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France with a kid - best regions in November?

Hi there! My partner and I will be taking our 6yo on our first 'with kid' international adventure - 10 days (not incl travel days) in late November (over American Thanksgiving). While we love museum-going, our favorite travel tends to be flexible, aimless wandering down random side streets, especially in smaller or intimate-feeling towns or neighborhoods, punctuated with frequent stops for local treats and eats (I can never resist a good market and local food). We're from Maine, so we're not terribly phased by the prospect of inclement weather.

We're flying into CDG and spending 4 days in Paris - from there, I'm considering 2-3 days in Colmar and/or Strasbourg, and 2-3 days in Beaune and/or Lyon (those regions seemed accessible by TGV, and align well with the village-wandering theme). I like wine, but am no means an aficionado (I know that can be important in both regions!). We will be touring by train, bus, and foot, no car. Moderate to affordable price points, with at least one sensational meal in each destination.

I just thought I'd check in to see if it seems we're on the right track, or perhaps overly ambitious? Would you suggest leaning toward one or the other of my proposed cities (ie, Colmar over Strasbourg, Lyon over Beaune)? Are there places I shouldn't miss here? Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer... it feels very hard to settle on just a couple of regions in a short time, especially as I'm sure we can't go wrong anywhere we end up!

Posted by
11507 posts

You do realize it will be dark by 4.30.. so your "village wandering" days will be short.. and likely cold and wet.. that said.. I loved Lyon.. but felt two nights was enough .. food is great there.. so some research can definitely get you a great meal there ..

I cant really suggest anywhere else.. as I am weather orientated and don't like wandering in rain much ( and I live in Pacific Northwest..so I am used to rain too.. lol)

Posted by
8889 posts

How late in November? Strasbourg Christmas market opens on Friday 25th November. Details here: http://noel.strasbourg.eu/en
Strasbourg is one of the best Christmas markets there is. Colmar Christmas market also starts on the same day, details here: http://www.noel-colmar.com/en/
A Christmas market will be magic for a 6-year-old.

I agree with the comment about it getting dark early, sunset in Strasbourg on the 15th November is 16:49. See here: http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/france/strasbourg?month=11&year=2016
Christmas markets are at their prettiest after dark.

The small wine towns near Colmar are pretty, but really need a car to visit and may be a bit miserable in November.
Alsace has its own distinct cuisine: Tarte flambée, Baeckeoffe, plus local wine Gewürztraminer and beer. I hope your 6-year-old is ready to try anything.

Posted by
3696 posts

Plan to spend a night on mont St Michel. He will love it. A very different experience, especially in Nov. very few tourists. I took one of my grandsons to Europe on 2 different trips and he still thinks of this as a highlight. We were also there over Thanksgiving. Paris in the winter is amazing. I always feel like I have a much more intimate view of a city without so many other people.

Posted by
4132 posts

A Mainer is familiar with early sunsets.

I think Beaune would be rather bleak that time of year, and 3 nights is too much. Lyon on the other hand is a marvel, with a really cool old town, Roman antiquities atop a fantastically steep hill (ride the funicular), and a great food and wine scene.

If you book an afternoon departure from deGaulle, there's an early train to the airport direct from Lyon. The same is or was true of the TGV lines from Dijon and Strasbourg.

Posted by
11 posts

Thanks for your great tips! I'm definitely familiar with the early sunsets, but thanks for the reminder! I'm hopeful that the illumination in Lyon and the Christmas markets will extend the day for us. Chris, thank you so much for the Christmas Market reminder.... I didn't look into it because I assumed we wouldn't overlap, but we will, hurrah! Decision made: Lyon, then Colmar For the Christmas markets. I hear both Strasbourg and Colmar put on great markets, I'm leaning toward Colmar since the town seems otherwise so great as well.

I appreciate the guidance!

Posted by
63 posts

Since it's your first trip "with kid", be prepared for a different pace and plan for some different activities. Our kids are pretty sophisticated and enjoy museums, cathedrals, and the like, but they had less patience than I'd anticipated for "village wandering," which had also been our favorite pre-kid activity. They would ask, "why are we going here?" And "We're going to wander around" or "it's a pretty town and we'll be aimless and see what we find" made no sense to them! They did love market days in the small towns, though. Once you have an itinerary set you might want to research/ask the forums some specifically kid-friendly activities to supplement your own favorite things to do. We've only traveled in summer with kids and not to those specific regions (we were in Paris, Loire, and Dordogne this past summer, Bavaria two years ago), but they loved things like caves, swimming, canoeing, cable car rides, etc. We would generally structure our day with one guaranteed-to-please-adults thing (e.g. cathedral or castle), one guaranteed-to-please-kids thing (e.g. tour of cave), and then some flexibility mixed in. I have to say that the kid-oriented activities ended up being some of the most memorable and fun for all!

If you need kid suggestions for Paris let me know.

Have a great trip.

Posted by
4132 posts

There's a very cool museum in Lyon that shows (1) props from famous movies (there's Harry Potter's wand, for instance, or one of them) and (2) the most amazing miniatures you have ever seen.

It is housed in an Italianate Renaissance building smack in the middle of the old city.

Posted by
63 posts

...also, I once did Paris --> Lyon ---> Annecy on the train and it was easy travel, lovely all around. Annecy is really pretty and would give you a taste of the mountains without having to go too far.