Bonjour,
My husband , 4 adult daughters and myself are planning a holiday in Paris for Christmas . We arrive on 12/22 at CDA & hope to take a train to another destination for possibly 2 nights. Ideally there would be some ease in getting a direct train to this spot from the airport.
The places I have considered are Chartres, Lilly, Strasbourg and Brittany which may not be realistic? Any insight into these cities or towns would be greatly appreciated. We know it’s a holiday but what should we expect for crowds ?
Possibly less than June or July?
Also should we consider home away or similar or stick to a hotel?
We love history and art , local food and wine, rivers,Gothic architecture, narrow cobblestone streets. We love to see & experience by walking . We like to avoid the “big crowds “ when we can. Did I mention any spots that you think may work for us? Can we take a train back to Paris on 12/24 and find shops open to buy groceries?
Or is it best to return on 12/23. Only 2 daughters briefly visited Paris . First time for the rest . We hope to be in Paris 5-6 nights. Thanks so much for any suggestions,
Sheila
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
5581 posts
Chartres is an inexpensive train ride from Paris. Strasbourg and Brittany would be more expensive for train fare and locations in which you might want to purchase the train tickets in advance to save a fair amount of money especially for 6 people. However, unless you are willing to spend a night in Paris and take the train the next day, I'm not sure I'd prepurchase tickets with the risk of having a flight delay which might cause you to miss the train. I've been to Brittany, Chartres and Strasbourg. Enjoyed them all. I think of Brittany as more of a outdoor destination so I'm not sure I'd go there in December. There might be more to do in Strasbourg than Chartres, but both are lovely towns. With that number of people, I would sure look into home away or you could be looking at up to 3 hotel rooms each night.
Posted by
Chicago
8038 posts
St. Malo in Brittany might make a nice one day experience; it is quite beautiful and has wonderful restaurants (although since it is a tourist destination, I don't know how many are open during winter. You would have to get to Montparnasse to take a train there. You could probably come back early morning the 24th but would need to check train time tables to make sure. If you are in Paris by noon you will have time to shop for Christmas, but shops do close early on Christmas Eve so you would want to have a plan and get right on it.
Strasbourg would probably be a good trip as well and they have Christmas markets there. The historic center is tiny and a day is fine. There might possibly be trains from CDG, check on Trainline.
If it were me I would just stay in Paris the whole time and do a day trip to Chartres, or another small city or town in the region e.g. perhaps Reims for a Champagne house visit if they are open then.
You might want to check out the Musee des Arts Forains in Paris which tend to only open for visitors just after Christmas.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/magic-at-musee-des-arts-forains/. Supposedly when they open after Christmas they run all the rides and games and good kiosks unlike the tours the rest of the year which are hard to come by.
Posted by
Morrison, CO, USA
891 posts
I would take a direct train from Charles DeGaule airport to Reims. Not an extremely long train ride. There's a museum there about WWI, beautiful cathedral, nice restaurants and you could take a tour of some champagne houses.
My favorite champagne from there is Taittinger. We buy it in the states for our special occasions.
The Continental hotel is nice and very convenient from the train station and to the town. The town is very walkable.
We enjoyed Reims very much.
Have a great trip!
Mimi
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Did you mean Lille instead of Lilly? It's a city I haven't been to but should have enough entertainment for 2 nights. Direct trains from CDG take about 50 minutes and run about hourly.
Direct trains to Strasbourg run every couple of hours and take closer to 2 hours and yes, are more expensive tickets. From Strasbourg, the charming smaller town of Colmar is a quick connection (or easy day trip) and has always been one of Rick's favorites.
The same trains to Strasbourg also stop at Champagne-Ardenne TGV station, only 30 minutes from the airport, where you can make an easy local connection the last 5 miles into Reims
Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the Deutsche Bahn train schedule link and tips for using it. Train tickets are cheaper bought in advance, but that's no good if you miss the train due to a flight delay.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
Moi, I would spend all the days in Paris so as to avoid the time loss of changing locations. Christmas decorations and markets, church services at Notre Dame, walking everywhere.
And if you can get a HomeAway or other apartment, it will make eating on holidays easier.
Posted by
OP
18 posts
Thanks for all the responses. I think it’s a process and your replies helped an awful lot. Came full circle , I knew keeping it smaller & focused would be best. Guess I needed to explore the “maybe” or “let’s try” and hearing the last bit of advice to enjoy Paris fully did it!
Yet another trip will be Brittany, Lille and Strasbourg because I think we would love that as well. Really appreciate you all taking the time to write back.
Be well,
Sheila