Europe Christmas Trip Overview (2023)

The trip started because we found four business-class seats from Los Angeles to Zurich on United Airlines and booked them as a one-way. That effectively created the trip. Once Zurich became the arrival point, the rest of the route fell into place as a clean overland journey through Switzerland, Alsace, Paris, and London.

The route itself was simple: Zurich to Spiez to Strasbourg to Paris to London, all by train.

We ended up with three nights in Zurich, three nights in Spiez, three nights in Strasbourg, four nights in Paris, and six nights in London. That pacing worked very well for a holiday trip because each base felt long enough to settle into without losing momentum.

We flew home nonstop from London using Avios on American Airlines, which made the open-jaw structure especially efficient. It let us keep moving forward the whole time instead of circling back.

The hotel plan was one of the reasons the route worked so smoothly. We stayed at the Zurich Marriott, La Belle Vue Boutique Hotel in Spiez, Pavillon Regent Petite France in Strasbourg, Hyatt Madeleine Paris, Andaz London, and St. Ermin's London.

We mixed points and cash depending on the stop. Zurich Marriott was booked on Marriott points. Spiez and Strasbourg were cash stays. Hyatt points covered Hyatt Madeleine and Andaz London, and we used the 50 percent off second room option with cash. St. Ermin's was booked with a cash-plus-points setup.

That blend gave us strong locations without forcing every booking into the same strategy. It also made the trip feel more flexible and realistic for a longer holiday route.

We used a Eurail train pass for all of the rail travel except Strasbourg to Paris and Paris to London. Paris to London was booked separately on Eurostar, which was the right move for that leg.

For the rest of the trip, Eurail made the Switzerland section especially easy. We used it for the Zurich, Spiez, and Strasbourg portions, plus the day trips, and it gave us a lot of flexibility without needing to overbook every movement in advance.

That rail-first structure was a big part of why the trip stayed manageable. It let us move between bases and still keep the itinerary feeling like a holiday rather than a transport exercise.

Zurich was a good opening stop. We spent three nights there, visited the Lindt Chocolate Museum, saw the Christmas markets, and used one day for a Lucerne trip. It felt easy, clean, and well suited to landing after a long flight.

Spiez was one of the strongest decisions of the whole trip. From there we did day trips to Thun, Bern, Lauterbrunnen, and Grindelwald, and the rail connections made all of them feel very manageable. Strasbourg was the right Alsace base, with Strasbourg and Colmar delivering the best Christmas market atmosphere of the route.

Paris and London were the big-city finishes. Paris worked well with one dedicated Disneyland Paris day, and London had enough time for both city wandering and a full Harry Potter Studio Tour outing.

The day trips were what kept the trip from feeling repetitive. Lucerne added another dimension to the Zurich leg, while Thun, Lauterbrunnen, and Grindelwald each made the Spiez section feel distinct. Bern was a good city counterpoint to the mountain towns.

Colmar was the obvious Strasbourg day trip and absolutely worth it during Christmas market season. Disneyland Paris made more sense as a day trip than a hotel move. In London, the Harry Potter Studio Tour was one of the most memorable family days of the whole route.

The Christmas markets that stood out most for us were in Zurich, Thun, Strasbourg, and Colmar. They each had a different atmosphere and scale, which helped the holiday theme stay fresh.

We would absolutely repeat the open-jaw flight strategy, the five-base structure, and the mix of points and cash. The trip moved a lot, but it never felt chaotic.

If there is one big lesson from this route, it is that Christmas travel gets easier when the backbone is solid: good arrival and departure flights, train travel that fits the route naturally, and hotel choices that support the pace of the trip rather than fighting it.