Paris Travel

Hi all, I am planning a trip to Paris from swizerland with family and stay there for 2 nights. Planning to visit Disney land and Eiffel tower mainly.

I checked many options like travel in bus, train and flight. Train itself costs me around 850 CHF for 2 ways journey. Eiffel tower entrance fee, disney land entry fee,medium hotel family stay all including is costing me less than 1300 CHF to 1500 CHF for 2 adults and one kid of 5 year old.

I was not able to find any trip organizers with whom i can book group trip for Paris either form Zurich or anywhere else near by.

Will this be minimum cost for Paris trip or am i missing something or is this too expensive. Can some one guide me here please.

When do you want to travel, and which rail travel sites have you already looked at? Also, do you have any Swiss discount cards such as GA or Halb Tax?

How are you working out your train costs?

They seem a bit steep but then you haven't said how many people are going or whether it's first class.

If you book enough time in advance, you could take fifteen people return Zurich-Paris on the TGV for CHF850.

I did give you a link to a website for train info with your last request.

I'll do it again. It's one page.

Blueangel beat me to it.

You can't get meaningful help without dates etc. 850 seems quite excessive.

Hi all,

thanks for immediate responses and below are the details for all questions,

its for family of 3 2 adults and one kid of 5 year old. We have half rate cards for adults and its 2nd class.

We are fine with any week in this month. I checked till last of this month and its same price.

I was trying to book local train a from swiss till Basel and TGV from Basel to Paris. Either at the counter or online or seperate booking from SBB and TGV still i get same cost for 3 people not less than 850.

Only plixi bus costs around 450 Euros 2 way

Am i checking the things correct way or missing some thing? Or do i need to book in much more advance?

Do you mean October? Much too soon plus I think, can't be certain as I have no kids, you have the issue of school holidays which will make things even more expensive.

For decent savings, you need to be looking at least 45-90 days in advance.

Does it have to be Paris?

You can fly with HOP! Air France from Basel to Paris CDG for CHF 123.50 per person, Dept 19 Oct / Rtn 23 Oct. It took a couple of minutes to find that fare, and you've been offered links to Seat 61 already.

I just had a look on the SNCF website and was able to find tickets for €487 round-trip for two adults and a child. I took two dates at random (departing 21 Oct, returning 23 Oct) and didn't search to see if I could find a lower price.

The lowest priced journey I could find was leaving on 31 Oct, returning on 2 Nov. This priced out at €339 for three passengers.

With regard to the trains - I gave you a link on this thread, and on your other thread to a page on a site which tells you how to book the best value train tickets.

Yet, you keep coming back with the same "Am I missing something?". If you are as pressed for time as you say you are, why don't you actually follow the advice people give you and be a bit more pro-active?

Thanks for the reply, i really appreciate all the people in this forum who have helped me a lot and i understand i need to book much in advance to get better prices in this forum. I was just making sure whether my understanding is correct by asking whether i am on right track or missing something. I had gone through each and every link also. A simple response to me stating "Yes your understanding is correct and u need to book in advance" would have made me more confident than being rude. I am very whole heatedly thankful to this forum. People like me have benefited a lot. Thanks and will not ask much questions once some one gives link.

thanks a lot i think the price keeps varying...yesterday and today morning when i checked for trains online and even at SBB counter it was 900 now its giving me around 600 for the time line which i need. Yes its correct its around 343 for the time lines which u have selected and i really thank you for taking your time for checking online for me. I was selecting some other times to make trip complete which costs around 600 for me...now. thanks a lot...will plan in advance...thanks alot

I gave you a link.

Here's the page:

The important bits are in bold.

But, to paraphrase:

Book the domestic bit via SBB (Baden-Zurich or Baden-Basel).

Book the Zurich/Basel bit on one of the two sites mentioned.

Prices go up everyday (for the bit to Paris) so the earlier the better.

Switzerland to Paris by TGV from €29...

Regular direct TGV-Lyria high-speed trains run from Geneva to Paris (3h10), Lausanne to Paris (3h38), Zurich & Basel to Paris (Zurich to Paris in 4h03). One train a day links Bern and Interlaken with Paris. In Paris, all these trains now arrive at Paris Gare de Lyon.

TGV-Lyria trains have a cafe-bar, power sockets at all seats, and first class fares include snacks & drinks served at your seat, see the TGV-Lyria page for photos & information.

Booking usually opens 120 days ahead and fares start at €29 booked well in advance , rising like air fares to over €100 for a full-flex ticket bought on the day. So book ahead! First class fares start at around €84.

The Geneva-Paris route is particularly scenic... For the first hour the train passes at slow speed through the wonderful mountains of the Haut-Bugey route, crossing the remarkable Cize-Bolozon viaduct over the Ain gorge, before joining the high-speed line for the 2-hour dash to Paris across rural France, see the Paris-Geneva photos here. An increasing number of Geneva-Paris trains are double-deck TGV Duplex - if you book from Geneva to Paris at www.loco2.com or www.trainline.eu you can select an upper deck seat for the best views.

If you just want the TGV-Lyria, as you are travelling from Geneva, Lausanne, Basel or Zurich to Paris, not from further inside Switzerland...

Buy tickets for the TGV-Lyria at either www.loco2.com (in € or £) or www.trainline.eu (in €). Anyone from any country can use these sites, and booking usually opens 120 days ahead. There's no booking fee at these websites and you get a choice of seating options, including upper or lower deck if it's a TGV Duplex or forward-facing seat if it's a single-deck TGV and you're using Loco2 in euros. You print your own ticket.

