15471 posts
Hi Rebecca, welcome to MySwissAlps!
Usually you’d take a train to Basel, on the French-Swiss border. But you can check what the timetable suggests for your date and time.
Before you buy tickets, be sure to check whether you’re going to need a rail pass for Switzerland. If so, the leg from Basel to Zermatt will either be free or discounted, and you only need a ticket from Paris to Basel.
Please see:
72625 posts
Hi
Thanks for your reply. I’m so sorry to ask what may be a stupid question, but why would you only go as far as Basel on the high speed train, when Bern, Geneva, Zurich or Lausanne are closer to Zermatt, and the high speed train goes to all of them?
Is it to do with the fact that Basel is where we enter Switzerland?
Because time is a factor, I had wanted to take the high-speed train as far as I could before changing trains…
Sorry again if this is a stupid question… 🙂
15471 posts
No worries, there are no stupid questions! The insiders information is that high speed trains go as fast as the regular trains once they’ve crossed the Swiss border. The timetable automatically suggests the fastest way to get from A to B. So, where to change from the TGV Lyria to a Swiss train mainly depends on where you can have the most efficient change of trains when you travel. That’s usually Basel, but there are exceptions.
What other plans do you have in Switzerland?
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Ah, that is great insider information! Thank you so much. Great to know!
We only have 5 days in Switzerland, arriving on a Monday and leaving on Friday so we think we will spend that time in Zermatt, doing a mix of skiing and relaxing, rather than rushing around everywhere trying to see everything. But if you have any recommendations we will gladly hear them!
Thanks again for your help. I really appreciate it!
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You’re welcome!
There are two passes that are worth looking into:
- Swiss Transfer Ticket: this includes a round trip from the border (Basel or another) to Zermatt, and back from Zermatt to any border point or any Swiss airport. Additionally you could buy a local pass for transportation/ski lifts in Zermatt.
- Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi: the same thing, but also a 50% discount on trips by cable car/mountain trains while in Zermatt.
All of this is explained on myswissalps.com/ swisstransferticket. Apart from this you need a ticket from Paris to the border: myswissalps.com/ traintickets/france.