[Anonymous]

13 July 2019 at 8:36:13 #822818

Hi,

I am planning a trip to Paris & Siwss (2 adults & 2 children below 12 uears age). I will be around 4 days in Paris (on 4th day travelling from Paris to Lucerne). I intend to buy 3 day Paris Pass which covers local travel and some tourist attractions ticket. I will be taking 6 days Swiss Travel pass. However i am not sure how to cover my Paris to Swiss train travel by TGV Lyria.

Do i buy a global pass of minimum duration ? Or I buy a ticket for TGV Lyria from Paris to Lucerne ?

Please can anyone help me select the most appropriate travel pass.

Thanks

Niks

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[Annika]

Reply 1 of 6 • 13 July 2019 at 10:11:40 #917675

Hi niks99, thanks for joining MySwissAlps!

You’d best buy a regular ticket for your journey from Paris to Switzerland. A Eurail Global Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/eu railglobalpass) would only be worth it if you’d be traveling a lot more than just this stretch, and you’ll already have passes covering your activities in Paris and Switzerland. Here’s how to get tickets: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/france. If you have a valid Swiss Travel Pass on the day of your inbound trip, the Swiss leg up to Lucerne will be for free and you only need a TGV ticket up to the Swiss border. If not, you’ll have to get a ticket as far as Lucerne.

Note that a 6 day Swiss Travel pass doesn’t exist. You can get a 4 or 8 day variant. Please find all details at http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass.

[User]

Reply 2 of 6 • 13 July 2019 at 11:45:08 #917676

Hi Annika,

Thanks for your reply. I have further query. I am in Paris for total 4 days. On 4th day, i am only travelling from Paris to Swiss and not doing any sightseeing in Paris. Do i need to take 3 days or 4 days of Paris Pass ? I will be in swiss for 6 days. I will take 4 days swiss travel pass which also has now 1 extra day. So for 6th day, when i will be in Zurich, is it ok to take 24 hrs Zurich city pass ?

Another option i was thinking to get a 7 day EURAIL global train pass and 3-4 day Paris pass. In that case i would not require to take Swiss travel pass at all. I would save around EUR 500 if i use this combination. But i am not sure if i would need to buy some extra train / bus tickets in Swiss if i have EURAIL global pass and no swiss travel pass.

Regards

Niks

[User]

Reply 3 of 6 • 13 July 2019 at 11:50:09 #917677

Hi,

I would also like to know where can i get passholder’s fare. If i book direct train Ticket from Paris to Basel SBB then i need seat reservation only from Paris to Basel, right ? For journey from Basel to Luzern, do i need seat reservation ?

Thanks & Regards

Niks

[Annika]

Reply 4 of 6 • 13 July 2019 at 12:25:42 #917678

Hi niks99,

I don’t know anything about the Paris Pass, but I guess it won’t be of much use when traveling to Switzerland, so a 3 day version seems to make more sense. You’d best check its area of validity though to make sure.

A 4 day Swiss Travel Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/price) plus a Zurich Card (http://www.myswissalps.com/zu rich/travel) sounds fine to me! The Eurail Global Pass would work as well, but its coverage in Switzerland isn’t quite as good as that of the Swiss Travel Pass: http://www.myswissalps.com/eu railglobalpass/validit y. You can calculate which option is best using the guidelines at http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass.

The passholder fare is offered by some retailers, not by all. You can browse the options through http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/france/pric e and see what comes out cheapest. Note that a passholder fare only makes sense if your Swiss Travel Pass is valid during your inbound trip, and since you’ll be using a 4 day Swiss Travel Pass for a 6 day stay I’m not sure whether that’s how you’ve planned it. If it’s not valid yet, just get a regular ticket Paris-Lucerne. Seat reservations for Basel-Lucerne are not required: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/reservations.

[User]

Reply 5 of 6 • 16 July 2019 at 11:36:01 #917679

Hi Annika,

Thanks for your detailed reply. I am about to book the ticket. Just a small question. I am taking a connection from Strasbourg to Basel SBB. There is a 10 minute gap between the train arrival from Paris to Strasbourg and departure of train to Basel. The 2 trains are different , one is TGV Inoui 2421 and other TER 96223.

Will 10 minutes transfer time would be sufficient considering we are 2 adults plus 2 children with Baggages ? However this is the cheapest fare i am getting now. The other fare is almost double of this fare. Suppose if i miss this connecting train, can i take other train on the same ticket ?

Please suggest if i should go for this ticket.

Thanks & Regards

Niks

[Arno]

Reply 6 of 6 • 17 July 2019 at 7:08:44 #917680

Hi Niks,

I don’t know the station in Strasbourg, but the timetable does not offer connections that aren’t doable. If you make sure you are at door as the train pulls in the station, then it should be fine. Apart from that, TER trains are regional trains which do not require reservations, so you can take the next train too unless your ticket specifically says otherwise.