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Itinerary Alert: 7 Days Exploring Switzerland + Paris

When we were presented with a last minute opportunity to travel to Zürich for a business trip during the middle of the prime holiday season,, we knew that we had to make the most of it. 7 days, 5 cities and 2 countries later we knew that we had accomplished exactly that. It was truly the trip of a lifetime and the perfect balance of indulgence, exploration and magic in some of Europe's top destinations. The trip went off without a hitch (aside from our expensive film camera plummeting eleven stories to its death) and we'll be sharing all of the details that made it so special below to hopefully inspire and guide a European trip of your own.


As always, the content below is a genuine, non-sponsored account of our adventures from the first-hand experience of a detail-oriented planner with the goal of inspiring others to live their best life . Our hope is that through our own well thought out + intentional planning, we'll be able to help others live presently by "putting a little disco in the details of life". We hope that you find our guides + site useful to your own journey through this crazy thing we call life. To keep up to date with all things Disco Frank subscribe to our blog and follow us on Pinterest + Instagram.


Trip Itinerary

As previously mentioned, our trip was centered around a work event in Zürich, which naturally impacted how we planned our travel itinerary. Thankfully, due to the nature of the work event, we had a great deal of flexibility and were able to explore the city during our first couple of days leading up to the event, and then travel around Switzerland + Paris afterwards. Our itinerary was perfect for our situation and made for a great opportunity to explore with Zürich as our starting point. For those planning a trip to Switzerland without any of the time or location confinements that we faced, there isn't much that we would advise to do differently aside from what we detail below. That being said, we present to you, our day-by-day itinerary (traveling from New York):


[Unofficial] Day 1 - Travel:

  • Red Eye Flight to Zürich

  • Leaving at 10PM and arriving at 11:30AM the following day (local time)


[Official] Day 1 - Zürich

  • Land around 11:30AM - Uber to Hotel

(we actually mistakenly took a taxi and it ended up costing about double what Ubering would have. There is easy + accessible public transportation from ZRH airport as well for the most cost efficient option)

  • Check-In to Hotel | Drop Bags Off: AMERON Zürich Bellerive au Lac

  • Quick Lunch: Pumpstation

  • Walk around + explore Zürich and neighborhood around hotel:

    • Christmas Market at Opernhaus Zürich

    • Stroll the streets of Old Town / Alstadt

    • Climb the Clock Tower at Grossmünster (5 Euro or CHF - cash only)

  • Back to hotel for quick coffee + refuel

  • Dinner at Razzia

  • Explore the holiday decorations of the city



Day 2 - Zürich

  • Expect to sleep in - set alarms to catch the [delicious] hotel breakfast

  • Explore the City

    • Walk around + explore Christmas Markets of Niederdorf

    • Check out the views from Lindenhof

    • See the Fraumünster Church

    • Visit the Swiss National Museum

    • Christmas Market at Zurich Main Station

    • Quick bite at Markthalle im Viadukt

    • Grab a drink at Frau Gerolds Garten

    • Visit the Office

    • B2 Hotel + Spa Baths

    • Catch a Singing Christmas Tree Performance at Zurich Werdmühleplatz

    • Dinner at Raclette Factory

    • Finish with seeing holiday decor around town


Day 3 - Lucerne + Zürich

  • Hotel breakfast

  • Head to Zuerich HB to catch train to Lucerne

  • Lucerne:

    • Visit the Lion Monument

    • Felsberg Park

    • Souvenir Stop: Aree's Souvenir House + Edelweiss Souvenir GmbH

    • Walk around the charming streets of Lucerne

    • Take in the beauty around Hofkirche St. Leodegar + Zur Hofstube

    • Walk along the water

    • Stop for lunch at Vincafe La Barca or Rathaus Brauerei

    • Stroll across the Chapel Bridge

    • Explore the Christmas Market at Franziskanerplatz (our best souvenir stop of the trip)

    • Back to the train station to head back to Zürich

  • Work Event


Day 4 - Zermatt

  • Get up early + begin the 3.5 hour train journey to Zermatt, switching trains in Visp

  • Check in to hotel | drop bags off: Le Mirabeau Hotel + Spa

  • Take the Riffelalp to Alphitta for Fondue overlooking the Matterhorn (due to the weather, we weren't able to do this and instead had to pivot to lunch in town)

  • Trek to Chalet Hotel Schönegg for lunch with a view of town

  • Stroll around town

  • Quick drink at Harry's Ski Bar

  • Back to hotel for some spa time + relaxation

  • Fondue dinner at Pinte

  • Tiramisu dessert from Restaurant Vieux-Valais da Nico

Paragliding + Snow tobogganing would have been perfect activities for Zermatt if we had visited at a different time. Skiing is of course the number one activity for visitors.


Day 5 - Zermatt + Montreux

  • Take in the views of the Matterhorn at the hotel breakfast

  • Stroll around town + souvenir shop

  • Pay a visit to the Matterhorn Museum

Due to inclement weather + our time constraints, we decided to head out to our next stop. With more time in Zermatt we would have loved to pay a visit to the restaurants at Hotel Alex, the spa at Riffelhaus, tour the black nose sheep at Hotel Julen, traveled on the Gornergrat Cog Railway, dined at Blue Lounge, Paradise or Chez Vrony. hiked to Riffelsee or the 5 Seenweg hike.

  • Begin 2.5 hour train journey to Montreux

  • Check in to hotel: Eurotel

  • Explore the waterfront + Montreux's Christmas market, Montreux Noel

  • Grab a burger at Rando Burger

  • Enjoy music + a cocktail at Funky Claude's Bar

  • Early to bed for a big travel day tomorrow


Day 6 - Paris

  • Take the train from Montreux to GVA

  • Fly from GVA to CDG, landing at 10AM in Paris

  • Uber to Hotel: Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel

  • Drop off bags + change

  • Explore Paris!

    • Eiffel Tower

    • Trocadéro Gardens + Christmas Market

    • Walk along Av. Montaigne / Champs-Élysées and explore designer stores + holiday decorations

    • Lunch at Pink Mamma

    • Walk passed Moulin Rouge

    • Explore Montmartre

    • Catch sunset at the terrace of Galeries Lafayette + explore the holiday decor

    • Back to hotel to change + prep for dinner

    • Watch the Eiffel Tower twinkle from hotel balcony

    • Dinner at Monsieur Bleu

    • Walk back to hotel along the Seine + pass through the Eiffel Tower


Day 7 - Paris + Home

  • Check out + leave bags with the hotel

  • Breakfast at Café Fleur

  • Bus to Le Jardin du Luxembourg

  • Walk passed the Pantheon, Notre Dame + Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

  • Visit the grounds of Musée du Louvre

  • Christmas Market at Jardin des Tuileries

  • Walk along Seine back to Eiffel Tower + Hotel

  • Check out + head to airport + HOME (7PM flight departure)

There is SO much more that we would have done given the time, energy and money, but for basically 24 hours in Paris, we couldn't have asked for more!