We have been looking for a good day trip that fits our interest. We LOVED strasbourg and colmar when we visited before. We want something that feels different than Paris.
We really would like to keep the train trip to 1.5 hours or less each way and for it to be a direct train.
We love history, learning about different cultures, natural beauty, quaint shops and cobblestone streets. We like to feel like we have stepped back in history. We don't really enjoy art and seeing a lot of cathedrals (we love a great one or two in a day).
We have looked at Metz, Troyes, Chartes and Rouen. Recently we came across Amiens and that seems very interetesting but we just don't see a lot about it.
We want something that we could really enjoy for about 6-8 hours. It seems like some places we look at are better for 1/2 days based on our interests.
If anyone has input into Amiens (or any of the towns we mentioned), and whether it might be a good fit based on our interest, we would greatly appreciated it.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
798 posts
Have you looked at Senlis which you can combine with the Chantilly Château. It is a medieval town remains of gig wall and a decent small art museum that I’ve never heard of but I really enjoyed.
It is not a tourist town. I think I was probably the only person in town that was a tourist, and when I went to the museum, one of the docents basically escorted me around telling me about the art, which was pretty cool once I got over the embarrassment.
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1523 posts
I vote for Rouen, but since we always drive there, I don't know about the train trip (time). It has the beautiful "Monet" cathedral, the Grand Horloge, many half-timbered buildings, very walkable medieval streets, the Joan of Arc connection, some great museums (ceramics, wrought iron, art...lots of impressionists.....several others), good restaurants and a terrific market to tempt your tastebuds. 6 hours would be good, 8 better.
Reims is nice, but doesn't have the charm of Rouen or even Chartres. If the train times work for you, Rouen is a great choice and fills your "stepped back in history" bucket!
Amusez-vous bien!
Posted by
1028 posts
We drove from Rouen to Lille to catch a train andplanned to stop in Amiens for a bit. It was a Sunday. We got off the highway and could see the cathedral from afar. Once we got into town we came upon what looked like college kids everywhere and a farmers market. We couldn’t figure out how to get through no matter which way we turned. So ultimately we got gas and left as we didn’t want to get caught up in the traffic and miss our train. If there’s a charming and historical part of town we unfortunately missed it.
Rouen would make a wonderful day trip. We stayed two nights!
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2135 posts
First: What time of the year to plan to travel?
Amiens is ofcourse famous for it’s cathedral, the adjacent streets of Quartier Saint-Leu are charming. The home of Jules Verne is nowadays a museum. For many it’s the base for visiting the sites of WW1. For the rest it’s not that interesting to my opinion, you won't spend there 6-8 hours. Of the mentioned places my preference would be Rouen.
However if you really want to step back in time consider Le Mans. The historic center is really charming, I visited it twice and will certainly do it again if being in the neighbourhood. You can take the highspeed train from Paris Montparnasse and takes around an hour. The historic center is not so big, so better to combine with visits to other places. Like for instance Chartres, Maintenon and Rambouillet on the way back with the local train.
Chartres is because of it’s cathedral for most here a mustsee. Maintenon certainly worth visiting for it’s very beautiful château and garden, belonging once to Madame de Maintenon, the second wife of Louis XIV. Having time left Rambouillet is charming enough for a stroll, especially around the château there too, entrance to the garden is free.
With the ticket back to Paris you can travel hop-on hop-off style as long you do that on the day the ticket is issued for and backtracking or detouring is not allowed. From Le Mans you can take a direct train to Chartres and from there a direct train to Montparnasse, which calls at Maintenon and Rambouillet. All in all it will take a bit more than the three hours you prefer, but in this case to my opinon worth the time spend.