2 extra nights in France after leaving Paris

Posted by awis1951 (Hot Springs, AR) on 01/13/15 03:39 AM

After leaving Paris, I am heading to Florence and then Rome. My granddaughter would like to spend 2 more nights somewhere else in France if possible. We would like some charming location that's not quite as busy as our Paris stop, but have told her I'm not sure that is feasible with the train situation. I've done a little research into Colmar, Annecy, etc. but haven't found anything that would not waste too much time on a train. Somewhere in or near the Alps would be nice or even some village near Nice, if we could catch the TGV so as not to waste too much time on a train, even though I love that type travel because of the scenery. We would even consider flying into Italy if we could catch something on a budget airline. Any suggestions or should we perhaps just save those 2 nights for Florence and Rome and surroundings. If we take those 2 nights to Italy, that will give us 4-5 nights in each location, leaving Paris on 21 June, out of Rome on 1 July.

Thanks for all the great info I've received from some of you recently. Hopefully I'll get some ideas here as well.

Posted by Jean

Idaho, USA

01/13/15 03:50 AM

7803 posts

If you leave Paris (or France) on June 21, you'll miss the Fête de la Musique - the evening of June 21. It's a fun event; check it out on-line to see if it interests both of you.

Posted by Adam

Boston

01/13/15 04:40 AM

4132 posts

The difficulty is not is suggesting a place but in fitting someplace into your itinerary. Many flights from Paris to Rome; not so many from Honfleur.

Still I think that Annecy might let you fly from Lyon; Arles from Marseilles. Nice too, but that is 6 hours from Paris.

Another options: Stay in Beaune and catch the night train to Rome (transfer in Milan) from nearby Dijon.

The idea of spending those 2 days in Italy has merit too.

Posted by donna

roswell, ga, usa

01/13/15 04:49 AM

1501 posts

In all honesty, I'd add those two days to Italy. I've found that Alitalia is almost as inexpensive to fly as Ryanair, especially if you
mess up at all and your luggage just happens to be an ounce over Ryanair's weight limit! Fly CDG to either Rome or Florence. I've also traveled with my granddaughter, and absolutely loved every single second of it. A Very Special time!

I took her to Paris two years ago and can't wait to show her Rome and Florence!!! Trust me, you won't run out of things to do in either city, as from Florence you could day-trip to Siena and/or Pisa, and from Rome (not that there's not enough to see there) to Ostia Antica or if you're really energetic, even Pompeii, but I'd prefer the former.

Posted by janettravels44

Chicago

01/13/15 03:20 PM

8551 posts

I'd add a night to Paris so you can do the solstice music festival -- it really is worth hanging around for. And then I would do one of the many many day trips to charming towns in the Ile de France. I would particularly recommend Auvers sur Oise, Moret sur Loing, Crecy la Chapelle or Senlis (be sure to go to towns like these on a day other than Monday when they close down in rural French tourist oriented towns). You can see snapshots of the last 3 in my photo journal:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/day-trips-from-paris/

The most efficient way to get to Italy is to Fly and it is not easy to break a long range train trip in some village as those trains don't stop in villages. I'd add one night to Paris for the music festival (you can see snapshots of our experience of that in the photo journal in the 'Paris' category) and the other to Italy. We have flown using Vueling and Easyjet and both were great; I'd avoid Ryanair. The earlier you book the cheaper tickets are and while they have very specific luggage requirements, they are not substantially different from the much more expensive legacy airlines. When we priced a one way from Florence to Paris, it cost 10 times as much to fly major carriers as the Easyjet flight we took out of Pisa.