If you had an extra night in France, where would you spend it?

Has your family already been to Paris? Where else are you going? If you've never been to Paris and you must spend the extra night somewhere, and you must end up at CDG the night before the flight, I'd add it to Paris. Then you could spend a full day there (2 nights), which won't let you cover much, but at least you'll see a little and can plan a return trip. I'm not a fan of one night stays - you really end up seeing very little and have a lot of transit time.

Msm is a ways from Sarlat. If you are tied to a flight out of Paris, then I would vote either Paris or Amboise.

Thank you Matt... yes considering Amboise, of course we're all infatuated with daVince so it would be interesting to visit there.
Has anybody visited Lourdes from Sarlat area? Will check Viamichelin but just thought I'd ask...
Would you train any part of travel from southern France back into Paris, even with a stop in Amboise?

And yes, we have all been to Paris, actually during Bastille in 2012... always love it but want to use the day to see other things.

Can I ask people's opinions of MSM?

Thank you:)

Can I ask people's opinions of MSM?

In a week in Normandy a few years back we stayed in Bayeux and ran over to MSM. Neither my wife nor I were particularly impressed. Too many folk in too small an area. We felt that we were taking away from the Normandy coast experience. We only had 8 days and there were so many things we had to miss. We thought we had made the wrong choice taking a day fro MSM.

Others may disagree and YMMV.

We enjoyed MSM for the very short visit we had. We drove there from Caen (we didn't really think about driving times - stupid) and spent only a few hours - I think we got to the cathedral/abbey about 20 min before the last entrance! Then we walked around and checked out the shops. This was in 2010. I quite enjoyed it - I'm actually hoping we can return someday and stay the night (so I could explore in the morning and evening without too many others around). We were there in early Oct, so crowds weren't very bad.

I know I may be in the minority, but I have to agree with Nigel. I was underwhelmed by MSM and the crowded environment. I would have preferred spending that extra day elsewhere. In your situation I personally would spend the extra day in Paris.

You are all making me think about this trip as a whole, which is good.
We are actually starting out in Venice and Rome for a week before heading to France so the kids will be doing quite a bit of sightseeing, which is why we will stay in a gite in the Dordogne area for a consistent base (with a pool!) and many options for day trips. My son had hoped to see Versailles, but after my husband and I being there twice already, based on your comments and more review, I think it may make the most sense to see MSM with Versailles in a couple years.

I truly appreciate your input and time. Thank you!
Lori

While you are in the Dordogne I recommend the padirac caves and the monkey Forrest. The former gets minor mention and that latter no mention in ricks guidebook but I thought they were highlights of the trip. What town are you staying in? We really enjoyed the rs recommended goose farm too.

What about heading to Loire valley? It would be nice to take more than one night, but we loved the region. The kids would enjoy the grandeur of the Chateau in the area, and you can drop a car in Tours and train back to Paris.

Thanks for the extra advice... am about to check out the monkey farm and other ideas! Yes, of course I will try the potatoes too - very excited for that! I love hearing about things not mentioned elsewhere. ;)
We have two gites on hold that with their B&B buildings that can accommodate us for 5 nights. One is in Montignac and the other is in Perigord. The owner of the latter is a photographer and her photos are making this amateur photographer wish for more days in this area...
And we have 2 nights in Amboise at a Chateau... (with a pool) !