Hello! I am traveling to France after Christmas with my kids (7, 5, 3) and parents. I'd like to spend a few nights in a smaller town before heading to Paris. Ideally, we'd take a train from CDG to the town in under two hours and stay in an area where a car is not necessary. Last year, we flew into Milan and spend the first part of our trip in Parma and it was perfect, so I'm hoping to find the French version! Merci!
Posted by
Chicago
8063 posts
There is a nice little medieval town near the airport -- Senlis -- but it is not a good base without a car. You would probably have to take a cab to get there and then a bus and train into Paris. (There is no train station but you can buy a ticket from Senlis to Paris via Chantilly that includes the bus leg.). While in Senlis you could bus to Chantilly and visit the chateau which is worth a day and has fun grounds for the kids).
Anything else is far from Paris.
Posted by
SoCal
333 posts
The TGV from the rail station at CDG will get you to Reims (informal "capital" of the Champagne region) in about two hours. Population of Reims is a little under 200,000. You can catch a tram from the TGV station (Gare) to the center of town.
Posted by
Chicago
8063 posts
I love Reims but I can't imagine a worse city to visit with small kids. I saw nothing there that would be interesting and it is not a quaint picturesque town either. Lille might work. Maybe Versailles. The grounds of the chateau are good places to run and play and their are boats for rent on the canal -- the grounds are free -- access to the chateau of course requires tickets and you might not want to do that with kids. The town is nice.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
Totally agree with janet. I actually really dislike Reims, zero charm imo.
CDG is 45 min to 1 hr from Paris, so my suggestion (like janet) is to go from CDG across Paris to the west. I thought of Versailles, which is a good idea, but i like St Germain-en-Laye even more. It’s a very nice, charming town w a chateau and a park. Both St Germain-en-Laye and Versailles are easy to get to on the RER from CDG. You wouldn’t need a car in St Germain-en-Laye, it’s very walkable with lots of fun stores and a good 2x wk outdoor market. It also has the house and estate of Alexandre Dumas, the author of The Three Musketeers which is open to the public.
Posted by
Chicago
8063 posts
of Maybe Sceaux -- the park is quite lovely and it seems like a nice town -- there is a chateau in the park. I don't think the cascades run anymore.
Anyway here are snapshots of Senlis and Sceaux
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/sceaux-off-the-tourist-track/
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/moyen-age-visit-to-senlis/
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
Yes, Sceaux is also a good choice. The chateau there is wonderful to tour.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10201 posts
I'm not sure Seaux would be my choice for a few nights. It's a close-in suburb, less than 4 miles from Paris. My husband went to high school there, and we did many walks around the chateau grounds. It's a tiny chateau, by the way, more of a big house. However, Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Versailles are good ideas.
If you want to go further from Paris, you can find a few choices under two hours if you browse the trains and see where they go from CDG train station at the airport. For example, Lille, a small city, is an hour by train. Tours in the Loire Valley, served by Saint Pierre-des-Corps is two hours. Tours and Lille are less expensive than the Paris region. Do be prepared for heavy gray skies at that time of year, even in the Loire Valley.
Posted by
SoCal
333 posts
I would concur with the Versailles idea. Easy back and forth to Paris on the RER.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
St Germain-en-Laye is just as easy to get to on the RER from CDG as Versailles is. And there are no tourists there. I like Versailles but St Germain-en-Laye is much more pedestrian friendly, and lots more fun stores.