Paris side trip suggestions

Day trips that’d i’d recommend for you are Vaux-le-Vicomte (an amazing castle with interesting history) and Giverny for Monet’s house and garden. I love Versailles, particularly the Petit Trianon where Marie Antoinette lived, and Chartres is nice. I’m not a fan of Reims, nothing to see really (except the cathedral) and it has no charm, imo.

Don’t miss a leisurely walk through the Luxembourg Garden in Paris, and the Nissim-de-Camondo house/museum.

Rick Steve’s Paris guidebook would be a good thing to have, Rick lists many day trips with good directions for getting there.

Reims is an easy day trip. Great cathedral and The Museum of The Surrender and two highlights.

Colmar is a great place to spend a couple of nights. Wonderful food, architechture, and old town charm.

To me, Colmar is much easier to get to than Mont Saint-Michel. I also prefer it but I'm not a big MSM fan. I've been twice, stayed overnight once. To me it looks cooler from afar. On the other hand, I spent 3 nights in Colmar in April 2022 and it was awesome. I meant to spend on of my 2 full days going to Strasbourg but I liked Colmar so much I just stayed there.

If you take 2 nights out of your 7 for your side trip, plus one day for Versailles, I'd probably not do another day trip during your Paris time. The 2 night stay will take most of 3 days so at most you'd have the afternoon of day 3 back in Paris after you return to your hotel. I'd put this in the middle of your stay so you can be back in Paris before your Eurostar to London.

So:

May 2: Arrive Paris

3/4: Overnight Paris

5/6: Overnight Colmar?

7/8: Train back from Colmar on the 7th, so 1/2 day available for sightseeing. Overnight back in Paris

9: Depart for London (I think that is what you mean?)

What a fun time!

You have eight nights total on the ground, and two of those are in London, leaving six for France, correct? You could certainly spend them all in Paris, with a side trip to Versailles and/or Chartres and/or Reims. I'd suggest just one of those three, at most. Versailles would be easiest.

I haven't been to Alsace, but Nancy is pretty far from the German border. Colmar is closer, but too far from Paris for a day trip. Colmar and nearby places have a "German flavor" since that region has been part of both countries in the last century or so, but the border itself wouldn't be interesting at all -- like crossing a US state line except for the language difference. Mont-St-Michel is also too far for a day trip. None of these cities outside Paris helps you get to London, the fastest way to London is back through Paris.

I think you're trying to cover much too much ground in too little time, and you'll regret the time you spend on trains, including waiting in stations, if you try for those outlying destinations. You're not "big city fans" but you want to "see the things." If you mean the things in Paris, that's where you'll find them.

Edit -- Just reading Pam's post -- if "leaving from London May 9" means "arriving in London May 9," then you have more time for side trips from Paris. Is that what you meant, Christi?

So, it sounds like you plan to get to London on May 7. Personally I would just stay in Paris those 5 nights, see all things Parisian and do the day trip to Versailles, and another day trip to Chartres or Reims if you want to - moving takes time. But to know for sure, you should make a list of the things you want to see in Paris, Nancy and Colmar, and maybe use the site Rome to Rio to look at all of your travel times to make sure that are making your best decision. I see Nancy as 1.5 hours train each way and Colmar as about 2.5 hours each way. Then I don't know how you are getting to London - Eurostar? Just make sure all of the travel time is worth it to you all.

"You have eight nights total on the ground, and two of those are in London, leaving six for France, correct?"

Oh!!!! I didn't realize that...I thought they were leaving FOR London on the 9th but I see she says they are leaving FROM London on the 9th.

Yikes, if that is the case, no to a 2 night stay out of Paris and then just the day trip to Versailles if that is important to YOU, not because you've read about it in the guide book, lol!!

I agree with Dick, in my humble opinion you don’t have time to do overnight trips from Paris. You don’t have what i consider much time in Paris to begin with. Paris isn’t like other cities, it’s wonderful for walking, exploring, sitting at cafés, walking along the river, the Louvre, the Orsay… just so many very fun things to see and do. I’d rather do a place well, than rush through just so i can see somewhere else, but we’re all different.

Hotel du Jeu de Paume on Ile St Louis is excellent and one of my favorite neighborhoods to stay in. Amazing views and you cannot be more central. So easy to walk from there to so many places you’ll want to see.

The other 3 hotels on Ile St Louis are great, Hotel de Lutèce, Hotel St Louis en l’Isle (my favorite) and Hotel des Deux Iles.

I updated my original post for clarification and am now thinking after all the excellent advice that maybe we should take train to Colmar upon arrival, depending on timing of flights and train. Eats up hours before hotel check in and we could nap on train. Stay in Colmar or Strasbourg for 2-3 nights, also thinking of a Reims/champagne tasting day on way back to Paris for 2 nights before train to London.

Your new plan sounds very good. There is a lot to be said for traveling to the fartherest point and working your way back. No suggestions for changes to the new plan.

There are several fast trains daily from CDG Airport to Strasbourg, without going into Paris. You change at Strasbourg for a short train ride to Colmar. The whole thing takes 3-3.5 hours, about the same as taking the train from Paris Gare de l'Est, but without having to spend time and energy getting into Paris. Either way, you need to allow ample time for possible delays in your flight arrival, plus immigration, plus baggage claim if you have checked bags. I'd say three hours, though others might have a better sense of that.

