bibliotecaria71

Background: We have promised each of our six nieces/nephews a trip to Europe (with us, of course!) for their high school graduation. Trip number two is quickly approaching! Here is our itinerary.

Flights: We used reward points for business class tickets in and out of Paris for three weeks.

DH and I have visited Paris/Switzerland twice and Rome multiple times and this will be DN's first trip abroad. We have yet to share all of the details with her, but she seems to be excited to see/do anything.

Our initial plan was to rent a car and visit Normandy and Alsace region, but we have decided to skip any travel plans that involve rental cars. So here is how we are spending our three weeks:

Day 1: Arrive in Paris, try to stay awake as long as possible.
Day 2-5: Paris, Versailles, etc.
Day 6: 2-hour train ride to Strasbourg: This is a compromise day, as DH wants to break up the train travel and see something new. We have visited Colmar and the nearby villages and hope DN will enjoy the old town part of the city.
Day 7-8: Train to Bern: Stay in old town and enjoy some down time at the city's outdoor pool/river. (Swimming down the river has been on my bucket list and I figure we could all do with some nature and relaxation by then.)
Day 9-12: Train to Wengen: We all enjoyed our stay in Wengen three years ago on a trip with our first niece. This should be a very relaxing and comfortable stay with half-board for easy meals and an indoor pool for downtime and a chance to spread out when we're not hiking.
Day 13: Lucerne: I know one night does not do Lucerne justice, but we want to be closer to Zurich for the flight on the following day and we'll still enjoy the sights around town.
Day 14: Train to Zurich airport and flight to Rome.
Day 15-19: Rome: DH and I really love Rome and are hoping she will too! We have three nights booked near the Pantheon in the thick of things and three splurge nights at the Gran Melia for the pool and some mid-day relaxation. (Again, we did this the last time and it was worth it.)
Day 20: Afternoon flight to Paris. We booked reward business class tickets in hope to make this a little less hectic experience. We always play it safe with transportation and feel better "wasting" a day and never trying to cut it close. We'll likely stay at the airport hotel, but we could travel into the city for dinner if we have any energy left.

Whew! I know this isn't the way everyone travels, but I am hoping that the mix of city and mountains makes for an enjoyable and educational trip.

Jean

Sounds like fun, but 8 hotels in 20 days... yes, not my travel style with not as much time anywhere as I would want, esp. Paris, Lucerne and Rome. I'd be tempted to drop Rome even though it's my favorite European city. I hope one or two of the hotels offer laundry service.

KTtravel

It sounds like a great trip to me. Lucky niece!!

bibliotecaria71

Thanks, KTtravel!

Jean, we are really light packers and always manage. ;-)

ellenem

Are all your accommodations set? Wondering because you are flying in and out of Paris, and feel the need to be close to Paris the night before your return flight. Can you reverse the trip? Arrive on Day 1 in Paris and immediately fly to Rome the same day. Start with your stay in Rome and then Zurich, then Lucerne, Wengen, Bern, Strasbourg, and finish in Paris. This would eliminate the one-night stay near a Paris airport and let your last day(s) be a celebration in Paris.

bibliotecaria71

That would have been a smarter itinerary, ellenm! But all of the flights are set. Nonetheless, I do like building up to Rome with a first-timer. This isn't the perfect trip, but it will be a fun adventure for a 19-year-old, I hope!

Kiddo

What a lucky niece to have such a generous auntie and uncle. Have a wonderful trip!

bibliotecaria71

Thanks, Kiddo! It is as much for us as it is for them. The memories we build on vacation are special. We just had dinner with the first niece last weekend and spent a good part of the evening reminiscing about her trip.

mbrevitas

If you're not actually interested in visiting Zurich and only mildly interested in Lucerne, and assuming you're going to stay in the city centre in Rome, I think it might make more sense to travel to Rome by train from canton Bern (EuroCity train to Milano Centrale from Bern, Thun or Spiez, then Frecciarossa train to Roma Termini, about 7 hours in total) than to fly from Zurich. Even if you do want to spend that one night in Lucerne, I think it makes more sense to travel to Rome by train (change in Arth-Goldau for a EuroCity train to Milano Centrale). Flying is quicker and probably cheaper, but not that much once you consider the need to travel to and from the airport and check in and collect luggage, and the train is much less hassle and more pleasant. Of course then you might be tempted to break up the journey on the shore of lake Maggiore or lake Lugano, in Milan, in Bologna, or in Florence...

neckervd

A train ride from Lucerne to Rome lasts 6 1/2 hrs (for example Lucerne dp 14.18 - Rome ar 20.34) and is much more scenic than the flight solution which lasts about 5 1/2 hrs (city center to city center)

bibliotecaria71

Mbevitas & Neckervd- I would love nothing more than to take the train! We did something similar three years ago, but going to Venice first. However, this is one of the compromises with DH. I dislike flying and really tried to convince DH to do it again, but I have to pick my battles. ;-)