My husband and I will be speending 6 days in Paris (our second visit) in March 2020 and want to spend the next 6 in another region. We won’t have a car so trains and other transport is key. Recommendation for the best region to see? Thank you!
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
2662 posts
It depends on your interests.
Palaces, wine, food, hiking, history--how would you like to spend your time?
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15788 posts
I'm off to Marseille, Nice and the French Riviera in 2 weeks. It sounded like a very good place to go at this time of year, and prices are definitely low season. I will be renting a car for 3 days, but also spending 6 days using trains and buses, 2 nights in Marseille and 4 in Nice. There are trains from Paris to Marseille that take 3 hours.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Yes! I should have been more specific regarding our interests-we fell in love with Paris on our first trip. We walked everywhere from our hotel in the 6th arrondissement. Besides the beautiful historical sites and the overall beauty of the city, we love the cafe scene, walking, being with locals and learning about the culture of Parisienne life. We enjoyed the pace of Paris, the beautiful parks, and of course the food! We want to be in an area where we can enjoy many of the same things and learn more about France’s history. We were leaning toward Lyon or the Provence region.
Posted by
8248 posts
We have visited several areas of France.
Outside of Paris the four areas that I recommend are
Normandy (must go to Bayeux and see the Tapestry as well as Normandy D-Day beaches)
Loire Valley, south of Paris
Alsance, Strasbourg is great
Burgundy and Provence
With six days, you can't do all four of these areas in that time. You could do Normandy and possibly the Loire Valley.
You would need more than six days to enjoy Burgundy and Provence. We did a Stone and Rhone river cruise for a week that started in Lyon and ended in Arles. It was great.
Also, we have visited Monaco, Nice and other places in that area.
Normandy and the Loire Valley are easy to get to from Paris. Of course, there is the high speed train from Paris to Lyon.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
You are traveling in March, and seem drawn to cities.
I think that you could happily spend the balance of your time in Lyon. There is tons to see and do and eat there, and should you encounter inclement weather plenty of great stuff indoors.
As a bonus: there are many trains from Lyon direct to Charles deGaulle. This works if you catch an early train and have an afternoon flight. The trip takes 2 hours.
If you are curious for a small-city experience, you could visit Beaune for a night. Not longer, in March, without a car. But the town has great charm
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
386 posts
I'm prepping for my 20th trip to France (almost all included at least several days in Paris, usually combined with a week in a rural setting or smaller French city). Your description of what you loved about Paris closely mirrors a lot about what I enjoy, so I'll venture a couple of recommendations:
Option 1: Train to Brittany -- choose from Dinard, Dinan, or St. Malo. Stay in one town but they're close so you can visit others. Spend 3 nights. Move on to Bayeux and spend 3 nights (it's a rather slow, circuitous train ride from Brittany to get there, but if you like train travel, it can be enjoyable). Take a full-day tour of the D-Day sights (lots of good tour companies; I'm fond of Overlord Tours); spend the other 1 1/2 days enjoying lovely Bayeux (the cathedral, an excellent WWII museum, British cemetery, journalists memorial, Bayeux Tapestry)
Option 2: (I'm doing this trip in May without a car) Train from Paris to Nimes. Stay here all 5/6 nights. Easy public transit for day trips to Arles, Uzes, Pont-du-Gard, Avignon, and more. The weather might (but not necessarily) be nicer there than Paris in March.
Enjoy!