Trying to plan a trip that includes Paris and Turin
 

We are thinking to do a ten day family trip in April that includes Paris and Turin. Probably three nights Paris and two or three nights in . Trying to figure out where to stop between the two. We like hiking or nature walks, mountains, and generally wandering around pretty cities. We have two kids - 10 and 13. Lyon seems like the obvious choice, but are there others?

Is the whole trip 10 days (home to home)? If so I might not try to drive it/stop over en route. 10 days is really only 7 - 8 days on the ground. Then subtracting 1.5 days for the drive you are really down to about 6 days free to see/do stuff. A one way car drop off fee would offset the cost of at least 2 of the Paris > Turing flights.

You could fly open jaw in to Paris and home from Milan, having flown from Paris to Turin

April may be a difficult month for hikes or nature walks in most places, and many mountains will still have at least a bit of snow. You could look into renting a car and driving into the mountains north from Turin, depending on the weather at that time, and any snow.

I went to Lyon for the first time last spring, and it was a delightful, beautiful non-touristy city. We were going, in part, because of its foodie reputation, and we did eat very well, but you may not be seeking that kind of thing with a teen and a pre-teen. The murals on the buildings are amazing, make sure to visit as many of those as you can.

Have you already checked out how you will get to Turin from Lyon? I I didn't look, but trains might require changes, and a car rental with a pickup in one country and a drop in another may be expensive.

We are going to do public transport. No car. We'd fly open jaw, in or out of Paris, in or out of Turin. We flew Air France from Turin in April.

We usually do about three days in each location when we travel. We fly out at night and arrive in Europe in the morning. Our last day in Europe we try and do an afternoon flight. So we could do 4 nights in Paris, spend three nights elsewhere, and then do two nights in Turin.

Lyon sounds up our alley. We drag our kids around all kinds of places. They deal. I noticed that Verdun is on the way. One kid is big into WW1 so we could check that out.

Colmar might be a fun place to check out!

Hi Overlt,

There are direct (0 changes) trains that take about 5h30 leaving Paris at 12.46, 14.46, & 15.16.

I get that you want to see 3 destinations ...... but with so little time, I'd get to Turin and enjoy that area and maybe take day-trips. Well, I'm not you ... but anyway you have the option if you want it!

s

Colmar is not really on the train route, Dijon is though and is pretty nice, Geneva is a bit dull but might be pleasant. I'd play about with rome2rio to see what looks good. Auxerre requires a back track unfortunately

I hear you about taking the direct train to Turin. We've spent three full days in Turin and just love it, so this time I think we'd want to spend just one day there. Last time we went to one of the lakes and ended in Turin. I was hoping to find a place between Paris and Turin where we could spend some time in a natural setting (lake, mountain), which was why I wasn't too keen on Lyon and Dijon. We were thinking about doing Turin-Lake Garda-Venice but there's not a ton of info about Lake Garda (I got a bunch of guidebooks from our library and info is scant). The Alps are between France and Italy - was thinking to find a pretty place like Varenna to hang out for two or three nights after Paris.

Lake Garda is great with loads to do but one of the great attractions is the fleet of boats that criss cross the lake which may not be running when you would be there. [i just looked at the timetable for 2023 and they didn't start til May so it's unlikely they would be running in April 2024. [url]https://www.brenzone.it/en/lake-garda-boat-timetable]

Have you thought about Annecy, or Vevey on Lake Geneva?

I was considering Annecy. Now I will look into it some more!

Annecy seems great, as my husband and kids love cycling.

I just had a look at transport options on Google maps - the journey from Paris to Annecy is reasonably straightforward with a direct train from Paris to Annecy taking about 3 ¾ hours. To get from Annecy to Turin is rather more complicated with a train to Chambery and a bus to Turin. Journey time just over 5 hours but wonderful views of the Alps on the way.

Actually DB shows the journey from Annecy to Turin at 3h49 or 4h05 with 1 change, from TER to TGV (no busses show up here). Even though you may not be able to buy the tickets at the DB, it's accurate for schedules.

Have fun as you plan!

s

It's the Unibus, heading for Zagreb, Swandav.

But looking at SBB there is also a Frecciarossa with a change at Chambery [onto another taking FR] taking just under 4 hours.

Overlt - plenty of options!

Thank you so much. My husband is obsessed with mountains and European cycling so Annecy looks like exactly what we are looking for. I figure I have two to four months to figure this out.

That's great. I hope you get it worked out and have a wonderful time.

Annecy is lovely, but so is Chambery, which is also quite historic (it was the capital of Savoy before Turin) and conveniently located along the railway line from France to Italy, with Paris-Milan TGVs and Frecciarossas calling there. Consider staying there, perhaps.

If you really want to see the mountains up close, you could also head farther into the Alps, also along the railway line, getting off the train in Modane or Bardonecchia. There's not much to see in either town, but taking in the alpine views, air and food for a day can be quite nice. April is in the shoulder season, so not the best time to visit, but it should be psosible to go on nice hikes, sticking to lower elevations and the south-facing slope (easier in Bardonecchia). From Modane you could take a taxi to Orelle and the cable car up the mountain, at the edge of the 3 Vallees ski area, for great views and even some skiing (the ski season ends late there). From Bardonecchia the cable car up the Jafferau should be open at least in early April, also for nice views and possibly skiing. Bardonecchia is particularly convenient logistically because its railway station is served by frequent regional trains to Turin as well as by TGVs and Frecciarossas from Paris.

Lake Orta/San Giulio?

If you want to do some light mountain hiking along the DIRECT train line Paris - Turin, leave the train at Bardonnecchia or Oulx-Claviere-Sestriere.
If you prefer panoramic hikes with stupendous views to the high Alps, travel via Lausanne and stop over at either Montreux or Sierre. There are tons of easy and well signposted trails with no snow for sure.