My husband, myself, and our two teens are spending some time in Paris. Before heading to London, we have 2 nights/ a full day that we would love to travel somewhere either within France or close by. We just want to experience the beauty of that part of the world Any suggestions? We have considered Switzerland, Brugge, Southern France, the Alps...Just don't know what we can pull off in that short of time!
(my previous thread was accidentally deleted!)
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23325 posts
Your suggestions would put you on a train for many hours -- is that what you want? For a short day trip something like Chartres would be possible. Or head to LeHavre/Honfleu, spend the extra day at the D-Day beaches and then the boat to Portsmouth and on to London. Obviously you could do Bruges and then the Europa Star via Brussels to London. Bruges is a long trip from Paris.
Posted by
New York, NY
1585 posts
Hey Brittney,
You can take a quick trip to Rouen from Paris, spend 2 nights there, then from Rouen take a day trip to visit Le Havre then head off to London. It's best to stay within France. Another option is to visit the Loire Valley and stay in the town of Amboise. From there, you can explore the castles in that region.
Posted by
Washington DC
27207 posts
Is your transportation to London already set up? Eurostar? Flight?
Posted by
Chicago
8095 posts
There are literally dozens of lovely places to visit as day trips from Paris where you could spend a couple of days. Bayeux would be a good two night trip and you could do a landing beach tour on the full day and also see the Tapestry.
closer to Paris. Auvers sur Oise, Senlis, Chartres, Rouen, Reims --- Or you could stay in Paris and do a couple of day trips.
Posted by
OP
17 posts
Thank you for replies so far!! No transportation to London is set. Only that we need to be there by the Friday of that week and we were planning to leave Paris on that Wednesday afternoon to go somewhere else. Originally, we picked Geneva but have since decided that wasn’t the best idea.
Posted by
New York, NY
1585 posts
Lausanne Switzerland is also an ideal getaway from Paris for a few days. You can visit Bern from there too.
Posted by
3256 posts
I would pick Provence. It's an easy train ride from Paris to Avignon - you can take a small-group day tour of the highlights of Provence - which is like being in a Williams-Sonoma catalog with Roman ruins - and head back to Paris after your second night.
Posted by
SF Bay Area
693 posts
Giverny is another option.
Posted by
Paris
9675 posts
What time of year is your trip?
And, for best prices, you should buy your Eurostar tickets as early as possible.
Posted by
OP
17 posts
We are going on June.
Thanks for the responses!
Posted by
Pacific NW
203 posts
I would second the idea of Bayeux and the D-Day beaches. That's not a ton of time and you don't want to waste it zig-zagging around. You want to get the most bang for your buck, time-wise. If the teens would be into chateaux, the Loire Valley would be another easy stop - but that might not be the most popular choice for teens.
Another option could be to take the Eurostar from Paris to Amsterdam (3.5 hours) and then again from Amsterdam to London (2.5 hours).
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23325 posts
Personally I would move in the direction of London just to reduce you connect time. Many of the above suggestions are taking you in the opposite direction. If your London travel is not set and you move away from the Eurostar corridor, you best choice probably would be one of the discount airlines. We have used easyJet. I personally think it is a notch or two better than Ryan air. Those reservations should be made sooner rather than later.