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Leisurely/relaxing countryside destinations easily accessible from Paris?

Posted by on

Hi,
I am planning a trip with my parents who are older in late July/early August. We (3 adult children & 60+ parents) are planning on flying into London, sightseeing for a few days, then traveling to Paris. Before sightseeing in Paris, we would like to spend 2-3 days at a much more leisurely, relaxing place and pace so we can rest a bit from our London activities. My dad is older and doesn't have the stamina he used to, so I was thinking about maybe staying somewhere in the French countryside near Paris that we could rent a car and drive to, or easily take public transport from the city to get to (2-3hours max travel time). I am much more experienced in city traveling so would love recommendations for a good area that is relaxing and restful but has enough to do without getting bored (for example, if there is a day my dad doesn't feel up for an activity, he can stay and relax with a view and fresh air while the rest of family goes wine tasting or another small cultural activity/excursion). I'm potentially interested in family owned type of bed & breakfasts that I've seen, but am also wanting to keep affordability in mind as well. I also have no experience in going about finding and booking one so any tips for that would be much appreciated.

Also, since we are going around the 1st & second week of August, will we have issues finding a place to stay outside of the city?

We are hoping those days of rest will prep us well for going going back to Paris to sightsee for a few days.
Thanks!

Posted by
10188 posts

Lille is north of of Paris and has stops from London. It's a city but manageable.
This is high season for vacation.
Most bed and breakfast won't have air conditioning.

I would want to just move onto Paris and take time out to relax once there. The city is filled with public gardens and cafés for sitting and watching. It's a great show. If papa wants to bow out, he could rest in Paris instead of gazing at a pasture.

PS I'm older than your parents.

Posted by
2544 posts

August is low season in Paris, hotels offer deals, and everything is at its the slowest pace of the year. I would consider extending the stay in Paris.

Posted by
161 posts

Husband and I are in our late 60s and I agree with the "just go to Paris" crowd. The moving from place to place is the tiring part for us. We did 6 nights in Paris in 2019 after 6 nights in a smaller village, Uzes. Our old travel days of moving every couple days were much more tiring. There are many lovely parks in Paris for sitting and relaxing. You might also consider a day trip from Paris if you want to see the countryside. We had a lovely day in Giverny. You can get there yourself by train, but we booked with a tour group and went in a van with 5 other people.

I'd give the same advice for London. The one thing I find we don't do as much since we're older is go out at night. We like an earlier dinner and relaxing at the hotel most evenings.

Have a wonderful trip!

Posted by
2 posts

This is all super helpful - really appreciate it! Sounds like staying in Paris is the way to go, thank you all so much.

Posted by
8050 posts

In August you MUST have AC and most apartments will not have it and if they have it be sure it is not the pretty worthless (and in our experience, always musty) portable units.

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