If you are starting your journey at a station deeper inside Switzerland such as Lucerne, Zermatt, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, St Moritz...

OK, so now we're talking a Swiss domestic ticket from your starting point to Basel, Zurich, Lausanne or Geneva plus a TGV-Lyria ticket from there to Paris. The TGV-Lyria ticket is best booked in advance to get the cheapest prices, but the Swiss ticket is usually an 'open' one that can be bought on the day. Swiss trains are very punctual, but I'd allow at least 30 minutes at the interchange station between your Swiss domestic train and the TGV-Lyria to Paris. So here's what you do...

Step 1, book your TGV-Lyria ticket from a suitable 'gateway' station to Paris. Geneva or Lausanne are the best gateway stations for Montreux or Gstaad, Basel is the best gateway station for Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, Wengen, Bern or Lucerne. Zurich is the best gateway station for Chur, St Moritz, Davos, Klosters. Obvious if you look at a map!

Book the TGV-Lyria at either www.loco2.com (in € or £) or www.trainline.eu (in €). Anyone from any country can use these sites, and booking usually opens 120 days ahead. There's no booking fee at these websites and you get a choice of seating options, including upper or lower deck if it's a TGV Duplex or forward-facing seat if it's a single-deck TGV and you're using Loco2 in euros. You print your own ticket.

Step 2, then buy a ticket from your Swiss starting station to your chosen gateway station at the Swiss Railways website www.sbb.ch , for English scroll right to the bottom and click 'en'. Tickets go on sale 60 days before travel. SBB's normal flexible Swiss domestic tickets are valid for any train that day not just the one you choose when booking online, no seat reservations are necessary or even possible on most Swiss domestic routes, you just hop on any departure and sit where you like. The price is fixed and availability is unlimited, you can buy one of these tickets at the station on the day if you like, but buying online saves time.

Money-saving tip: Regular flexible Swiss domestic fares are not cheap, indeed the Swiss domestic part of the journey can cost more than the TGV-Lyria journey from Switzerland to Paris! But you can often save up to 50% on Swiss domestic trains by waiting until 30 days or less before your travel date and checking www.sbb.ch for cheap advance-purchase limited-availability Supersaver fares. In the search results a black triangle with a '%' symbol will appear against each departure on which a Supersaver fare available. Supersaver fares are only valid on the specific train you book, no refunds, no changes to travel plans, but they save up to 50% off the normal flexible fare. No cards or passes are necessary to use a Supersaver fare.

Alternatively, anyone from any country can buy tickets from any town or city in Switzerland to Paris at the Swiss Railways site www.sbb.ch , combining Swiss domestic trains with the TGV-Lyria to Paris. You print your own tickets (as the Swiss can e-ticket both their own domestic trains and TGV-Lyria) or you can collect tickets at any main Swiss station.

thanks a lot again for taking your time and responding to me. I went through these links as soon as u provided me at first instance and in the link when i saw initially 29 euros from your first post i was shocked and checked for the later dates where prices where low. After this exercise, understood that i need to book in advance then only I replied in this website whether my understanding is correct just to double check. Thanks a lot and these links were useful to me.

My advice: don't go to Disneyland! It's very crowded and you'll spend hours in queues. And especially since you stay only 2 nights, it looks like a waste of time.

Oh is that so...i was not aware this is really good suggestion so

each ride has queue after entry ticket ?

Other than rides do we have something which we can enjoy?

There are ways around the queues, such as the Fast Pass http://www.disneylandparis.co.uk/gue...ces/fast-pass/

My friend, and former colleague, worked at Eurodisney from the day it opened for 8yrs. He went back this time last year for 2 days and still enjoyed it.

At least the major attractions have queues. I remember waiting up to 1 hour to get a ride. In the evening (say, last hour before closing), the queues were much

smaller and we were able to take the Wild West rollercoaster multiple times.

There are castle-like buildings which could interest some kids, there is a fireworks show at the end of the day. The food is mediocre and expensive, the crowds were driving me nuts But we've been during summer, maybe in October it's less crowded. Anyway, I would avoid the weekend, if possible.

Drive. Max 200 Fr return, including tolls.

For a 5 YO kid, Disneyland might be a bit overwhelming (mine was 6 when we first visited and he was a bit cranky all through.)

Book the Eiffel tower lift in time - also online. Try for a 1830 slot so you can see both evening and night views.

train isn't much quicker than car. so at short notice it may be cheaper to drive. or even rent a car and drive if you don't have a car.

flights are about 100chf one way so 600chf for all 3. if the train was the same price and the only option, i think i'd just fly.

Maybe you really want to go to Paris, but when it comes to theme parks, personally I would suggest taking a trip to Europa park instead, which is near Freiburg. http://www.europapark.de/en

It's Europe's most popular theme park, and if you go, you'll understand why. I thought of going to Euro Disney years ago, but when I heard about the queues there I decided not to. My family loves Europa park and there's a lot to to do for all ages. I've never stayed there but the hotels look nice, and it will be a lot cheaper than going to Paris. https://www.google.fr/search? See th...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Then you could go another time to enjoy Paris, without Euro Disney. As well as the Eiffel Tower, you could visit the Luxembourg gardens, which has lots to do for young children. https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museu...-du-Luxembourg