My feedback for your consideration: You have just 6 full days on your trip: May 3,4,5,6,7 and 8. You are in London on May 8, and traveling to London on the 7th. So, that leaves May 3, 4, 5 and 6 as your ONLY full days in France. I do not know when you land in Paris, but even if that is in the morning (local time), by the time you get into the city and your lodgings you will have only the afternoon of May 2 and you will likely head to bed early. So, stay in Paris. Get a 2-day or 4-day Museum pass. Study up on how to avoid the lines. And wander the neighborhoods, the streets, the restaurants, cafes and pastry shops. Go to the smaller museums and not just the large ones. Enjoy the parks, street vendors, bookstores and galleries. Go to a church and perhaps hear the organ being played. Maybe go to a club and listen to some jazz.

On our first trip to Paris (2010), which was for one week (7 nights), we never even made it to Versailles or Giverny. We stayed in a one bedroom apartment in the Marais district. We went to the Pompidou Center, Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Chapelle, the Orangerie, the Musee d'Orsay, the Louvre, the Luxembourg Gardens, and neighborhods: Montmartre and Montparnasse. We went to some smaller museums, Carnavalet, and the Museum of the Art and History of Judaism. We went to the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, the Pantheon, the Arch of Triumph and the Galeries Lafayette. We walked more neighborhoods: the Marais, Rue Cler, the Champs Elysees at night, and the Left Bank.

We did not make it to the Rodin Museum, the covered passageways of Paris, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, the Petite Palais, the Grand Palais, the Picasso Museum, the Opera House, the Bois du Boulogne, Maison Balzac, or Musee Marmottan-Monet (or Giverney or Versailles, for that matter) ... five of which we visited on our more recent trip to France this past spring (4 weeks, with a 4-day weekend in Paris at the end of that time.)

So, I suggest you simply settle into Paris and enjoy yourselves there, without additional travel or hotel changes.

(FINAL NOTE: This past spring, we found the crowds at Versailles and Giverny to be both daunting and oppressive. We enjoyed smaller sights while we were in Paris.)

With only 4 full days, as fred showed, how is it even possible to do: Paris, Versailles, Reims, and Colmar/Strasbourg?

Having been to Paris 4 times and being a Francophile, I agree with Fred and Dick. What you originally planned sounds a bit exhausting. Maybe you're young and have short vacations. What you might want to consider is, what you really want to see in Paris, and the point of going to the border of Germany. If you want to see the basics in Paris, the Eiffel Tower will take you at 2-3 hours if you time it right and you head to the top. The Louvre will take you 4 hours or more. The Orsay about the same. That's a day and a half for 3 sites, and that's being conservative and rushing through. A boat on the Seine will take you 1-2 hours. With that said, despite the ease of using the metro, you'll have travel time to the sites. So, that's at least a day and a half or more. I love that you're excited about seeing Paris and London, and would love to see the countryside, yet taking a step back to re-evaluate like you have to some degree is a good idea. What's most important about this trip?

My favorite half day trip from Paris is to Giverny to see where Claude Monet lived and painted his famous water lilies. Then of course you must go to the small Musee de l'Orangerie in Paris to see the actual paintings. One painting wraps around the floor of the museum. It’s located next to the Louvre in a beautiful park.

Spend the whole time in Paris which barely scratches the surface. The trip to Colmar or Nancy would chew up a lot of time on logistics for nothing much. There are charming villages near Paris which you can do as a day trip and in fact there are a couple of dozen good day trips from Paris to chateaux, small towns and villages, and other small cities like Reims or Rouen or Versailles.

Updating as we returned last week and had a great time. I appreciate the advice given! We are not museum people and treated this as a "big picture" trip, nodding and photos at the sites, loads of cafe sitting and loved (almost) everything we did.
Day 1-arrival to CDG, train to Colmar via Strasbourg. Walked from train station to Hotel le Marechal, which we loved. Two quirky rooms with lovely nooks and crannies. Near little Venice and covered market.
Day 2-walking around Colmar, eating and shopping. Wine tasting at Maison Jund was perfection. Such a charming town.
Day 3-5; walked to train station, train to Paris via Strasbourg. Cab to Hotel du Jeu de Paume where we rented the street side apartment. Loved the location and having a living room and kitchen to hang out, bakery and markets nearby. We did the bateaux bus and lots more walking and shopping and eating. Loved Champs Elysees and Montmartre-going up to the dome was fantastic.
Day 6-We did the purse making workshop at Minime Paris, lots of fun but pricey. Cab to train station and off on the Eurostar to London (my d stayed behind for Taylor Swift!). Tube from St Pancras to South Kensington where we stayed in 3 single rooms at Number Sixteen, super charming and fun hotel. Walked to Kensington Gardens and castle after yummy quick dinner at Nandos.
Day 7-off after breakfast for a walk to Harrods and Covent Garden with stop at Big Ben for photo op; back to hotel for afternoon tea then nap and out for pub dinner.
Day 8-left my niece to continue her London fun and my sister and I headed back to US to be with family for a sad anniversary.
Quick but amazing trip. Thanks again for all your help.

The ultimate girls trip! Sounds like you had a wonderful time.