France-7 day itinerary ideas?

If there is any chance you will return to France, why not spend the entire week in Paris with only a day trip to Versailles? It is very easy to underestimate the amount of "lost" time going from one place to another. TC

I would suggest not beginning and ending in Paris. With only a week, that requirement really cramps your style.

There are medieval sites all over France, so take your pick. But you might consider Lyon.

Chartres a prime medieval site an hour from Paris by train. The Fontenay Abbey is an hour and a half plus a walk or cab ride. Rouen has a fine medieval center.

Versailles is an easy day trip from Paris (and is not medieval but renaissance). The Loire is close by though its most famous chateaux are, like Versailles, renaissance.

You're an artist. There's maybe more art in Paris than any other place.
You say an interest in Medieval History, but the Loire chateaus are not of that period, they are of a later period.
But Paris has some Medieval sights.

I also think that you could stay for the whole 7 days in Paris. I suggest using the schedule of the Rick Sreve's Paris city tour, altering it to meet your own needs. A couple of my favorite museums are the Cluny and the Orsay. Last November I stumbled upon a small Museum the Luxemburg museum at the edge of the Luxemburg gardens; they had a special showing with many Renoir and Monet.

Paris is my favorite place! Enjoy your trip.

I have read some people mention Rick Steves' recommendations on how to allocate time in a 7-day trip, but I can't find it on the forums. I will have seven nonjetlag days in Paris and I'm hoping someone can point me to Rick Steves' recommendation. Thanks all.

Patrick

Patrick,

I believe this is what you are looking for.

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/paris-itinerary

You can, for instance, see Medieval history at Vezelay (12th-13th cen. Romanesque basilica), Bourges (12th cen. gothic cathedral and half-timbered medieval quarter), and Guedelon (new castle being constructed with medieval techniques). Vezelay and Bourges are each accessible by train from Paris, but there's no easy public transport between them or to Guedelon. They each get a couple of pages in Rick's France book but are not as popular or close as other side trips from Paris, such as Chartres.

I also have quite happily spent whole weeks in Paris, where I'm sure you'll want to include Notre Dame and the nearby Paris Archeological Crypt, Sainte-Chapelle, Louvre and Cluny museums, and city walks.

There are many medieval sites in France, but spread out al over the country, so you need to travel a lot, so think about car rental. I agree that Guédelon is absolutely worth to consider a visit. Within more or less in the reach of Paris I can suggest:

Provins, UNESCO listed medieval trading town
Abbeye de Royaumont
Château de Pierrefonds, not original but an idealised rebuilt of the romantic period, nevertheless nice and certainly impressive to see to my opinion, but with empty interior.
Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire with Romanesque Abbeye de Fleury
Abbeye of Mont Saint-Michel
Gothic cathedrals of northern France, not to overlook the one of Saint-Denis as most French royalty is buried there since Pepin Le Bref
“Van Gogh´s” gothic church in Auvers-sur-Oise
Ruins of Chateau Gaillard and donjons of La Roche-Guyon and Gisors west of Paris
In Paris the medieval remains of Chateau de Vincennes.
Château Ducal in Caen and more south there Château Guillaume-le-Conquérant in Falaise
Château de Fougères and nearby Château de Vitré
Medieval battle fields of Crécy-Ponthieu and Azincourt, with some monuments and little museums.
Domrémy-la-Pucelle with the original (?) birthplace of Jeanne d’Arc and museum.
Tapestry of Bayeux and Très Riches Heurs de duc du Berry in Chantilly´s Musée de Condée
Many medieval churches, many sites in many places.....

There is way much more to explore though......

With so little time I would book a place in Paris and then do a couple of day trips. YOu could do Versailles and then add a day trip to Chartres, or Rouen, or Reims or Auvers sur Oise -- or a couple dozen other wonderful towns in the area. Want medieval? Visit the Chateau Vincennes in Paris or do a day trip to Senlis (you can see our visit here:https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/moyen-age-visit-to-senlis/

Moving around and especially booking the trip in Paris chews up a lot of time on logistics -- if you do plan to spend a couple of nights in the Loire, I'd do that straightaway on arrival and finish in Paris. But there is so much in the Paris environs that with only a week, I wouldn't waste time moving around.

With your interest in medieval history, I would consider Normandy. A lot of great medieval history there with some great ruins related to william the conqueror.