You never go to London for the weather. Any time of year. |
Sorry to be picky, but it's Strasbourg. There are some lovely towns south of there if you want to drive around. This one is beautiful: https://www.visit.alsace/en/253000781-eguisheim/ |
That sounds lovely. I hope you have wonderful weather. |
My sister lives in Geneva and I spend a lot of time there. While Montreux is nice, Vevey is even better. It's between Lausanne and Montreux and just beautiful. Highly recommend. If you are wine drinkers, don't miss the Swiss wines from that region. The wine world's best kept secret. They don't export them - they keep them to themselves!! I vote for Switzerland in August. Weather is great and at least in Geneva, most Swiss are out on holiday for the month but it will be busy with visitors. There are lots of nice places around Geneva, but the Bernese Oberland is really stunning. Trains are great and towns like Interlaken, Lucerne, Grindelwald, Zermatt are all gorgeous. |
On the French side near Geneva - check out Yvoire, Evian and Annecy. |
Yes Lake Annecy would be the best choice for swimming and boating, etc. The water is very comfortable in August, likely warmer than anything in Switzerland. |
Also food and hotels, etc will be cheaper on the French side than Swiss. |
Paris to Geneva is 3 hours on the TGV fast train, not 5 hours |
I'd fly to Paris, spend a few days, and then train to Switzerland. The train from Paris to Basel to Lucerne is so easy. From Lucerne you can train to lots of places. You'll fly out of Zurich, which is also a really easy train ride from Lucerne.
Do NOT skimp on air conditioning in Paris. In Switzerland you should be fine without it |