Europe Fall 2008

[Khurram]

I've booked off the first three weeks of October for holidays next year and am finally hoping to make a trip out to Italy, France, Switzerland and Greece.  I know its a long way away, but want to make sure i get a head start on my research prior to making reservations in the Spring.

I'm only going to have 3 weeks so i'd like to get some advice on what the best options are at that time of the year and what to avoid - starting off with the best way to travel (i.e. rent a car or rail), and the best place for the initial flight from Canada (in terms of most hassle free airport.

The places i definitely want to go are:
-Venice
-Rome
-Paris

I also wanted to know what the best options would be for fall colors at that time as well.

[Lisa Nikodym]

Four countries is an awful lot to see in three weeks!  I'd try to prune it to about half as many places and go back to the other half on another trip.  My spouse (who is hyperactive and runs around at high speed from dawn 'til dusk when on vacation, and once used a three-day break from a conference in Switzerland to visit both Grindalwald and Svalbard, the latter of which is well above the arctic circle...) has, however, come up with the following schedule for how to fit in almost everything you should see if you really want to do it all:

Day   
1   Fly to Frankfurt
2   Fly to Frankfurt, rail to Paris. Photo Notre Dame at sunset, Defense Arch at night
3   Photo Paris
4   Rail to Versailles, RT, photo
5   Rail to Chartre, RT
6   Rail to Geneve / Interlaken / Wengen Switzerland. Photo alps sunset
7   Photo Grindlewald area (Lauterbrunen)
8   Photo Grindlewald area  (First)
9   Grindelwald area Jungfraujoch. Return to Wengen on Wengenbahn loop
10   Rail to Zermatt
11   Photo Zermatt - Gornergrat railway
12   Photo Zermatt, Matterhorn Hutte.
13   Rail to Venice
14   Photo Venice
15   Rail to Rome / photo Rome
16   Photo Rome
17   Photo Rome / St.Peters (Walk).
18   Fly to Athens, Photo Athens
19   Photo Athens
20   Overnight tour to Delphi
21   Return from Delphi, Fly to Frankfurt
22   Fly home

Still, I personally can't recommend doing all this that fast.   His schedule has only about a day in some places that really deserve four or five.  And you'd better like trains, because you'll be spending an awful lot of time on them!

(His recommendation to fly into Frankfurt and take the train to Paris is based on the fact that De Gaulle airport near Paris is an awful airport to fly into or out of; chaotic with frequent delays and difficulties of various sorts.  It will be quicker, though probably more aggravating, to fly directly into Paris rather than Frankfurt.)

Regarding how to get around:  In France, Switzerland and Italy, trains are the way to go.  Don't even think of driving in most big cities in Europe unless you have nerves of steel and a talent for finding parking in the most overcrowded of places.  Trains go most anywhere you'll want to go in those countries, and are mostly quite pleasant with nice scenery going by.  In Switzerland, a network of trains, funiculars, lifts, and cable cars goes everywhere the tourist might possibly be interested in going, and are very nice and oh so scenic!

I'm not sure about the transport situation in Greece.  I've been there, but only in Athens or on short tours.  I'd recommend taking trains to everywhere else, but then flying to Athens (maybe from Rome).  In Greece, the three places most worth seeing are Athens, Delphi, and some of the Greek isles (Mykonos/Delos, or Santorini).

I guess if I were planning a trip for someone else who hasn't been there, I'd focus on Switzerland & Italy for the first trip, and do France and Greece on later trips.  Rome, Venice & Switzerland are among my favorite places to visit, and train connections between them all work very well.  You could fly into Rome and do the rest by train, or into Frankfurt or some other city in the region if flights (and airline pricing) work better elsewhere.  It also helps to do both countries, so you get some variety in the trip, with historic cities in Italy and stunning outdoors scenery in Switzerland.  If you're only going to do one part of Switzerland, then doing the Jungfrau region is best, staying in either Wengen or Murren (near-carless mountain villages in stunning scenery with good transport to them).  If you have time for a second, go to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn.

You can check train schedules, times and often prices at the following European rail web sites:
www.bahn.de (German rail site)
www.sbb.ch (Swiss rail)
They cover trains not only in their own countries, but in nearby countries too.  There may be a similar site for the Italian train company, but I don't know it offhand.

Sorry, I don't know about fall colors.

