We are looking at spending 9 days on the ground in France arriving in Paris. We were in Paris for 5 days 3 years ago and visited Versailles so that won't be on the agenda. I am having trouble figuring out where to go! Does anyone have any suggestions for the 9 days? My daughter is fluent in French so that helps! If we can avoid driving we would like to (especially from Paris) but will rent a car outside if that is best. Day trips also work. Thanks!
Posted by
Green Bay
20072 posts
What time of year?
Posted by
3122 posts
First suggestion is to invest in a good guidebook, whether RS or some other recognized brand. To get advice from those of us on this forum, fill in a few more details: do you have any particular interests or dislikes (e.g. I'd rather have a root canal than go to a museum; or I love wine tours), how many in your party and approximate ages, are you flying in and out of Paris and if so which airport?
In a vacuum, if I had 9 days in France and wanted to use public transportation, I might just stay in Paris and take day trips to various places surrounding Paris, as well as visiting locations in Paris that I didn't see on my prior 5-day stay. There's a virtually limitless menu of things to see & do within a day's round trip travel by train.
Posted by
OP
20 posts
We are going end of May, beginning of June. We are three -- 2 at 56 and one at 19. We like museums and historical places; not wine tours. We can walk for hours soaking in the vibe of a city and like to go on our own. We don't mind public transportation. If we were to stay in Paris the whole what day trips do you recommend?
Posted by
OP
20 posts
We have a dog eared copy of Rick Steve's Paris - I need to purchase the France one!
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6041 posts
Take a look at Rick's Itinerary guidance here:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/itinerary
Then look at the tours he offers for ideas.
If you don't feel the need to spend all 9 days in Paris- then decide just how much Paris you want- 2 nights, 3 nights? then move on and plan to depart from a diff city if that makes more sense.
Maybe train to Provence- then fly out of Nice.
We went back and forth on this question ourselves. We've spent 8 days in Paris in the past- so I think we have finally settled on just 2 nights there on arrival and moving on to other regions. It was a hard decision because there is so much to do in Paris but there is also so much else to do in France ;)
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
Staying in Paris is always a good option! But that time of year it is almost a shame not to see a bit of countryside, and for that a car is very helpful.
Provence is spectacular in that respect, Burgundy and Normandy can be magical. For a second city, consider 3 nights in Lyon, which really has something for everyone. Lyon works well with Burgundy or Provence. I'd skip Nice, which is 3 hours east of the Rhone.
You and yours need to read some guidebooks and learn what calls to you! But you have some great options in the spring.
Posted by
Grand Rapids, MI
768 posts
Stuff my teens liked, and so did I:
Catacombs
Sewer Tour (by Orsay, both on Museum Pass)
Flea markets (several of them, Google)
Chez Janou restaurant with all-you-can-eat chocolate mousse for dessert
Revolving room where thrown balls curve 90 degrees at Cite des Sciences, on Museum Pass
Having portrait drawn by artists outside Pompidou Modern Art Museum (on Museum Pass)
Posted by
Florida
274 posts
If you're interested in WWII history, you could split your time between Paris and Normandy. My husband and I did a similar trip in 2014 - 5 nights in Paris and 3 in Bayeux. On our last night, we stayed at a hotel near the CDG airport to make it easier to catch our early morning flight.
From Paris, we took the train to Caen, where we picked up our rental car (right next to the train station), and then drove to Bayeux. We spent an afternoon in Bayeux, a day touring the D-Day sights, and a day at Mont Saint Michel. We then returned our rental car at Caen and took the train to CDG and a cab from their to our CDG hotel. We loved Bayeux and touring the D-Day sights was incredibly moving. Driving was easy and there were lots of signs to help with navigation. A day trip to MSM from Bayeux is easy, but I do recommend getting a (very) early start so you can be the first people onto the island. It gets extremely crowded midday.
On our recent trip to Paris in 2017, we took a day trip to Reims to do champagne tasting. Even if you don't like champagne, a tour in the champagne caves is incredibly interesting and we learned a lot of history, especially about the Nazi occupation of the city during WWII. The cathedral there is also stunning.
Posted by
3122 posts
"If we were to stay in Paris the whole what day trips do you recommend?"
Versailles // Chartres, with a possible stop at Maintenon and/or Rambouillet on the way there or back // Giverny // Fontainebleau //
Chantilly // Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood // Reims.
Also, this site may inspire you with things in Paris to see & do. http://www.parisnet.com/parismap.html