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Looking for two cities to base ourselves outside Paris

Posted by (US) on

We'll be traveling from Amsterdam to Bruges to France. We will be spending 13 days total in France. Planning on 6 days in Paris (where we'll fly home), visiting Mont St Michele (MSM) and surrounding towns, and the Loire the remaining 7 days.
A 14 hr day trip from Paris to MSM is unfeasible for us.

  1. We were hoping to limit our stay to two hotels outside of Paris since we will be traveling via train. What two cities can we use as a hub that provides good transport to sights?
  2. Is there someplace else we should see instead of Loire? I heard the Loire is all about castles and wine. We don't drink and we will be visiting Versailles for our palace fix on a Paris day trip.
Posted by
2921 posts

Strasbourg or Colmar. It’s about a 2 hours train ride and a completely different vibe. Prepare to fall in love. We spent 4 nights in July and loved it so much we returned for 4 nights during the Christmas markets. Tons of adorable towns to explore.

Posted by
2596 posts

IMO 7 days in the Loire is too long. travel4fun's suggestion of Colmar/Strasbourg is a good one. So, 7 days outside of Paris.(7 nights?)
If seven nights, train to Normandy for MSM. Pick your location of where to stay. Figure two nights involved with this, and 2 nights (1 1/2 days after arrival) in the Loire (Amboise?). Then back to Paris, change train stations and off the Strasbourg or Colmar for 3 nights. TGV between Paris and Strasbourg takes a little less than 2 hours.
(Even if you don't drink wine, and even if you still go to Versailles, seeing Chenonceau and 1 or 2 other chateaux in the Loire is worth doing. The Loire and Cher rivers area is lovely.) Have fun on your trip!

Posted by
34 posts

Thanks for all of your thoughtful replies. I would consider driving to Mont Saint Michelle, St Malo, and Dinan if the coast is truly worth seeing and there isn't "big city" traffic and roundabouts (my palms are sweating already).

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