Lisa

[Khurram]

Four countries is an awful lot to see in three weeks!  I'd try to prune it to about half as many places and go back to the other half on another trip.  My spouse (who is hyperactive and runs around at high speed from dawn 'til dusk when on vacation, and once used a three-day break from a conference in Switzerland to visit both Grindalwald and Svalbard, the latter of which is well above the arctic circle...) has, however, come up with the following schedule for how to fit in almost everything you should see if you really want to do it all:

Day   
1   Fly to Frankfurt
2   Fly to Frankfurt, rail to Paris. Photo Notre Dame at sunset, Defense Arch at night
3   Photo Paris
4   Rail to Versailles, RT, photo
5   Rail to Chartre, RT
6   Rail to Geneve / Interlaken / Wengen Switzerland. Photo alps sunset
7   Photo Grindlewald area (Lauterbrunen)
8   Photo Grindlewald area  (First)
9   Grindelwald area Jungfraujoch. Return to Wengen on Wengenbahn loop
10   Rail to Zermatt
11   Photo Zermatt - Gornergrat railway
12   Photo Zermatt, Matterhorn Hutte.
13   Rail to Venice
14   Photo Venice
15   Rail to Rome / photo Rome
16   Photo Rome
17   Photo Rome / St.Peters (Walk).
18   Fly to Athens, Photo Athens
19   Photo Athens
20   Overnight tour to Delphi
21   Return from Delphi, Fly to Frankfurt
22   Fly home

Still, I personally can't recommend doing all this that fast.   His schedule has only about a day in some places that really deserve four or five.  And you'd better like trains, because you'll be spending an awful lot of time on them!

(His recommendation to fly into Frankfurt and take the train to Paris is based on the fact that De Gaulle airport near Paris is an awful airport to fly into or out of; chaotic with frequent delays and difficulties of various sorts.  It will be quicker, though probably more aggravating, to fly directly into Paris rather than Frankfurt.)

Regarding how to get around:  In France, Switzerland and Italy, trains are the way to go.  Don't even think of driving in most big cities in Europe unless you have nerves of steel and a talent for finding parking in the most overcrowded of places.  Trains go most anywhere you'll want to go in those countries, and are mostly quite pleasant with nice scenery going by.  In Switzerland, a network of trains, funiculars, lifts, and cable cars goes everywhere the tourist might possibly be interested in going, and are very nice and oh so scenic!

I'm not sure about the transport situation in Greece.  I've been there, but only in Athens or on short tours.  I'd recommend taking trains to everywhere else, but then flying to Athens (maybe from Rome).  In Greece, the three places most worth seeing are Athens, Delphi, and some of the Greek isles (Mykonos/Delos, or Santorini).

I guess if I were planning a trip for someone else who hasn't been there, I'd focus on Switzerland & Italy for the first trip, and do France and Greece on later trips.  Rome, Venice & Switzerland are among my favorite places to visit, and train connections between them all work very well.  You could fly into Rome and do the rest by train, or into Frankfurt or some other city in the region if flights (and airline pricing) work better elsewhere.  It also helps to do both countries, so you get some variety in the trip, with historic cities in Italy and stunning outdoors scenery in Switzerland.  If you're only going to do one part of Switzerland, then doing the Jungfrau region is best, staying in either Wengen or Murren (near-carless mountain villages in stunning scenery with good transport to them).  If you have time for a second, go to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn.

You can check train schedules, times and often prices at the following European rail web sites:
www.bahn.de (German rail site)
www.sbb.ch (Swiss rail)
They cover trains not only in their own countries, but in nearby countries too.  There may be a similar site for the Italian train company, but I don't know it offhand.

Sorry, I don't know about fall colors.

Lisa
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Thanks for the very detailed reply Lisa!!  I apprecaite the suggestion for Frankfurt as well, as i've heard that is a pretty efficient airport.

Looking at your schedule, your point that 4 countries may be too much is well taken.  I think i'd try it if i was going on my own - I did manage to see quite a lot in Paris during my two days there, but i was pretty much shooting all day.  If my wife had been with me, i probably would only have seen half as much as i did.  i KNOW my wife would flip out just looking at your schedule  .  She still hasn't stopped complaining about all of the driving we've done during our three trips to the southwest and we didn't even go this year:D  T

his year we will have the added challenge of travelling with a baby, who by October we'll around 5-6mth.  So I think we need to pick our cities and try to be in each city for 2-4 days.

