10-14 days in Paris and where else? Bruges, Brussels, Normandy, Lyon, Lille, Luxembourg?

if you are going to Brittany it is a long way to cross all the way across the country for somewhere else.

5 days (is that 6 nights, and one if the days is zombie after flight?) is barely enough for Paris.

Not going to Brittany. How many days would you spend in Paris?

Not going to Brittany.

I thought you said you were going to Mont Saint-Michel...

Mount St. Michel is in Normandy not Brittany and I’m considering it along with all the other places I mentioned.

not going to argue. Less than 5km from Brittany.

I hoped you would take my point that driving diagonally across the country on such a short trip will take a lot of time as a proportion of your vacation.

No matter if you drive or take the train, and Bruges and Brussels is a long drive/ride from the northwest of France.

OK so 5 days in Paris but when you say where else, how far from Paris?

I have heard very good things about Brussels. Have you gone to Amsterdam? Barcelona or other places in Spain?

I am going to take a cruise in October and will port in Le Havre. I am looking at the following shore excursion"

Giverny, located on the right bank of the Seine is a charming city known all over the world through the famous paintings of Claude Monet, who lived in the village from 1883 to his death in 1926. The house and gardens formerly owned by Monet have since been turned into a museum. The house has been restored in pink and green, and contains reproductions of the painter’s works, collection of Japanese prints from the 18th and 19th centuries and pieces of china. The adjacent flower garden replanted according to the original design of Claude Monet, is a spectacular display of colors. After the visit, you’ll have free time before your drive to a countryside restaurant for lunch.

Rouen is the capital of Higher Normandy with a skyline of towers and spires, and its heritage of fine buildings and many museums offers visitors a wealth of artistic delights. Follow your guide through the historical part of the city. See the Old Market Place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431 and the modern Joan of Arc Church completed in 1979. Other sites you’ll find during your walking tour are the Gros Horloge Street with its belfry and a sculpted archway on which rests a Renaissance lodge decorated with clock faces that still indicate the time of the day, the phases of the moon and the days of the week. Discover the Law Courts, the seat of Normandy’s Parliament and the cathedral, made famous by Claude Monet’s paintings of its façade.

Giverny is close to Paris and there are excursions from Paris.

Seems to be some confusion about my post.
I am planning a two-week trip to Europe. The only definite location is Paris. I’m trying to decide where else to go as part of this trip. The places I suggested… Normandy, Lyon, Brussels etc…. were all possibilities. We’re NOT planning to go one direction from Paris like West and then head East of Paris. We might go West and hit Normandy, Brittany and return to Paris for the trip home OR we might go East to Belgium and then back to Paris for a flight home. Looks like we could also go Southeast to
Lyon and another spot in France and back to Paris as well.

Which would you choose?

Hi from Wisconsin,
The less time spent traveling, the more time for enjoyment and seeing things we don't have here.

Bostonphil7 has two excellent suggestions, both close to Paris.

I am always in favor of a trip to Chartres. It is really a quick train ride from Paris and the city center is marvelous. Les Conviv'hotes is a very charming place to stay. It is a B&B run by Sylvie Menard who speaks English like a native.

They have a really nice morning food market on Saturday and Wednesday.

As for Mont St Michal, it is a long haul out to there and is usually packed with tourists. To me it has lost some of its specialness ever since they connected it with bus service to the "island" door.

wayne iNWI

Since you mentioned architecture: You could get to Strasbourg quickly by train (or Colmar in a bit more time) and rent a car to see some of the cute wine villages in Alsace. Colmar is touristy but gorgeous. Np car needed for Strasbourg, Colmar or Selestat.

There's a lot to see in Normandy, especially if you have a total of 14 days; you could take the train to Caen and pick up a car there if you want to see some of the D-Day sites (in which case I do recommend a van tour unless you are WWII experts) and don't intend to hit places east of Caen (Rouen, Honfleur, Deauville-Trouville, etc.)

I don't see anything wrong with your other options, either, though I would tend not to go to Lyon on this trip. I like it a lot, but I think your other possibilities might present a better contrast to Paris. That said, there is a lot to see and do in Lyon.

No one seems very excited about Brussels, though I think it has a lot of Art Nouveau architecture, which really appeals to me. Most folks push for Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp when Belgium comes up for discussion.

There are lots of places not all that far from Paris that would be enjoyable for folks who like to walk around attractive towns, as I do. Troyes is a town full of higgledy-piggledy half-timbered houses. It gets some French tourists, but few others find their way there. I saw not one tour bus. On the other side of Paris (could be combined with a loop through Normandy) is Le Mans, about which I've heard good things. Either of those cities is easily reached by train.

If you decide on Paris + Belgium, I'd try to get a multi-city ticket with Paris and Brussels as the gateway cities. It might not be more expensive than roundtrip to Paris, and it would avoid the need to burn a day of your trip looping back to Paris. The same might be said for Luxembourg, but I don't think it's served by many airlines, so a multi-city ticket might mean you'd have a stop on the way to (or from) Paris.

Thanks. I’m leaning toward Belgium. Thinking we could spend a couple of nights each in Bruges and Brussels and maybe do a day trip to Ghent.

I have not been but have heard very good things about Bruges and Ghent.

It sounds like you want to go to places that you have never been but you have not mentioned the places that you have been.

I went and looked at a map of France and surrounding countries,

I have not been but how about the French Riviera like Cannes .

I have been all over Spain and to Lisbon, Sintra, Madeira, Berlin, Munich etc... My girlfriend has been to Barcelona but not France, Belgium etc... Belgium seems close with lots of places to visit and I haven't been there and like going somewhere new on every trip like this. This will be our first trip together and think it (Paris and Belgium) has the right combination of attractions, food markets, food, beautiful places to walk etc. We aren't big drinkers so wine country isn't appealing. I will have a few beers if I go to Belgium but not going on brewery tours.

Belgium is very close to Paris and July is a great time to go. Public transportation is excellent (unlike Brittany / Normandy). It would be a great choice! If your trip length is closer to 14 days than to 10 days, you could visit Lille along the way (2 nights is OK).