France - Slight schedule upheaval for first Paris trip.

Wife woke me up early Monday morning with a handful of positive pregnancy tests. Our first. Extremely unexpecting but we couldn't be happier.

Anyway, we had a trip to Amsterdam and Paris booked for 9/2012 and decided to move that up. We fly business from ORD-AMS arriving early morning 3/1, AMS-CDG on 3/4, CDG-ORD on 3/10.

I had planned a few wine tastings in France that obviously I will have to 86. We had initially planned on taking a train to Lyon on staying for a night. Realizing that Zurich is only 4.5 hours or so away, which would you folks choose?

Aside from the typical museums, sightseeing and so forth, the lack of wine tastings leaves our schedule rather open. Lyon is obviously known for it's cuisine, and we are definitely foodies. I've always been interested in visiting Switzerland (this is my first time to Europe in general). Is Zurich worth the 4.5 hours via train? We would set to leave Paris early in the AM, arrive for a late lunch, and head back to Paris the following afternoon. Or, should we stick with our original plan of heading to Lyon?

the only reason to go to zurich it to be shocked by the high prices.

in my experience, "wine tastings" and vineyard visits are different than california. these people are farmers and winemakers. vineyards are not open to tours, although you can just walk around in them. california are full of salesmen and showmen and tasting rooms. if you plan to taste wine, you should consider having a major outlet or distributor make arrangements for you to visit.

the food in burgundy is fabulous. i do not know what book to use for a guide. i would just get a michelin red, and a michelin map. go to the one and two star restaurants. i presume you will be driving.

Congratulations!

March is just the weather for hearty Lyonnais food (assuming your wife's stomach permits). Zurich is a pretty enough town, but I certainly wouldn't bother going there for lunch.

But really, a week in Paris is barely enough time to scratch the surface. Either way, you might want to wait a month before arranging any side trip to see how your wife weathers her condition.

We will not be driving - our hotel in Paris is (to my knowledge) centrally located. Had no intention of renting a car.

We could stay for two nights in Zurich if it was worth it (have some extra Priority Club points for use at the Crowne Plaza) but perhaps I'm being too aggressive?

Europe as a whole is new to me so I pretty much want to go everywhere. :D

I agree with those who say to skip Zurich and concentrate on Paris and it's environs. We flew First Class on Swiss a few years ago from NY to Zurich to Venice and back from Athens after a cruise. Altho we had been in Switzerland as part of our honeymoon, we decided to make Zurich a stopover. Yes, it's interesting and with a new baby, it may be awhile til you can travel like this.

But as long as your asking, Paris (where I am writing from right now!) is amazing. Add a trip to Normandy, the D-Day beaches and cemeteries and the environs. Go to Versailles - easily will fill a day. Get to Giverny and visit Monet's home if the weather is nice. I would strongly suggest making the most of France and saving Switzerland for another time.

And congratulations!

That settles it then. Thanks for the feedback and all the kind words!

his.

But as long as your asking, Paris (where I am writing from right now!) is amazing. Add a trip to Normandy, the D-Day beaches and cemeteries and the environs. Go to Versailles - easily will fill a day. Get to Giverny and visit Monet's home if the weather is nice. I would strongly suggest making the most of France and saving Switzerland for another time.

And congratulations!

forget all that and try to see at least 10% of paris on your stay. a full visit to paris takes weeks or months.

Europe as a whole is new to me so I pretty much want to go everywhere. :D

Then don't ruin your first trip by trying to do it all at once! ;)

The earlier advice is sound - stay in Paris and skip Zurich altogether on this trip. Personally I would spend the entire time in Paris but if you absolutely must leave the city, I would suggest an easy day trip on only one of your days. Brussels is an easy high speed train-ride from Paris and can be done in a day. This may satisfy your desire to see another country/city on this trip. You can easily go up in the morning (take your coffee and breakfast on the train) for a nice afternoon lunch and stroll around the Grand Place and then be back in Paris for a late dinner.

Have fun! :)

5-6 days in Paris is nothing. Since you are from Chicago, think about a city that's Chicago combined with Washington, DC. (i.e., center of business, government, culture, and intellectual thought). Or actually NYC + DC.

And if you had the time, you can do day trips to Versailles and Chartres.

Lyon also has a fine museum and very good shopping.

But I agree with those who suggest that all that train time is not very well used, given your plans. If you want to go out of Paris during your stay, consider day trips to either Versailles or Chartres, though I think you'll find plenty to do in Paris itself.

Sounds good folks. We may indeed take a day trip to Brussels for lunch, but aside from that we'll stick in and around Paris.

Thanks again for the feedback.