Paris plus ??

For 2-3 days, I would stay close to Paris. Normandy would be perfect, and it is not too hot in August. There is more to it than the D-day beaches; the landscape north of Le Havre is particularly stunning.

The Loire valley also works if you fancy visiting a chateau or three.

Saint-Malo is also an option, with the possibility to visit Mont-Saint-Michel from there, but it can be crowded.

Those are some great suggestions from balso, above. I’ll add a couple more, for your consideration. A pretty short train ride east of Paris is the Champagne region. Everybody’s of drinking age, so if anyone cared to do some sampling/tasting, the wineries and vineyards will be there to savor. August will be a month before harvest time. It’s a dramatic, hilly region. Reims or Epernay would be the principal towns for lodging.

Farther west than St. Malo that balso mentions is the rest of Brittany, a region and Celtic culture that are distinct from the rest of France. Brest is the big city, but we really enjoyed Quimper (called Kemper in Breton). It’s got a medieval center, and hosts an annual Festival, but that’s in late July. Both have airports and train service.

There’s also Pont Aven, where a lot of Impressionist painters got their start and inspiration. And on the far north coast, the Granite Rose coast, there are huge, wild rock formations, with a surprising pink color, fantastic for a walk or hike.

How about Colmar? It’s about 2.5 hours by train.

I agree with visiting Normandy, but not without a car. The area is not at all well served by public transportation. I mean, you can get there fine, but you will be very limited as to what to see unless you are mobile.

Not renting a car changes the dynamic of what is practical to visit. For example, these bases, available by TGV, work for visiting without a car:

1. Bayeux, easily reached by train, plenty of tours to see the invasion beaches. The Tapestry of the Norman Conquest is an essential visit.

2. Tours, specifically Old Tours or Vieux Tours and Place Plumereau - with a variety of minivan tours visiting an array of the local châteaux. Tours depart from the Office de Tourisme.

3. Dijon - for visiting the vineyards of Burgundy

The tourist offices of these cities have a great deal of information about places to stay, available tours, and lists of places to visit.

The high speed train from Paris to Strasbourg is less than two hours. We love the Alsace region, and a quick visit without a car is very doable. You can also train easily from Strasbourg to Colmar, Gengenbach, Germany and other places fairly quickly for a day trip.

Many choices: Strasbourg area; St. Malo for Brittany; Lyon. many others.

With so little time I would stay in Paris and do a couple of day trips -- there are literally a couple of dozen great ones within an hour or two of Paris. Reims for Champagne, Versailles, Chateaux like Vaux le Vicomte or Fontainbleau or Malmaison, Chartres, many small quaint towns like Crecy la Chapelle or Moret sur Loing or Van Gogh's finally town Auvers sur Oise and of course Giverny and then Rouen.

If you decide on another location start with that and finish with Paris. Use that first miserable travel day to get to your furthest destination. Do that area. Return to Paris for your final few days and fly home. Otherwise you waste a great vacation day on logistics of getting back to Paris for the flight home.

For 2 days, I would be tempted to stay in Paris. You could do daytrips to Rouen, Chatilly, Senlis, Chartres......the possibilities are endless. Whatever you choose, have a fabulous trip!