8 Days trip to Switzerland and Paris

Hi.

Me my wife and one more couple would be coming to switzerland in the month of February and be covering Swiss and Paris across 8 days. Following will be our rough itinerary

18 feb - 8 pm arrival in Zurich, will move to Lucerne and stay put

19 feb - Stay put in lucerne - explore Mt rigi and mt pilatus

20 feb - Lucerne nearby attractions will be explored, leave for interlaken

21 & 22 feb - stay put at interlaken --- Jungfrau visit is confirmed, leave for Paris

23, 24,feb stay in paris

25 feb leave for zurich to catch return flight @9:30 pm

Couple Q's

1. Does itinerary looks good or bit stretched . your comments please

2. Any other city to be explored in switzerland considering the month of february apart from lucerne and interlaken... pls suggest

3. Since we are reaching zurich 8, would it be feasible to move to lucerne by train at night ?? and will hotels in lucerne will allow us entry and serve dinner around 10-11 pm (approx.)

4. Suggestions for travel attractions in Interlaken

5. We are thinking for 5 day swiss travel pass, however considering exploring paris as well do you have any better suggestions???

Thanks in advance...

Cheers,

Siddesh

Hi Siddesh, thanks for joining us! Here are some thoughts about your itinerary.

1. First of all, in my opinion it's a bit too much to explore both Switzerland and Paris in such a short time. The side trip to Paris will require quite a lot of traveling times (please consult the timetable and our page about traveling to/from France) and causes less flexibility for the Swiss part of your itinerary. Leaving out Paris altogether allows you to travel at lower pace and explore Switzerland more thoroughly. Alternatively you may either start or end your trip to Europe in Paris, which means you won't have to get back and forth from and to Switzerland. But of course these are very personal decisions and it's definitely about your preferences.

2. Lucerne and Interlaken are great base towns for first time visitors. You can make side trips to other towns for some sightseeing, e.g. Bern or Thun, which is recommended in case weather isn't great. Even a day trip to Zermatt would be doable from Interlaken. You'd best only consider that in case you decide to skip Paris, otherwise it will all be a bit too much.

3. Yes, you can still reach Lucerne; please see the timetable I mentioned. Serving dinner that late isn't quite common in Swiss hotels, but you'd best contact the hotel of your choice and ask for details. You may also grab a bite at the Zurich or Lucerne railway stations.

4. Please see myswissalps.com/interl aken/activities. Also consider viewing points such as Männlichen and First if skies are clear.

5. A 5 day Swiss Travel Pass doesn't exist; please see myswissalps.com/swisst ravelpass. Which pass is best depends on your finalized travel plans. Should you choose to skip Paris, an 8 day Swiss Travel Pass may work well. For your current itinerary a 4 day Swiss Travel Pass or a Swiss Half Fare Card may work. Once your plans are pretty much set, you can start comparing and calculating as explained at myswissalps.com/train/ ticketspasses/practica l/chooserailpass.

Hi siddesh,

In addition to my previous answer: you may have been referring to this promotion when mentioning the 5 day Swiss Travel Pass. So to elaborate on point 5: you're right, a 5 day Swiss Travel Pass does temporarily exist Indian and Australian travelers ;-).