[CarsAndDrives]

Am planning a trip in April - Paris 3 days (Key monuments, Versailles place, Disneyland) and Switzerland (2 days?).
If anyone has any good itinerary please do share. Also wanted to know if there are good tour operators I can approach. Assuming operator will be less hassle then getting things done by myself. Any suggestions from those who have visited would much appreciated.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by CarsAndDrives

Am planning a trip in April - Paris 3 days (Key monuments, Versailles place, Disneyland) and Switzerland (2 days?).
If anyone has any good itinerary please do share. Also wanted to know if there are good tour operators I can approach. Assuming operator will be less hassle then getting things done by myself. Any suggestions from those who have visited would much appreciated.

Best to do the ticketing yourself for the best prices.
Skyscanner is a good way to check and then buy.
I suggest apply for a Swiss Schengen - it is generally easier.

Land in Zurich. Do Zurich, Lucerne and there are plenty of day trips to Interlaken and Mt Titlis and Jungfraujoch and all the tourist sightseeing things. There is a Lindt Chocolate Factory visit and a cruise too on the lake in Zurich.


Then you can go to Paris and plan your 3 days there. Ideally fly out of Paris. So try and do a multi city itinerary. In Paris, the Louvre Museum is superb as are the other monuments like the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame.

A cruise on the Seine is lovely too. Remember that Versailles is outside of Paris so it will take typically a half day minimum- 6hours or so if you really want to see Versailles. It is huge and there are a lot of salons of furniture and tapestries and all. Disneyland Paris is also a little outside. Again this will end up a day trip of 7-8 hours. Then there is Parc Asterix which is also a little outside and if you like Asterix this will also take time to cover.

Try the websites of GetYourGuide and Viator to get your ideas and decide what interests you.

My suggestion is to take it slow and don't try to pack in too much because it will become like a chaotic rush and just a tick in a box rather than a really nice memorable trip.

[LordSpymaster]

Originally Posted by CarsAndDrives

Am planning a trip in April - Paris 3 days (Key monuments, Versailles place, Disneyland) and Switzerland (2 days?).
If anyone has any good itinerary please do share. Also wanted to know if there are good tour operators I can approach. Assuming operator will be less hassle then getting things done by myself. Any suggestions from those who have visited would much appreciated.

Grey Line is a good tour operator, check them out.

Also, use Welcome Pickups for airport drops, pickups, and intercity (Paris to Disneyland Paris, etc.)

Take a train from Swiss to Paris, I've done that and it was awesome!

[reverse_gear]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I suggest apply for a Swiss Schengen - it is generally easier.

Just a note of caution based on my experience in Mumbai. Please follow the Schengen visa application rules correctly or they are liable to refuse processing your application. As per the rules, the country of visa application has to be the one in which you spend the max number of days as per the itinerary and bookings you share. So if you show an itinerary with 2 days in Switzerland and 3 in France, the VFS Switzerland may turn you back (irrespective of your port of entry). [Link] I saw this play out in front of my eyes when I was in VFS Swiss visa centre in November. A relatively large group (with an agent in tow) were being refused processing because their itinerary had 7 days in Switzerland and 8 in Germany. Of course, you can always get around this by showing dummy bookings and itinerary with more days in Switzerland. No one cares about the country of visa issue when you actually land in Europe.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Then you can go to Paris and plan your 3 days there. Ideally fly out of Paris. So try and do a multi city itinerary. In Paris, the Louvre Museum is superb as are the other monuments like the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame.

Notre Dame has not yet reopened after the fire. You can add the Opera, Montmartre and Musee d'Orsay (especially if you are interested in impressionist art).

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

My suggestion is to take it slow and don't try to pack in too much because it will become like a chaotic rush and just a tick in a box rather than a really nice memorable trip.

This is most important. You need to decide what you want to experience and plan the itinerary accordingly. There is an enormous number of things that can be packed in, but you may want to decide what would really attract you, and plan accordingly. Time is your worst enemy.

