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Looking for nature days after Paris

Hi Everyone -

The short version: I am looking for recommendations about where to find some beautiful nature for walking/hiking between Paris and another more culturally oriented and metropolitan destination, probably Belgium and the Netherlands, late this May/early this June.

The long version: I will be in Paris in the middle and end of this month, about 10 days total. Before that I will have been in Ireland for a few days and the Loire. Before heading back to the states, I'd like to have a few days in nature, as a refresher, before ending with a final week or so a more urban and culturally oriented place. (In the past, for instance, I've enjoyed walk/hike days in the Scottish highlands, in the Cotswolds and Lakes Districts, in the mountains of Granada or Basque country, etc.) At this point, due to some operas I'd like to see, that probably means Antwerp and the Netherlands, but I'm open to someplace quite different, say, Vienna. I am open to flying but I want my nature and urban destinations to be relatively close, e.g. no huge drive times between the nature place and the urban place.

By nature, here, I mean something either quite rural or wild, and some place I can go for long walks or hikes. Here's what I've considered:

  • I love mountains, and have thought about the Alps (too early for many of the hikes) as well as the Pyrenees (too far and don't want to see Spain / southern France after) and the Dolomite (too far and have been to Italy lots)

  • The Mosel looks charming, but I don't think it is what I am looking for to break up Paris and other cultural places: too cutesy/charming

  • England or Scotland, but have been many places there, so looking for something new

  • Alsace and surrounds: very beautiful but have already done it

  • Brittany: looks beautiful, but a bit far to any metropolitan destination, and perhaps a little too similar in terms of landscape to Ireland (?)

  • Central Southern France like the Dore Mountains, but don't want to go to Lyon or Marseilles/Nice after

  • Normandy - not finding any nature here I'm particularly excited about, and also worried that it will be packed the weekend of May 29 (Ascension Day)

I appreciate any thoughts about what I may be missing.

Posted by
1924 posts

Vienna sounds like what you want. Wonderful city, and there should be just what you are looking for outside of the city, not too far away.

Posted by
2736 posts

Consider Slovenia. Ljubljana is 2 hours from Salzburg. Consider the Soca River area. It’s spectacular. Or Lake Bled or Lake Bohinj.

Posted by
11 posts

Thanks Elizabeth. Looks like Parc Morvan adds a lot of travel time from Paris to Brussels (1.5 hours train -> 7.5 hours driving), which isn't too rule it out. Can you say more about why you like it?

Slovenia looks spectacular, but its a flight and then a long drive (5 hrs) to Vienna. (The Salzburg Whitsun doesn't look great this year). The fact that the Vienna opera is sold out for all the performances I want to see doesn't help, though I can probably find tickets somehow.

Any thoughts about nature in Normandy--I feel like I'm giving it short shrift--or Belgium?

Posted by
2202 posts

France has 58 Parcs Naturel Régional (PNR) or Regional Nature Parks. There are a few close to Paris like the Haute Chevreuse Valley and Vexin. I have visited both and are in this case traditional countryside that have kept their original character. What appeals to me are the lovely villages and here and there the chateaux and abbeys, like the stunning Les Vaux de Cernay. Here an overview of these parks:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_nature_parks_of_France, klick the links for further info.

You can find Parc du Morvan too Elizebeth mentions.