Half the time in Paris, half the time???

Sarah.. we need to know how long trip is in total. Obviously it will influence what "other places" we suggest..

Probably 5 nights each place. 5 Paris and 5 elsewhere, but it could be 4 each.

Sarah -
About how long is your total trip? A week, 2 weeks, or longer. Driving or taking the train? For the first time trip to Paris, I would stay at least 5 days in Paris. If you plan to drive, I'd go through Normandy for the WWII historic sites and Mont Saint Michel, Honfleur and some of the northern coast for beauty, and perhaps include Giverny; if taking the train I'd go to the Loire and tour castles and gardens.

Florence. Vueling flies there direct from Orly starting at about 130 euro pp round trip. 90 minute flight. Paris, Florence. That's pretty good to me.
Dave

Dave - do you mean Florence Italy? I've been there. We want to keep our travels to France only. I should have mentioned that. Like maybe the Rivera? Or Province? Or anywhere else not even on our radar? Think quieter/slower paced....than Paris.

Gotcha-we are heading to Provence in September, then Lyon for a few days, then Paris for eight. Provence is a no brainer, lots of nice B & B's to choose from, etc. However we are very excited to see Lyon, and eat there too! I found a B & B about 2 km outside of the center of town in a residential area near the big park. There are some great sights, great restaurants, and a bit of history there. We're movie buffs too, so that's interesting as well. After having the same question as you, that's what we're doing.
Best, Dave

Excuse my misspelled auto corrects on the phone please!

My wife and I spent 2 weeks in France last sept. We spent the first 5-6 days in paris ,then flew to the French Riviera ,stayed in nice ,went into Monte Carlo ,which is just over a 1/2 hour train ride .beautiful trip to the riviera ,relaxing and spectacular boardwalks to stroll at night on the water .we also spent a few days in versaille ,which is only a 35 minute train ride from paris . Fantastic trip !!!!!!! Enjoy

The suggestions for Provence or the Riviera are good ones; however, in mid-May you may run into the problem of the Cannes Film Festival making lodgings hard to find around there. For either area, flying home from Nice would make things simpler, unless you've already got your tickets. You can take the TGV between Paris and Nice or Avignon. If you were to base yourself in or near Avignon (I'd opt for one of the smaller, nearby towns), you'll find plenty of sights, markets, wine-tasting, and natural beauty. BTW, mid-May is not so far off. Better get cracking on reserving places to stay.

The Paris-Provence connection is practically a cliche, but that is because it is really a great combination connected by a really fast train. Provence is great.
.
With such a short time frame and a Paris return I would skip the Riviera this trip. The transportation connection is too slow. But there is an early train back from Avignon that goes directly to Charles deGaulle with no transfers. It will get you to the airport by 10:30 AM.
.
Some other options: Lovely rural Burgundy, a top wine region, or a loop through Normandy. There's a direct airport train from Burgundy too (arriving 9 AM). But I still think Paris-Provence for maximum thrills.
.
Note that you will really appreciate a car in any of these second stops, even Provence which has many sights on the rail line. Burgundy can be seen by bicycle.

Two of our favorite trips ever included one split between Paris and Burgundy, and the other a split between Paris and the Loire Valley. In each case we picked up and dropped the car in either region before returning to Paris for our return home. We spent. I think 5 nights in the Loire and 6 nights in Burgundy. We stayed in a B&B in each location, and daily drove to the sights of interest. Both trips were in May. We never, ever tired of chateaux and could have spent two weeks in the Loire. Many lovely small towns as well as the big name chateaux. Burgundy was beautiful, green countryside with a wealth of options, and lots of Romanesque sights, abbeys, towns, cities...and food. I would not suggest these areas without a car. I suppose it can be done, but I only know that we had a car and had a ball. Good luck!

This is a good problem to have, as they say. I'd pick Normandy, the Loire, OR Burgundy. Easy train connection then rent a car. If you can get a train back direct to CDG that's a bonus.

My vote is for Avignon! Great transportation connections from Paris (2 hours and 40 minutes from Paris Gare de Lyon) and a nice contrast. Maybe 5 nights Paris--3 nights Avignon.

You don’t have to drive far from Paris to enjoy France, there is so much to see and to do. May is usually a bit chilly, but a perfect time to travel. For a backdoor experience it’s best to hire a car, pick a few hotspots and for the rest explore with the help of a well detailed map, what you can use in combination with a GPS/satnav or a national map. Good maps can be sold in large supermarkets like Champ, Carrefour, E.Leclerc etc. and gas-stations. For my yearly cartrips to France I use the yellow Michelin “Departements France” maps (6€) with a scale of 1/150.000 (1cm = 1,5km) for exploring the countryside and finding B&B’s. These maps give a lot of information about scenic places and routes. Complete sets of these maps for a country are bundled in an atlas, one map covers only a region.

South-east of Paris you can visit near Melun Château de Vaux le Vicomte and Fontainebleau. On the way further to Dijon you can visit Le Guédelon, the construction of a medieval castle in the original and above all french way, nice and funny as well. Nice historical places as Vézelay, Troyes and Semur-en-Auxois, abbeye de Fontenay, Colombey-les-Deux-Églises where Charles de Gaulle lived and ofcourse Beaun and Dijon. Just some examples what to see and do.

Ofcourse driving to the Loire Valley is highly recommended. Chambord, Chenonceaux and Ambois where Leornado da Vinci is burried and had a mansion close to the castle. On the way back to Paris you can visit Le Mans, near the racetrack there is an interesting racecar museum, but hardly known is that the historical centre of Le Mans is very beautifully romantic. And closer to Paris there is Chartres.

If your boyfriend is a car enthusiast you can go to the Bugatti museum in Mulhouse and explore more north the Vosges and Strassbourg. Actually the possibilities are endless.

So to my opinion the best way will be just looking for a few highlichts and travel step by step further a way from Paris and combine the visits with a bit of exploring, enjoying unexpected romantic spots, you certainly will find. The best tool to travel is an open mind, a few expectations and some adventure, enjoying eating and a drink somewhere while peoplewatching and having fun.
B&B’s are good value for the money and a good source for information. More info see: www.gites-de-france.com with info also in English.

Note: Paris–Avignon by rail is 2:40, not 3:40.

Thanks for catching my error Adam! I'll edit!