Just a note to keep in mind, especially with regard to Paris and to a lesser extent Zurich. Please check that the hotel you are booking is in a generally decent area, especially if you are with family. Parts of Paris are quite seedy and as a tourist, they are best avoided. For example, you don't want to stay near Gare du Nord, even if it is convenient for your excursions by train. Similarly some parts around Zurich main station can be unsafe for a tourist at night.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by CarsAndDrives

Am planning a trip in April - Paris 3 days (Key monuments, Versailles place, Disneyland) and Switzerland (2 days?).
If anyone has any good itinerary please do share. Also wanted to know if there are good tour operators I can approach. Assuming operator will be less hassle then getting things done by myself. Any suggestions from those who have visited would much appreciated.

I am not sure how you can cover Paris including Versailles and Disneyland (each of these take 1 day) in 3 days. My advice is to either slow down and exclude few places, or extend your holiday. I have been to Paris 3 times, and the city has so much to offer..
2 days for Switzerland again sounds way too less. Better would be either select one of these destinations for 5 days.
Obviously, I dont know what type of traveler you are..if you are the types who does 14 countries in 15 days, then please ignore my suggestions.

[Potenza]

Originally Posted by CarsAndDrives

Am planning a trip in April - Paris 3 days (Key monuments, Versailles place, Disneyland) and Switzerland (2 days?).

With only 5 days between two places you will not even scratch the surface of either of them. If you want to “do” Paris “properly” you need a week at least. While that may not be possible for everyone, a minimum of 4 nights is what I think is absolutely necessary for Paris.

Similarly, for Switzerland you’ll need at least 3 nights just to see Bernese Oberland properly. So before finalising your plans please consider extending your trip. In five days it’ll just be a tick-mark trip.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by reverse_gear

Notre Dame has not yet reopened after the fire. You can add the Opera, Montmartre and Musee d'Orsay (especially if you are interested in impressionist art).
This.

Indeed the Musee d’Orsay is full of superb pieces of Art. One can walk about the grounds in the Notre Dame or view it from the Bateaux Mouches while cruising on the Seine. There is also the Picasso Museum which contains some iconic works of his.

There is a lot that Paris has to offer. But the key thing is to have enough time.

[HighOnSpeed]

Hello! I am going to apply for the Schengen Visa shortly, and I was wondering whether anyone had got the visa before with just the Eurail pass as proof of entering and exiting the Schengen Zone. I would be entering/exiting the zone in Paris via the Eurostar(train) from/to London. Or would it be a safer bet to book a refundable roundtrip flight? I already hold a valid UK visa and I will be booking a roundtrip flight to London from IN.

[Ajay_the_Don]

I am in the process of applying for a Schengen visa for a trip to Spain. It is last minute trip and I plan to stay there for a month from March till April 15th. Now the thing is my Passport expires on 20th August - which is 4 months beyond my departure date. I checked online and the embassy website and it is required to have a minimum of 3 months validity beyond the departure date.

The travel guy who is arranging my trip is saying that a minimum of 6 months is required and I am perplexed about getting my passport renewed as it might take time and my passport and further visa will not be received before the trip itinerary gets completed.

Should I apply for the Visa and try my luck or is the 3-month validity is good enough?

Members, please advise.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Ajay_the_Don

I am in the process of applying for a Schengen visa for a trip to Spain. It is last minute trip and I plan to stay there for a month from March till April 15th. Now the thing is my Passport expires on 20th August - which is 4 months beyond my departure date. I checked online and the embassy website and it is required to have a minimum of 3 months validity beyond the departure date.

The travel guy who is arranging my trip is saying that a minimum of 6 months is required and I am perplexed about getting my passport renewed as it might take time and my passport and further visa will not be received before the trip itinerary gets completed.

Should I apply for the Visa and try my luck or is the 3-month validity is good enough?

Members, please advise.

Go and renew your passport post-haste.
Because Indian immigration themselves may not let you pass through the exit gate. The general rule is that your passport has to have minimum 6 months validity.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by Ajay_the_Don

Should I apply for the Visa and try my luck or is the 3-month validity is good enough?

