Planning 12 full nights in France but need advice on day trips outside Paris

You may want to check out the train travel times to some of your day trip cities. You may find there are some long travel times.

peterspin, welcome to this newsboard with your very first post. You can get a large number of answers on either side of your questions. I'm a devoted and loyal native of NYC, but I don't think all the best restaurants in the world are there! It's helpful to know the month of the year when giving travel advice.

It's hard to accept the term "well-travelled" if you are planning a Paris-day-out in Amboise, and separate ones in Aix and MSM. Besides the distance, local transportation is time-consuming and could be expensive. If you love to meander and explore, you don't want to have a four-hour touring limit everywhere you go. Do you imagine hiring cars and drivers, or what? Do you really want to get back to Paris at 10PM and leave for another daytrip at 7 AM? Have you gone over this idea with your un-travelled friend?

So we can learn your "travel style", can you please sketch out the Strasbourg/Colmar trip, and the Loire trip for us? Not every detail, just how you got there, got around, and how long you stayed.

I agree with Threadware - some of your choices for day trips would be too far for me to consider. Aix is 4 hours away. Nimes is 4.5 hours. Arles is 4 hours.

Amboise you could probably do as it's under 2 hours. Auvers-sur-Oise and Meaux are doable.

I'm not a huge fan of MSM. It is crowded and the main street is tacky-touristy. I've both visited during the day and stayed overnight. I guess it depends on when you are traveling for this one. It's harder to get to than some of your choices.

You didn't mention Bordeaux which people often go to for wine but for myself I enjoyed the museums, the Cathedral (where Alienor d'Aquitaine married although there is only one nave wall from that time frame left), the waterfront promenade. It's 2hours by TGV.

It looks as though from your list of visits that history is a definite consideration of places to be visited and past visits, eg, Meaux, Versailles, Fontainebleau, Reims, Rouen, Chambord,

If so, then I would heartily suggest Meaux because of the extensive WW1 museum. I've been there, allow yourself at least 2 hours to view and read everything carefully.

The town itself is interesting from what I could see from the bus to the museum, catch that opposite of the train station. In the same direction I would suggest also Chateau-Thierry. Both towns here were caught up in horrors of the fighting, Meaux right from the outset in 1914.

part 2 here:

How about another Napoleon site since you've been to 2 already....Rouen and Fontainebleau ? If so, then I suggest Montereau on the same line as Fontainebleau and also Brienne, east of Troyes, itself a very nice and picturesque and historical town. The architecture attests to that in the centre ville.

Take the train from Paris Est to Troyes, the bus depot at the train station has a bus going to Brienne....all relatively new construction. You'll see that.

peterspin,
Mont St Michel...yes, overnight there due to length of time to go and come back. Bordeaux...fast and frequent TGV (just over 2 hours from Gare Montparnasse), and cathedral, museum are good suggestions. I would still do an overnight, but one long day could work for you. Nimes, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Lyon...all need more than a half day, and that is all you will have after traveling, so another overnight.
I wish you luck in seeing something new to you. We have been travel partner/tour guides for relatives also, and sometimes the burden is a bit much. Even though I willingly visit the Rodin Mueum each time I am in Paris, I do know that expectations must be tempered, and various must-sees or must-dos have to be taken into account, along with expenditures, health, and (sometimes) lack of adaptability from people. (Expecting to eat at the times and frequencies one does at home, i.e., wanting their salad before dinner instead of after, as in France). It sounds like this time you will have a willing and adaptable travel companion. And I am sure you will enjoy all your "new" adventures.
Just last year I finally got to the Cluny Museum and St. Sulpice church to hear the organ. It took me five visits to Paris, but I did it!

Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond to my post. I started this forum because I haven't had time to research these cities and plan out this trip, so I thought it best to throw out a net to see what I learn in advance before digging deeper. I'm leaving May 19 and returning June 1st, 2024.

There are many variables involved in planning a successful trip. What one person might have on their bucket list may be a snooze-fest for another. We are all individuals with varying preferences. I expressed certain points here so I didn't receive unwanted suggestions. You can be a seasoned traveler but still not have knowledge about certain places. That's the point of posting on this forum, which some have missed. One poster felt Mont St. Michel was not a personal favorite and is very touristy. I respect that opinion, but I've read Mont St. Michel is to France what the Pyramids are to Egypt. That's a dramatic statement, and practically everything I've read describes it as magical and not to be missed. I can't make a personal judgement until I've visited. I consider Venice very, very touristy (mostly, in fact) but I still highly recommend visiting at least once.

The very little research I started said quite a few of these trips can be a one-day excursion from Paris. Since I don't want to barrel through these cities on a marathon run, I reached out to those who may have experienced it for advice. I stated if there are many "must-sees" in the cities I've listed which require more than one full day I would rearrange my itinerary to make Paris all consecutive days then travel out of Paris and stay two days in each city. At the time of my post, I was planning on excursions out of Paris every other day (or every two days). If the distance is farther or the "must sees" can't be accomplished, then I'd stay two days. For example, Auvers-Sur-Oise is a 35 minute direct train trip on weekends from Gare du Nord, so totally doable on a Sunday, perhaps.

