Paris & ?? 10-day Trip Advice

The lavender in Provence will probably be long gone by the time you are in France.

With the limited time you have (be careful how you count your days on that "10-day trip" it's probably best to do Paris and other places nearby. There's plenty to choose from.

Thank you so much for your response. What would you recommend?

Lavender is harvested in around the middle of August and it peaks in July so I would drop that as a reason to go to Provence. There are other reasons to go there but with your timing lavender is not it. Do you mean 10 days in the middle of August or 10 days in late September? I'd pick September if I had that choice because that is a lovely time to be in Paris.

Thank you so much for your helpful response! We can either go for 10 days in August/10 days in September. Flights are around the same price.

I too would recommend going in September, and the later in the month, the better. While Paris will still be crowded with tourists, it won't be as bad as summer, and it wont likely be hot (but still comfortable in the day time).

I think it's important to consider whether this 10 days include your 2 travel days between home and France. That would mean you would only have 8 days on the ground, and the first one will be experienced thru the haze of jet lag. In this case, and since it's your first trip to Europe, it would make sense to just stay in Paris and do a couple ofday trips.

But if you actually have 10 days on the ground, then you could add one other (relatively close) location. You could conceivably do London and Paris. Fly into London for 4 or 5 days, then take the Eurostar to Paris for the rest of the trip. Fly home from there. You would buy a multicity ticket to do this; not 2 one way tickets. They usually aren't much more expensive than a return ticket, especially when you factor in the cost of getting back to your departure airport.

We traveled to Paris last June and had 8 full days there. I fell in love with the city and 8 days wasn’t long enough! We did a lot of things, but still would have much to do if we were to go back, including just wandering around the city and visiting more bakeries. We liked the boat cruise at night to see the city lights, went to a concert in St. Chapelle in the evening when the sunlight came through the stained glass, and also booked a short photo shoot with “Localers Paris.” Went on a good tour with “Secret food tours of Paris” and sat around Luxembourg Park and people watched & ate ice cream. Also loved the crepes at the stands. It’s a wonderful place to visit. You’ll have a great time. And I think I would pick Sept over August if I had a choice.

I would pick September because it will be a bit cooler and a bit less crowded. I prefer to stay in one place rather than wasting days traveling and 10 days is great for Paris. I would read about Paris in your rs book to see what interests you. I love museums and saw 8 in one 10 day trip. I know that's not for everyone, but the Musee d'orsay and the Rodin are really wonderful. The top sights are top for a reason and you can see which interest you. Don't miss Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame, and just spend some time sitting in a cafe and soaking up Paris. Walk around a lot and enjoy the city. A day trip to Fontainebleu is easy and fun and not as crowded as Versailles. Have a wonderful trip! sue

It's important for you to know exactly how much time you'll have in France. For instance, leaving on Friday evening and returning on Sunday evening is technically 10 days, but gives you only 7 full days on the ground. You'd arrive on Saturday after an overnight flight (probably not getting much sleep on the plane) and you're likely to be wiped out and jetlagged. It will take several hours to get through the airport and to your hotel to drop your bags. Most visitors from the US spend the rest of the day just trying to stay awake until it's time for bed. After 7 full days, the next Sunday morning you'll be packing and heading for the airport. If that's all you have, I'd stay in Paris. On the other hand, if you plan to spend at least 10 nights in France, then I like the idea of going somewhere else for 2-3 days, to a small city or a different region.

I don't know anything about craft brews in France. You may want to take the train to Belgium (more of a beer culture) and see Bruges and Ghent. Or you could take the train to Alsace and spend the days in Strasbourg and Colmar.

I don't know if AirBNB is worthwhile for you. Maybe if you stay in Paris the whole time, but if you want to go out of town for a few days, then you will necessarily be splitting your time in Paris into 2 pieces of a few nights each. One of the major advantages to staying in a hotel is having knowledgeable staff available 24/7 to answer questions, give advice and recommendations, help you make plans and book sights and performances. If you choose Belgium as a secondary destination, you could fly open-jaw out of Brussels, which would allow you a continuous stay in Paris. But if you are flying round-trip Paris, you'll want to be in Paris the night before the flight to make sure you don't miss it.

It's likely that hotel prices in Paris in August are cheaper than in September. I don't think there's much difference in the numbers of visitors to popular tourist sights.