Hi,
We have a tickets to a concert in Lyon (Paris was sold out). We bought them before really planning things out. Is this too much of a stretch for an itinerary for 8 days/9 nights?
Land in Paris 8:00 a.m., rent car and head to Rouen. Spend 4 nights and leave on 5th day back to Paris.
Drop off rental car & take train to Lyon for concert. Spend overnight after concert 1.5 days
Next day, go back to Paris - spend 3 days in Paris, really 2.5 days
Or just skip concert?
Thank you.
If it is your first trip to Paris, I'd skip Lyon.
Many would caution against picking up a car upon landing and driving a few hours. You could take the train to Rouen and pick up a car when you need it. Are you staying in Rouen or doing some day trips? I ask because you may be able to get by without a car. Not knowing your plans, its hard to say, but perhaps take a day from Rouen and add to Lyon or Paris.
As long as you know you will barely skim Paris, I see no problem with your itinerary. You have your tickets, you may as well go to Lyon which is a wonderful city.
For our travel we like to use public transportation as much as possible. We feel its less stressful. You might look at your itinerary and decide if a car is necessary.
The concert is in Lyon. If you want you could add a day there, taking it from Rouen or Paris. Perhaps you could stop at Giverny on your way back to Paris from Rouen. Or Chartres. Lots of ways to finesse your time around the concert. I would take the train to Rouen after a long flight (where are you coming from?). Rent the car there, if needed, drop off at Orly or Chartres (to avoid driving in Paris).
When is this?
so what are you doing in Rouen because four nights there is a lot if you’re just staying there. are you going places there? Is that why you have the car? That’s the part that is a little confusing to me.
I think the other question is do you want to do the concert or not. If that was the point of going and why you’re going then obviously you need to go to Lyon to do it.
There is a daily direct train from Rouen to Lyon. I would take the train to Rouen, rent a car in Rouen for the day trips, and take the train to Lyon. Driving all the way to Rouen from CDG after a red-eye flight is not very safe.
Rouen is lovely and worth some time, but there's more to see and do in Lyon, so I agree with the idea of switching one of your planned Rouen nights to Lyon. Lyon is a large city with a variety of sights.
I like Lyon but you're going to want a string of days in Paris. Two nights equals one day, add a night, get a second day, etc.
If you stay close to Gare de Lyon you can probably make a day trip by train, include the concert and take a late train back to Gare de Lyon. Problem for me is trying to go two different directions from Paris in one short trip. Lyon, Annecy, Chamonix might be the better choice, for a short road trip, than Rouen and Normandie this visit.
Thanks all for your tips and advice. I really appreciate it. It's a lot to consider, and the trip is at the end of September.
We were just in Rouen for 2 nights, which was plenty. And parking and driving in the city is kind of miserable, so make sure your accommodations include parking or research 24 hour parking garages. Street parking is essentially by permit only. And unless you plan to explore beyond the city there is no need for a car there. We are from SoCal and I was shocked by rush hour traffic in Rouen. Lesson learned in the Rouen parking structure. Don't leave your entrance ticket in the car (thinking you'll know where to find it when departing.) We walked back to the car on Sunday morning to depart Rouen, and discovered that you needed the ticket to get into the building to gain access to your car. So we had to be creative on how to gain access to our car on a quiet Sunday morning. (Which by the way is the only decent time to drive in Rouen.)
