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Milk a Parisian farm cow?

Hi friends,
After a 7 day Viking Rhine river cruise, with family group of 5 (84 year mother, who will fly back with my sister/ her husband ) sept-oct, 2025, my wife and I have 4 days, from Basel, Switzerland.

We will take a train from Basel to Paris. We will stay in Paris and visit Monet’s Giverny home. .

We both turned 60. Our last time in Paris, was 2012, with young kids.

Goal : relax, just our time together (so rare).

Wife’s idea : where is there an open to the public French cow farm, where folks can try their hand at milking a cow? A train or public transportation ride away?

My idea: I am active in our city ‘s (San Diego ) local chapter supporting the planting and maintenance of California native plants, as a volunteer. I would love to volunteer, in Paris, in this manner, for a few hours.

Merci,

Posted by
10781 posts

I'm sure the City of Paris is planting trees and other plants that are either native to the area or chosen to withstand the evolving climate, as is the policy in all cities in France, including my own. You may want to inquire via the Paris city government. After all, the city of Paris has a full-time beekeeper tending the hives on the roofs of public buildings, so there could be a native-plant specialist.

As for the cows, when my husband was growing up in the 1950s the last dairy near him closed. This was just outside the city limits. The poor cows were inside so much due to city expansion, that the dear things couldn't see anymore. Inquire near Giverny, which is in Normandy.

Posted by
8715 posts

With bird flu threatening cattle farms all over the world, a farmer would be crazy to let tourists anywhere near the herd. Track a little duck manure in on your shoes and kill his livelihood.

Posted by
2255 posts

Janet has made a good point about the chances of getting anywhere near a dairy farm now.

Posted by
8099 posts

You will also be asked whether you were on a farm when you re-enter the United States. Has she milked a cow at home in the U.S.?

While it is no longer necessary to speak French in order to be treated well as a tourist, I would expect a horticulture volunteer to need to speak French, and to have a vocabulary that I don't have.

Absolutely no insult to YOU meant, but: My own experience has been that volunteers are so unreliable that I don't need to book people from another country to have many of them cancel at the last minute! Just talking about the idea of signing up ...

Have you done some experimental train bookings? I would think it takes a full day to train to Paris. I wonder if you could fly home conveniently from Zurich, Basel, or Stuttgart? But it sounds like Paris is a must-do.