Hello, I am a newbie to this forum and a newbie to Europe.

I will be traveling to Europe at this month for the first time. I will be arriving in Paris, some how making my way to Athens, and then departing Athens for back home.

Here's what I would like to know: What is the best way to get from Paris to Athens? I have about 5 days from the time i land in Paris to the time i need to be in Athens. I would like to keep costs low. And I wouldn't mind seeing another country (like Italy or Germany) on the way. I would like to fly Star Alliance flights if possible.

The options that I have come up with so far are:
1.) take the train from Paris to Italy. Ferry from Italy to Athens.
2.) Fly CDG > Frankfurt/Munich > Athens on Lufthansa

Any other ideas?

You could take the train all the way. I did this (from Munich) many many years ago, and still have very fond memories of that trip. It's quite an adventure, and some of the scenery is quite stunning. The train line is now open again (having been severed in the 1990s as a result of the various wars in former Yugoslavia). Total journey time from Paris between 45 and 48 hours depending on your routeing.

The best place to look up international train connections in Europe is

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Hello and welcome to Flyertalk!

Some more ideas:

- purchase discount CDG-xxx-ATH roundtrip on some Star Alliance carrier and discard the return leg. This will be much cheaper than buying one-way tickets on legacy carriers. However, this will not allow a stopover longer than 24 hours in the transit country, should you wish to visit it.

- a Star Alliance European Airpass , assuming you are flying with them to Europe. 3 segments minimum, but stopovers become possible.

- buying some form of rail pass, paying attention to the countries covered (for instance, the common Eurailpass doesn't cover the former Yugoslavia, which would however be quite an interesting train trip).

- get to Germany, and buy a one way air ticket on one of the discount German low cost carriers flying to Athens . For instance:
Having done the train+boat trip through Italy to Patras (the ferries I am aware of do not go to Athens, but to Patras, where you'll have to take a bus or train to Athens) in my youth, I cannot overly recommend it, unless visiting Italy is the major purpose. Very tiring, all but seamless, and quite the opposite of civilized travel IMHO.

Thanks for the links.

I'm assuming you took this trip:
http://www.seat61.com/Greece.htm

If you don't mind me asking, what made the train+boat trip so bad? I'm young (24) so maybe I can rough it...

I'm hesitant in buying a rail pass though, because they are valid for 10 days, while I will only be needing it for 5...

The cheapest and fastest way is on Olympic airlines, non-stop from CDG. Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed.

There is a lot to Greece. You could pop over to Creete or one of the other islands if you have time.

Yes, as a young student in the late 80's... when the concept of air conditioning wasn't quite as widespread in Europe.

My memories include overcrowded and late trains jammed with backpackers (being alone with strangers in a compartment for 6 people in those old Italian trains could be somewhat stressful), noisy families on the boat, unwarranted concerns about my luggage's safety (had a friend whose car was tailed from the ferry's exit to Athens, and then stolen), a chaotic boarding scene for the ferry, and yes, getting seasick .

Note that I would have done it again, but with better planning and more intermediate stops, and not in the summer. The key, as mentioned by stimpy, is that I would rather spend 2 more days in Greece than aboard trains and boats, and visit Italy separately.

I am also quite fond of ferry crossings (once did Oita-Kobe hoping to board the nostalgic 'tatami class' old guide books talked about), but spending close to a day in normal class on these large Mediterranean ferries is all but restful: seating similar to coach on airlines in cabins the size of movie theaters, greasy snacks, and the constant auditory assault of the naturally loud denizens of that part of the world.