Market Days and recommended stops between Germany & France

Posted by CanAmCherie (SE Washington, USA) on 08/01/22 04:03 AM

We will be travelling by car in early September from Bad Munstereifel, Germany to Paris, France (Sunday afternoon through Wednesday).

What would be your first few choices for stops? Do any towns have interesting market days during the first part of the week?

Towns we've thought about in France: Strasbourg, Colmar, Provins. We've thought about driving from Koblenz down the Rhein to Strasbourg. Possibly Sunday night stay along Rhein before arriving in Strasbourg area for a stay on Monday and Tuesday night. Or should we just have a night along the Rhein, go on to Provins, and save Strasbourg for another, longer time? Or a quick taste of Strasbourg and environs, and save Provins for a Paris day trip another trip? Or, spend more time in Germany along the Rhein?

Thanks for any thoughts.

Posted by Nigel

Northamptonshire, England

08/01/22 10:52 AM

33832 posts

so your plan is to go from quite far north to the south then back up to Paris?

You've described a number of different places and attractions. I get the feeling that mooching around markets is important?

You'll be up near Bonn and the lower Rhine already, not a million miles from the Rhine gorge with its collection of castles. Have you been there previously?

I don't like giving my opinions about the relative worth of towns and cities because others may well see them differently. For myself I wouldn't go out of my way to visit Provins again, but that's just me.

What you sort of sketched out covers a lot of km.

Posted by Elizabeth

L'Occitanie, France

08/01/22 11:42 AM

10623 posts

I can speak only for France, not Germany. Market days vary according to the locale, but there won't be one on a Monday morning. Most close about noon to one o'clock, including Sundays. In a smaller town, some shops and restaurants could be closed at least Monday morning, if not the whole day. The larger the place, the more you will find to do and find a place to eat on Sunday evening and Monday.

Posted by CanAmCherie OP

SE Washington, USA

08/01/22 10:29 PM

503 posts

A little more about our trip. We fly into Paris on a Sunday (2 nights) then head to Luxembourg where my adult kids and husband will reclaim an ancestor's citizenship. We'll then base in Bad Munstereifel for a few days while we show our kids several ancestral German villages. Sunday morning is the last time all 6 of us will be together in Europe before we head in different directions. Our flight is out of Paris the following Saturday.

The plan is get to Paris by Wednesday evening so we're settled for 2 more full tourist days in Paris--Thursday and Friday. We don't feel frantic to get to a lot of museums, thinking most museums and indoor Paris activities can be saved for a future off-season visit when we won't need a car. We have from Sunday afternoon through Wednesday to get to Paris. Since we'll probably have our daughter with us, we thought it might be nice to show her sites along the river en route. (My husband and I visited 7 years ago.) But, this is not set in stone. We like having a few days of freedom to go as the spirit moves, so thought this might be the time. Not sure if we should spend more time in Germany or get into France. It seems Strasbourg area is still fairly convenient by train from Paris, so could save that area for another time---maybe a Christmas trip?

Re markets---I've just enjoyed market days in little towns (more familiar with UK/Ireland) so thought that might add some insight to our freewheeling days....certainly not dealbreakers for locations. I figured that the beginning of the week might not be the best for markets. Thanks for that confirmation.

Will try to pin down some preferences from our daughter....
Thank you for your responses.