:45am with 4kids(14,11,2 1/2 and 8 month old) we have already booked our hotel on 7,8 and ,9th June in Paris planning to get select pass for 5 days from 10th June wanted to go Zurich ,Interlaken ,Jungfrau,then Venice,Florence ,Naples and Rome and flying out on 17th June around 3pm,need suggestions for train routes,stations,luggage, hotels and whatever can make our trip easy and enjoyabl

I'm sorry but to me that sounds like a nightmare if I am reading your dates correctly. You do not have the time to do this unless you never get off the train!

Use bahn.de or raileurope.com to get an indication of train schedules.

You have 9 days on the ground, counting arrival and depature days as one day. I would plan Paris and one other destnation in France or Paris and maybe Interlaken in Switzerland.

Good luck.

landing in Paris and fly out from rome is confirm but other stopovers inbetween are not decided yet but are in our list to select

You've got too many places for such a short time. And with such young children. I assume the younger ones still nap?

Maybe just do Paris and Rome and stay in apartments rather than hotels. You can fly in between. Vueling flies Paris Orly (smaller, closer, easy to get to) to Rome Fiumicino for $93.

Most kids prefer longer stays in one place, getting familiar with the neighborhood, the boulangerie, the gelato seller, etc. It's really more of a travel experience than flitting from one city to another, ticking off the sights to be seen.

I don't see how you can do it. The 9th when you leave Paris, to the 17th when you fly home, is only 8 days. How are you going to see 7 cities in 2 different countries in such a short time?

Actually, OP is in Paris until the 10th.

FAWA, as you are flying out of Rome, I would do what Mimar suggests and split your time more or less evenly between Paris and Rome. Flying between the two is a good idea.

Via train you could stop for a day ot two in Switzerland or Florence but remember you have to factor in time on the train from point to point.

Were you to take the train directly from Pais to Rome, it would be over 11 hours in transit. I know you weren't considering this but it gives you an idea of timing.

Well then even crazier... 7 cities in 7 days is not a reasonable plan.

For lots of great info on trains in those countries and also railpasses like the Eurail Select Pass you mention check out these IMO fantastic info-laden sites - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com.

Way too many places in way too little time. And trying to do it with 4 kids is going to result in a lot of very tired, very cranky kids who are being dragged all over creation to see a bunch of things in which they have no interest.

In essence you have a grand tour of the rail stations of europe - hauling a mountain of baggage behind you (have you though how you will manage 2 small kids, their stuff and all your luggage on and off all those trains?)

With a family I would pick Paris, rome and possibly one other place. Get an apartment in each and make sure it is a neighborhood that will have decent playgrounds for the smaller kids.

(We've gone to europe very successfully starting when girls were 11 and 14 - but they could then take part in the planing and had interest in a lot fo sights - as well as praticing their French. And we did 2 weeks, one in London and one in Paris. It worked beautifully.

One minor correction nytraveler. . .>><i>dragged all over creation to see a bunch of things</i><< - Dragged all over to NOT see a bunch of things. The plan simply leaves no time to see much of anything except a tiny bit of Paris.

FAWA: You just can't possibly accomplish this in 1.5 weeks. And even if you had 3 full weeks it would be a nightmare getting on and off trains w/ an infant, toddler, two other kids, and all the luggage. You have to hoist bags/strollers/stuff up into the train, stow it at the end of the rail car and go back for the next load-- all the while trying to keep hold of the kids. One does not check luggage on trains - one <u>carries</u> it . . .

Renting apartments would be best but you've left things quite late for that.

I'd recommend Paris and Rome and flying between them - OR possible Paris > Florence or Venice (not both) > Rome. But honestly w/ a family of 6 -- 2 destinations in 10 days about all one would want to tackle IMO. Even w/ just 2 destination, you won't get 5 days inn each place. Day one is mainly jet lag recovery, you lose most of a day traveling from Paris to Rome, and the last day is mainly spent at the airport.

Are you training for a marathon by any chance? :)

Going to two Two cities most 3 at the most , will be sufficient with the amount of time you have ,especially when you travel with young kids.