I think that that Greece is probably the easiest to exclude for this trip, as Venice is the one city i've wanted to see since i was around 10 years old.  Paris is also a must, bcoz, although, i did get to spend 2 days there when i went for work, my wife still is bitter i didn't take her along  

Ideally, both of us would like to go to Switzerland, but am not sure what to expect weatherwise in October.  I had heard that it is absolutely beautiful in spring and summer, but I'm not sure how early the winter weather hits the Alps and Matterhorn.  If it is still possible to get shots of lakes and the alps, in October, i'd still like to get switzerland in, otherwise, it might be best to also exclude switzerland, other then as a stopover to Venice.

I'm thinking the of doing the following:
day 1 - fly to Frankfurt
day 2 - fly to Frankfurt - train to Paris
Day 3 - Paris
Day 4 - paris
Day 5 - Paris
Day 6 - train to Versailles
Day 7 - Train to Geneva
Day 8 - Geneva
Day 9 - Train to Zarmatt
Day 10 - Zarmatt
Day 11 - Zarmatt
Day 12 - Train to Venice
Day 13 - Venice
Day 14 - Venice
Day 15 - Venice
Day 16- Train to Rome
Day 17 - Rome
Day 18 - Rome
Day 19 - Rome
Day 20 - Rome to Frankfurt??
Day 21 - Fly back home

If we treat Switzerland as a stopover, we might be able to do Tuscany and Florence (I still need to look at a map and not just at photos of places i want to go, to see the distances invovlved    I'm trying to pick my shooting locations i definatley want to do, before looking at a map, so i can try and make the logistics work, rather then cross places out of my list right of way.  

Does anyone have any idea what the Italian airports are like?? another option could be fly into Frankfurt and fly out of Italy???

Further advice on what to expect weatherwise in October would also be appreciated.

[Lisa Nikodym]

Ideally, both of us would like to go to Switzerland, but am not sure what to expect weatherwise in October.

My spouse was in the Swiss mountains in October once, and doesn't remember much about the weather except that it was still fine for hiking around.  Even in summer, the mountains frequently get intermittant clouds and rain (and snow at the higher elevations - we saw fresh snow on the Matterhorn in summer once after a  rainstorm passed through Zermatt one night).  The whole place is still well-populated with skiers all winter too, so I don't expect there will be any problems with traveling around any time of year there.

On the other hand, if your family is the sort to be very unhappy every time the sun goes behind clouds and you get a bit of drizzle, it's best to omit Switzerland and stick with "Sunny Italy".  But if you don't mind a bit of rain now & then, Switzerland is absolutely beautiful - just bring a waterproof hooded jacket (or stay in the trains, funiculars, lifts, etc. - that works too!).

Further advice on what to expect weatherwise in October would also be appreciated.

Weather in Italy in October will probably be perfectly fine, though I haven't been there exactly then.  Paris might be starting to get chilly - when I was last there, it was late November and freezing.  It would be best for you to check with a good guidebook or weather.com about the climate month-by-month in each place you plan to go.

Does anyone have any idea what the Italian airports are like?? another option could be fly into Frankfurt and fly out of Italy???

I've flown through the airports at Rome & Florence.  Rome was OK.  Florence was so small that fog completely shut down flights through it for hours, which wasn't good, and if I had known what I know now I would have picked a larger airport somewhere else.  It would work great for you if you can fly into Frankfurt (or Paris) and back from Rome, but the airlines might charge you too much to do that - or maybe not.  You just need to check airfares and see what the prices are.  (Though this far in advance the prices might be ridiculously high for some airlines -some start with very high prices far in advance, then drop them later.  About three months in advance might have much better prices.)

Another thing to note is that Frankfurt airport has its own train station, which is very efficient.  You don't need to get transport into Frankfurt first, but can get straight on a long-distance train.  (Depending on the route you're taking, you *might* have to switch trains in downtown Frankfurt, but often it's not necessary.)

I should reiterate that De Gaulle airport at Paris would be the most efficient time-wise for flying in, though you still need a train ride of an hour and a half or so just to get to Paris from the airport.  I would just avoid flying out of there or changing flights there if I could possibly help it.  On the other hand, some of the Frankfurt-to-Paris trains are TGVs (the super-high-speed French trains), which some people like my spouse think are great fun.