Members, please advise.

Some countries have 3 months and some 6 months DTE (Distance to Expiry )

My friend made the visit with 4 M DTE to a European country.

My brother and his family was sent back from the immigration counter before boarding a plane to Bali, he was attempting 5 M DTE.

If the country where you are going allows 3 M, you can make this trip. You have to convince the immigration officer, if he asks, with a valid proof.

[praful]

Originally Posted by HighOnSpeed

Hello! I am going to apply for the Schengen Visa shortly, and I was wondering whether anyone had got the visa before with just the Eurail pass as proof of entering and exiting the Schengen Zone. I would be entering/exiting the zone in Paris via the Eurostar(train) from/to London. Or would it be a safer bet to book a refundable roundtrip flight? I already hold a valid UK visa and I will be booking a roundtrip flight to London from IN.

I have done the reverse process i.e. applied for a British visitor visa from the Schengen region with confirmed train tickets. While this is not the direction you were looking for, I don't see why the inverse wouldn't work. As long as you demonstrate you have a booked ticket which shows you exiting the Schengen region should work, irrespective of whether its by air or rail. Same for road travel as well, as one would need to show ferry tickets.

Originally Posted by Ajay_the_Don

Members, please advise.

6 months is usually the norm, so you might encounter an irate immigration officer who might not let you pass. I think if you can get a confirmation from the Spanish embassy for the 3-month rule and carry that with you during the immigration process I think it should work. But it's the safest to have your passport renewed in all cases, the process I imagine should be quick now. But Spanish visa processing is usually very slow, so you might want to account for that irrespective of passport renewal or not (as you intend on travelling in March, which effectively starts this Friday)!

[HighOnSpeed]

Originally Posted by praful

I have done the reverse process i.e. applied for a British visitor visa from the Schengen region with confirmed train tickets. While this is not the direction you were looking for, I don't see why the inverse wouldn't work.

I think you misunderstood me there. I was looking to apply for a Schengen visa here in India itself. I already hold a long-term UK visa which is currently valid. I wanted to take my roundtrip flight from India to the UK. After a few days of visiting some people in the UK, I thought of exploring a few other parts of Europe as well, taking advantage of my 2-month Eurail pass.

I just wanted to know if the Eurail pass(it is not a ticket) alone would be a valid proof of conveyance for the application. My main concern is that the Eurail pass itself is not a ticket, but would allow the pass holder to access the trains that are part of their network. In my case, I would need to buy a reservation(though it is part of the Eurail pass as paid reservations are required for certain trains) for the Eurostar, so I wanted to know if just the Eurail pass would suffice or I need to show confirmed reservations for the same.

But anyway, after some discussions with some experts, I will be showing a roundtrip flight reservation from LHR-CDG as my travel time is just a month away. Can't deal with a rejection or a reapplication.

[praful]

Originally Posted by HighOnSpeed

I just wanted to know if the Eurail pass(it is not a ticket) alone would be a valid proof of conveyance for the application. My main concern is that the Eurail pass itself is not a ticket, but would allow the pass holder to access the trains that are part of their network. In my case, I would need to buy a reservation(though it is part of the Eurail pass as paid reservations are required for certain trains) for the Eurostar, so I wanted to know if just the Eurail pass would suffice or I need to show confirmed reservations for the same.

My bad! Just a Eurail pass alone is not sufficient as you do not have a definite date of departure from the schengen region.

[kbnissan]

Hello

I am also planning a trip to France in July and will be in Paris for a 3 nights.

We would be using public transport for most of the trip. Since I will be traveling with my family can I get some suggestions on safe locations for accommodation in Paris, especially since we will be walking to & from the metro to the hotel / airbnb.

Also, any suggestions on car rental agencies (sixt, europcar, avis, hertz etc) as we plan to rent a car for our trip within Normandy. Have read horror stories on heavy charges being levied after the trip is completed citing minor scratches etc.