A couple were stunned to realise their dream day out at a Christmas market would cost far less if they flew 680 miles away to a pretty European town in the Alps
A woman who was horrified by the cost of visiting London’s Winter Wonderland market managed to find a far cheaper deal – in Switzerland.
Cheryl Pyne, 49, wanted to visit a Christmas market this winter with her husband Gareth, 46, but when they costed out the price of getting the train from their home in Lincolnshire down to London, they were shocked by the cost.
Instead, graphic designer Cheryl turned to the AI programme ChatGPT to see if it could find them a cheaper alternative – and they were both stunned to learn they could fly to Switzerland and back in a single day, a round trip of over 1,200 miles, for far less.
She says: “My husband and I thought it would be nice to go to a Christmas market but we were amazed at the price of the train ticket to London. That was without factoring in activities like Winter Wonderland or ice skating.
“We looked at train fares from our location Stamford, Lincolnshire to London, to go midweek in peak time and it worked out at £126 for both of us, plus a taxi to and from the station- a total spend of £136.
“Our flight to Geneva was £91 (£45.50 each), parking £14. We got a train into Geneva from the airport which was £3 – our total spend was £108.”
Cheryl and engineer husband Gareth flew to Switzerland and back on Tuesday, describing the experience as “magical”. ChatGPT gave them a full itinerary, catching a flight out from Luton airport at 8am and onto the 8.50pm flight home, meaning they were both in bed by midnight. They flew with easyJet.
Cheryl said: “We had the most magical, incredible day. We visited Les Avants up in the Swiss Alps, a small snow-covered village, overlooking Lake Geneva.
“We then visited Montreux to see their Christmas market, on the banks of Lake Geneva; had lunch of bratwurst from a festive stall and mulled wine. We then got the train back to Geneva early evening to their Noel au Quai Christmas market, which was on the banks of the lake and lit up by fairy lights.
“The views were spectacular. It was a sunny day with bright blue skies and crisp snow. I’d never been to Switzerland before and planned the whole trip through ChatGPT, which told me what trains to get and even which platforms to go to. I just told ChatGPT, ‘I want snow, I want a Christmas market’ and it did it all.
“Our total spend for the day, for us both was £338.76 – it would have been £500 for a day trip to London once we’d paid for Winter Wonderland activities and food and drink.
“It’s crazy to think it’s cheaper to go abroad for the day than it is to visit London!”