Travel is very individual. People LOVE Las Vegas. While there certainly are plenty of things to do there, if someone asked my opinion I'd say the following: people love Las Vegas. There are wonderful shows, fine dining and gambling. The Grand Canyon and Lake Mead are excursions you can take if interested, so there's plenty to do. I myself don't gamble, don't like scorching hot weather (although it's dry), don't like crowds or screaming people getting drunk celebrating bachelor/bachelorette bashes. This was MY experience, so one and done. This is why I generally seek advice from someone like-minded rather than using a forum like this. When people ask me about all the many places I've visited, I ask several questions before giving an answer: what are their interests, activity level, ideal climate, and many other factors. Even if something doesn't appeal to me I can be objective if I feel it will pique THEIR interest.

Thank you, Fred. I will definitely consider your recommendations and the reasons for them.

I will begin researching all the particulars on each place of interest and decide what cities to visit and what plan works best. I'm grateful to all who answered, and still welcome additional responses.

Thanks again.

Some of these places are a bit tricky without a car or guide/driver, but it can be done. Personally, I would abandon the idea of day trips and pick up and move at each stop. Otherwise, I think you will end up burning a ton of time doubling back. How many nights in Paris? Assuming you are already locked into a round trip flight, and looking at your two must see destinations, I would map something out like the following:

4 nights in Paris
TGV to Rennes (plus a bus ride) to stay the night at MSM
1 night at MSM.
Back to Rennes in the morning, train to Amboise
2 nights in Amboise/Loire
Train/TGV to Paris, then TGV to Avignon (full travel day)
4 Nights in Provence
TGV back to Paris
1 night in Paris
Fly home

Provence is spread out with a ton to absorb. Part of the charm is the ambience (Aix for example). If you just want to see a different city or attraction, I advise to save the region for another trip. I think it will be very difficult to have a satisfying partial day there. In addition to what you have listed, other highlights include Pont du Gard, Les Baux, Orange, Avignon. All are worthy of a stop. A car will really help here. If that is a hard no, then consider hiring a guide with transportation.

Paris and Provence are long enough stays for an apartment. Hotels for the other stops.

peterspin,
PNWpatrick has laid out what seems to me to be a well-organized and practical itinerary. I hope you are able to set one up that works for you and your friend.
Bonne chance!

Patrick,
This is the perfect response. In fact, it's what I'm thinking as I'm going over it in my head. My friend is used to Disney and beach vacations, so when I asked pointed questions and discussed things one must see for the first time, his response was, "Whatever you think is fine with me". What do you do with that? Therefore, less time in Paris is great for me since I've done it all in the span of 8 visits. He'll be moving at a slower pace so I have to take that into account also. I think 4 nights in Paris is plenty and then we'll be on the move with overnight stays in the places I decide. I'll probably book all hotels instead since the stays will be short. I haven't booked flights, accommodations or admissions at all yet, as the idea for this trip only happened when I first posted days ago. Normally I wouldn't plan a trip this close to departure, but it is what it is. I'm open to suggestions about transportation and have relationships with drivers in other countries (especially Italy) but not in France. I have no objection to TGV which is more economical and in some instances, faster.
Thanks again.

Thanks, Judy. I agree

@ peterspin.....You're welcome. "travel is very individual" How utterly true.

Re: doing a day day trip, say Sunday from Gare du Nord with a one hour radius. You have numerous places for that 60-75 min duration....Amiens, Beuvais, Arras, (TGV), Albert/Somme, Compiegne, The towns in Nord Pas-de-Calais that were engulfed in the fighting in 1940 and 1918...St Pol, Frevent, Doullens, ...all depend how much history in terms of battlefield you want to see as respects to the French, German, British sites, memorials, cemeteries, etc.

Arrange with the Tourist Office to have a taxi drive out to a particular site. I did that in Albert/Somme, got out to Fricourt that way.

Since you have some Provence places listed (Nimes , Arles, Aix-en-Provence), if you are motorised and want to see something, ie historical, the museum on the liberation of Provence, located in Toulon, maybe a bit out of the way regarding your plans.

The museum is called , "Memorial du Debarquement et la Liberation en Provence." I saw it once in 2001.

Thanks again, Patrick. There's just so much ground to cover in France particularly as it is my favorite and, as usual, I'm trying to cram a month into 12 days. Ugh. Your suggestions have been extremely helpful. You definitely know France. I got dual citizenship with the hope of living there in the future.

Judy, I appreciate that you understand how much time one loses as a guide. As much as I love seeing things that are worthy multiple times, it means missing other sites outside Paris I haven't seen. However, the reward is seeing it again for the first time through the eyes of the people you love. That has its value too. I arranged an 18-day trip to Italy for my friends starting in the north and flying open-jaw (arriving in the north and leaving in the south so as not to waste time backtracking) and it was incredible. I was their guide and travel companion, and it went off without a single misstep. We had the time of our lives, but it requires a lot of strategic planning to get to that level. So I can truly relate to the organ story at St. Sulpice. While they toured the Colosseum, I finally saw Michelangelo's St. Peter in Chains after multiple visits to Rome.

You can look into connecting flights from Marseille which may or may not be an improvement.

We were very pleased with our guide from Imagine Tours, also referenced is the RS guidebook.

https://imagine-tours.net/welcome/