If we treat Switzerland as a stopover, we might be able to do Tuscany and Florence

Florence was wonderful too, but Rome and Venice are definitely higher priority if you only have time for two.  The Tuscan countryside was wonderful, but it doesn't have much in the way of train access; you really need a rental car there.  Trains will go to Florence and all good-size cities, but not to the villages that make Tuscany what it is.

Day 7 - Train to Geneva
Day 8 - Geneva

Don't waste time on Geneva.  It looks like a very pleasant city to live in, but there's nothing there whatsoever of interest to visitors.  Take the train straight through to Zermatt (or Grindelwald) if that doesn't make for an overly long day.  Other than that, your schedule looks perfectly fine.

A last note on trains:
Trains in Switzerland are extremely punctual.  Swiss trains work with all the precision of Swiss watches.   On the other hand, Italian trains in my experience are chronically late (sometimes very, very late).  For the train between Venice & Rome (or anywhere else in Italy), I'd recommend getting one early in the day so you aren't in a rush or tired, pay for a comfortable first class seat (since you might be on it awhile), and try not to fuss over delays.  In both countries, the restaurant cars in the trains often have excellent food.  (Though most German trains have mediocre food in my experience - you might want to pick up some of the excellent pastries in the kiosks in the Frankfurt airport train station before boarding!  For that matter, take-out pastries in Europe are usually  much better than those in North America, and highly recommended for snacks, breakfasts or light lunches.)

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.  

Lisa

[Khurram]

My spouse was in the Swiss mountains in October once, and doesn't remember much about the weather except that it was still fine for hiking around.  Even in summer, the mountains frequently get intermittant clouds and rain (and snow at the higher elevations - we saw fresh snow on the Matterhorn in summer once after a  rainstorm passed through Zermatt one night).  The whole place is still well-populated with skiers all winter too, so I don't expect there will be any problems with traveling around any time of year there.

On the other hand, if your family is the sort to be very unhappy every time the sun goes behind clouds and you get a bit of drizzle, it's best to omit Switzerland and stick with "Sunny Italy".  But if you don't mind a bit of rain now & then, Switzerland is absolutely beautiful - just bring a waterproof hooded jacket (or stay in the trains, funiculars, lifts, etc. - that works too!).
Weather in Italy in October will probably be perfectly fine, though I haven't been there exactly then.  Paris might be starting to get chilly - when I was last there, it was late November and freezing.  It would be best for you to check with a good guidebook or weather.com about the climate month-by-month in each place you plan to go.
I've flown through the airports at Rome & Florence.  Rome was OK.  Florence was so small that fog completely shut down flights through it for hours, which wasn't good, and if I had known what I know now I would have picked a larger airport somewhere else.  It would work great for you if you can fly into Frankfurt (or Paris) and back from Rome, but the airlines might charge you too much to do that - or maybe not.  You just need to check airfares and see what the prices are.  (Though this far in advance the prices might be ridiculously high for some airlines -some start with very high prices far in advance, then drop them later.  About three months in advance might have much better prices.)

Another thing to note is that Frankfurt airport has its own train station, which is very efficient.  You don't need to get transport into Frankfurt first, but can get straight on a long-distance train.  (Depending on the route you're taking, you *might* have to switch trains in downtown Frankfurt, but often it's not necessary.)

I should reiterate that De Gaulle airport at Paris would be the most efficient time-wise for flying in, though you still need a train ride of an hour and a half or so just to get to Paris from the airport.  I would just avoid flying out of there or changing flights there if I could possibly help it.  On the other hand, some of the Frankfurt-to-Paris trains are TGVs (the super-high-speed French trains), which some people like my spouse think are great fun.
Florence was wonderful too, but Rome and Venice are definitely higher priority if you only have time for two.  The Tuscan countryside was wonderful, but it doesn't have much in the way of train access; you really need a rental car there.  Trains will go to Florence and all good-size cities, but not to the villages that make Tuscany what it is.
Don't waste time on Geneva.  It looks like a very pleasant city to live in, but there's nothing there whatsoever of interest to visitors.  Take the train straight through to Zermatt (or Grindelwald) if that doesn't make for an overly long day.  Other than that, your schedule looks perfectly fine.

