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Dijon or straight to Paris?

Hi friends,
After a 7 day Viking rhine river cruise, with family group of 5 (84 year mother, who will fly back with my sister/ her husband ) sept-oct, 2025, my wife and I have 3-4 days, from Basel, Switzerland. . We both turned 60. Our last time in Paris, was 2012, with young kids.

Goal : relax, just our time together (so rare) . We will use train from Basel to Paris. We have been to louvre, Eiffel tower, Versailles , Rodin museums, classical music in church, Notre dame. Walking, train, museum, eating, people watching, some shopping , mingle with locals, 1 day trip. My wife prefers to avoid stairs. We like $$, but want to treat ourselves to $$$ place.

  1. Should we do 1 day Dijon, 2 days Paris, or 3 days Paris?
  2. Should we stay at hotel, or do short term rental? I like suite rooms, with a couch.

Thank you.

Posted by
735 posts

If your goal is to relax, I would just go to Paris rather than try to move. As for apartment versus hotel, the problem with three nights is you’re not able to get some of the better apartments and I’m sorry Airbnb is just kind of a roll of the dice lately you might look into an apartment hotel like Citadinds. There are a couple others. An apartment hotel will give you a little more space but not you won’t have to deal with the 30 Item cleaning list after being charged a $200 as a cleaning fee.

Posted by
1381 posts

pfagenp,
Carol is correct; go straight to Paris. Even though you have seen a lot there, there is always a lot more. 3-4 days can be full.I would choose a hotel for simplicity. There are some with larger rooms and a couch for $$$, plus the all-important (for me) elevator!
Unmentioned by you to visit: Ste.Chapelle, Musee Cluny, Opera Garnier, Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, beautiful stores like Galeries Lafayette, L'Orangerie, les bouquinistes on the Seine, boat ride on the Seine, Basilica St. Denis. Also day trips to Chartres or Fountainebleau or Vaux le Vicomte or Reims. And, of course, Pareis is THE most romantic city!
Enjoy your sixties!