I am visiting both of these cities from Paris how far are both to the old town area? Also should I stay at Gare du Nord or Lyon as Nord is much cheaper but involves a metro to catch the train I believe? I passed Basel on the way to Zurich pretty boring train journey but looks interesting for a visit. Out of interest which city do people prefer? I am doing this trip to get to know these cities more as possible to reach Italy from there as it would avoid a longer trip to Zurich.