A last note on trains:
Trains in Switzerland are extremely punctual.  Swiss trains work with all the precision of Swiss watches.   On the other hand, Italian trains in my experience are chronically late (sometimes very, very late).  For the train between Venice & Rome (or anywhere else in Italy), I'd recommend getting one early in the day so you aren't in a rush or tired, pay for a comfortable first class seat (since you might be on it awhile), and try not to fuss over delays.  In both countries, the restaurant cars in the trains often have excellent food.  (Though most German trains have mediocre food in my experience - you might want to pick up some of the excellent pastries in the kiosks in the Frankfurt airport train station before boarding!  For that matter, take-out pastries in Europe are usually  much better than those in North America, and highly recommended for snacks, breakfasts or light lunches.)

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.   

Lisa
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Thanks again for the very detailed advice Lisa!!

I think I should be OK cost wise flying out to Frankfurt and returning from Rome, as Air Canada doesn't charge as much of a premium for one way anymore (at least for N. American flights).  

I'm not to keen on flying to Paris (unless there is an incredibly cheap fare), as my mom and brother's experience didn't sound much better then my Heathrow experience.

I think if we cut out Geneva as you suggested, we should also be able to do Florence.

Rail seems very effiient to me, but I am a bit worried about having stuff stolen.  The only rail experieince i have is when I was in London for work, and took the train to paris for the weekend.  i found it to be very efficient and hassle free - although i only had an overight duffle bag (with my tripod), a lowepro slingshot 200 and my laptop bag (I left my suitcase at my hotel in London).  Do you know how much more harder it would be traveling via rail with more luggage (i.e. 4 suitcases by rail (plus camera bag, stroller and computer bag)  

Ideally i'd like to travel light, but as we have never traveled with a baby before, i really don't know what to expect.  I also didn't have to worry about any luggage getting stolen or anything when i travelled last time, bcoz everything was always with me.   Is luggage usually stowed away in a seperate car, or would is stowed the way it was during my London-Paris train, where either you keep it with you, or it is at the front of the car you are in???  It just seemed that you couldn't really watch your luggage at all times and if there were stops along they way, someone could easily walk away with your luggage.

Do you have any recommendations on accomodations??? Last time i went to Paris i stayed at the Eiffel Hilton - but then that was on the company's tab    At $300/night, i definately won't be doing that this time around.  I've done a cursory glance on pricing, but don't know what to expect, since, i haven't really heard of a lot of the hotels that came up in my search.  I'll probably contact the CAA for some advice, but wouldn't mind getting some advice on personal expeiences as well.  

I think over the next few weeks, i'm going to start surfing for places i want to see in each location.

[Lisa Nikodym]

Ideally i'd like to travel light, but as we have never traveled with a baby before, i really don't know what to expect. I also didn't have to worry about any luggage getting stolen or anything when i travelled last time, bcoz everything was always with me. Is luggage usually stowed away in a seperate car, or would is stowed the way it was during my London-Paris train, where either you keep it with you, or it is at the front of the car you are in??? It just seemed that you couldn't really watch your luggage at all times and if there were stops along they way, someone could easily walk away with your luggage.

Typically (though there are exceptions) European train cars have a small area without seats near the doors set aside for luggage.  We've generally used it and never had any problems.  However, some German friends of my spouse's recently told him that (at least in the region they're from) it's a bad idea to leave your luggage there because theft is not uncommon, and we've been lucky to never have had a problem.  They would recommend doing what I've seen other people do sometimes, which is to stuff your luggage on an adjacent seat or next to your seat as best you can, or somewhere else out of the way where you can keep an eye on it.  If it gets too crowded, though, I don't know that you'd do with it then.  (A big advantage of paying extra for the first class cars is that there are generally many more empty seats.)

It *can* be a pain to lug a lot of luggage on & off trains (especially if you have fast connections), but trains are still probably better than the alternatives.  Driving & parking in the cities are a pain too.  Short-hop airline flights would be an alternative, but trains are generally much more pleasant than airplanes, and you have to shlep your luggage through the airports too.

Do you have any recommendations on accomodations??? Last time i went to Paris i stayed at the Eiffel Hilton - but then that was on the company's tab  At $300/night, i definately won't be doing that this time around. I've done a cursory glance on pricing, but don't know what to expect, since, i haven't really heard of a lot of the hotels that came up in my search. I'll probably contact the CAA for some advice, but wouldn't mind getting some advice on personal expeiences as well.

I haven't been in those cities enough times to make any specific hotel recommendations that I would feel good about, and I don't know what's important to you and how price-sensitive you are.  However, my impression is that decent hotels in good locations in those cities are considerably more expensive than in North America.   I'd recommend going to the web site www.tripadvisor.com, which has customer reviews and ratings for hotels all over the world.  I've never gone wrong since I started using that web site a few years ago.  You can look at the most highly-rated ones, search for their web sites to get an idea of what thye're like and their prices, and find something that looks appropriate for you that the customers liked a lot.  Unless you're extremely price sensitive, I'd make a very central (but not too noisy) location your most important requirement - in these cities, it's much easier to walk out of your hotel in the morning and immediately start seeing good things, and stop back at the hotel now & then to refresh, and get to a good restaurant quickly in the evening, instead of spending a lot of time repeatedly getting to & from a hotel on the outskirts.

Lisa

[wittsend2]

Khurram: here is an alternate suggestion-fly into London and take the hydrofoil/ferry to Calais or LeHavre. From there, take the train to Tours or Blois for the Loire river valley, fall colors, and the French Chateau's. Although I have not visited in fall, the colors should be fantastic and there is a variety of shooting options. ( I suggest Chambord and Chenanceux as the must see chateaus, although opinions may vary). From there you could take the train into Paris. Alternatively, you could fly to London and then fly to Paris on the way there, and from Rome to London and London home on the way back. Flying within the EU is relatively cheap and should give you a cost break compared to flying into Paris and out of Rome direct. The last time we went it was $1475 for LA to Paris and Frankfurt to LA, whereas it was $900 for LA to London/London to Paris/Frankfurt to London/London to LA.  For lodging in Paris I would look to stay in a pension in Paris, which should be appreciably cheaper and more enjoyable than a hotel, especially if you stay in one of the outer districts and use the metro to get around. The metro will get you to Versailles and the foliage on the grounds should also be great.

I concur with Lisa that you should skip Geneva and go straight to the Alps. Because you are traveling in October prices should be cheaper, but Switzerland is expensive. Wengen is incredibly beautiful and is situated about 300m above the Lauterbrunnen Valley-early morning and late evening will provide some nice light. Trains/trams will take you literally anywhere you want to go (for a price) and provide access to some incredible photographic opportunities of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau. If you are looking for cheaper lodging, stay in the Lauterbrunnen valley and buy an Bernese Oberland rail pass for the time you are there. Even if you stay in Wengen, you will have to purchase tickets to travel from there.  A Eurail pass does not work on the private railways in the Bernese Oberland, so to have real mobility you should ride the narrow gauge trains while you are there. They go places that will amaze you. Check out the RailEurope website-it provides options and maps to plan your trip as well as pricing options.

I have never had a problem with luggage while traveling on the train, but vigilance is a must.  My wife and I kept everything in our compartment overhead, but we were not traveling as heavy as you will be. That said, I have had many memorable experiences going shopping for necessities while traveling-it is a kick so don't be afraid to pack light.

 
Enjoy the planning!!!

David

[francois]

A few random things:
1. While traveling, keep an eye on your luggage . Personnally, I never had any problem but have witnessed quite a few travellers that had something stolen… Pick-pockets are also very present in touristic and crowded areas. Don't be paranoid, though…
2. Forget Geneva, as Lisa and David said, go straight to Bernese Oberland or Zermatt.
3. Fall colors: not a dramatic as in North America, by far!
4. You will need a car if you plan to visit Tuscany. With the limited amount of time you have, I would focus on Venice and Rome.
5. October weather in Switzerland is usually nice but plan for warm clothing if you are visiting Zermatt or Bernese Oberland. Evenings are colder.
6. Visit http://www.easyjet.com/ or http://www.flybaboo.com/. Sometimes, they offer really cheap air fares.
7. When buying tickets for trains in Switzerland, ask if traveling as a family gives you a discount or a special price.

[Lisa Nikodym]

Me again.  

An enthusiastic second to most everything wittsend2 & francois said.  In Switzerland, I'd choose the Jungfrau region (also known as the Berner Oberland) over Zermatt, as I believe it's a little bit more beautiful and varied.  I stayed there in Wengen several days on my last trip, and ended up with eight "keeper" photos just off my hotel room balcony!  I stayed in Murren on another trip; it's a similar villlage on a ledge on the *other* side of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, and it's about equally gorgeous.  And yes, if you go to there, get a multi-day train pass for the local transport network; I think it's called something like a "Jungfrau region pass", and will save you a lot of $$$ over purchasing individual tickets.  Family passes will save you even more.  If you do a web search, there's a web site somewhere that has info on these passes.  I think there may be something similar in the Zermatt area, but I don't recall for sure.  There are also various country-wide rail passes in Switzerland (they don't cover some of the regional "mountain trains" in places like Zermatt & Jungfrau, but everything else in between); the Swiss rail web site has info on them.

And yes, Switzerland is pretty expensive.  Italy's pretty expensive too.  When I was in Rome something like five years ago, you couldn't get anything with a private bathroom for less than US$200 a night, and it's probably considerably more now.

For that matter, Europe in general is pretty expensive for North Americans.  C'est le vie!

Lisa

[GregW]

Regarding Switzerland.  Take a good look at the Kanton of Graubunden and more specifically the Engadin valley.   It's less well known than the Berner Oberland primarily because it's deliberately more low key.  It's also my opinion that the people are amongst the most welcoming and friendly I've come across in Switzerland.  http://www.engadin.stmoritz.ch/sommer/en/

It's the home of the Swiss National Park and in my opinion is the most beautiful part of Switzerland.  The Engadin is also the best place to find Autumn colour in Switzerland.  The color change is not quite as stunning as some I've seen -  I'm British but lived in upstate NY for a while so have been lucky enough to some beautiful Autumn colour.  The principle difference is that the color change happens in a Alpine setting in the Engadin.   St. Moritz is very well known but I particularly like Sils which is a beautiful village and the gateway to one of the most magical valleys in Switzerland, the carless Val Fex.  

In my opinion the Berner Oberland is beautiful but suffers from over development and to be honest it's been over photographed.  You'll find it hard to get original and stunning images with your kind of schedule and the inevitable restrictions of traveling with an infant.  You'll also find it hard to get away from the inevitable hordes of tourists.  The Oberland doesn't really have an off-season so you can still expect to queue for the Bahn to the Jungfraujoch.  I spent an impromtu four day climbing trip there in October (07) and it was almost as busy as it is during the Summer.  I also have a personal feeling/experience that because the area is so touristy there is a lethagic malaise.  It used to be Americans, now it's Indians and Chineese.  The tourists will always come and in the well known resorts of Grindelwald, Müren and Interlaken there is some complacency.

I've spent an equal amount of time in both places and despite some of my comments I do love the Oberland.  I meet up with friends to Ski most weekends when I'm not able to get to the Engadin.  It's just that as I live in Switzerland I can pick and choose when and where I go more easily than someone flying in for a relatively short vacation.  If you were planning a Spring trip I may well suggest it over the Engadin.   Winter is about a month shorter and the snow melt and Spring is very spectacular.

If you do find yourself in the Oberland I would make the following two recommendations:  

1.  Avoid Interlaken etc. and stay in the Lauterbrunnen Valley.  If you look into it and think it's a good idea there is a hotel I would happily recommend.  They took excellent care of myself and a group of friends a few years back when the area was heavily flooded.

2.  Make sure you visit the Schilthorn for one of the best 360 degree views you'll find in Switzerland.  

Regarding transport.  As has already been said the Rail system is excellent and represents good value for money.  90% of the time I'd suggest people use public transport but having a car would bring you two advantages you should think about.

1.  You have a limited amount of time.  It's true that you can get to almost anywhere in Switzerland with public transport but it can take time.  You'll be able to see more in the short time you have.  You can also make the journey part of the trip.  Some of my favorite mountain passes start out in the Berner Oberland and may still be open in October.  

2.  Traveling with an infant is no fun and public transport will make this even less so.  You've probably figured out just how much stuff you have to carry around and having a car as a base would make things a little easier.

Driving in Switzerland is very easy and most places outside the cities have quite good parking.  

The national and international tourism portal http://www.myswitzerland.com/ is a helpful planning resource.