Hi,
Headed to Paris with my fiancee for a work trip for a week. We are getting in to CDG on a Saturday (Dec 8) and don't need to be in Paris until Monday night. Any suggestions for somewhere outside of Paris to relax before heading into the city? Preferences: easy to get to (either cheaply by train or easily by car), good food, pretty things to look at and walk around. We are big city folk, so a change of pace from that would be nice as well.
Thanks!
Meaux, Sceaux or Chartres. All meet your criteria.
St. Malo in Brittany. You could visit Mont St. Michel by bus from there and Dinan or Dinard from there if you have time. It is such a beautiful place with lots of great restaurants.
TGV service will take you to Nancy in The Lorraine in ninety minutes . Very nice Mercure Hotel adjoining the train station , A short walk will take you to the Place Stanislas ( very reminiscent of Versailles ) and Nancy has one of the best collections of Art Nouveau design ( buildings and a spectacular museum ) . The Musee de L'Ecole de Nancy is filled with work of Galle , Majorelle , Gruber , Bigot and many others . The TI has a very accurate map showing the locations of all the relevant sites , which makes navigating the city easy . Also The Musee de Beaux Arts on place Stanislas , is well worth a visit . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/École_de_Nancy , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_Stanislas
After flying in to CDG I would probably stick with the easiest to get to by direct train (with no changes). Of the suggestions above, Reims would be my choice. It's still a large city but you'd likely only be visiting the old center and, as stated above, the cathedral is historic and well worth visiting, along with the champagne houses if that's of interest. Also,since you'll be there in December, there will be a fun Christmas market in the plaza in front of the cathedral. My second choice would be Nancy, but it requires a longer train ride and a change of trains in Meuse. I also think Chartres would be wonderful but it requires either train and metro changes in Paris, or bus from CDG to train station in Paris - unless there's a direct bus or train that I'm not aware of.
All of my comments are dependent on whether or not you want to rent a car of use public transportation. With a car my first choice would be Chartres, then Nancy, Strasbourg, or Colmar - Chartres or Colmar for the smaller city feel. With a car I might also consider Amboise, Chinon, or other Loire valley towns and visit some chateaux.
Nancy , There is direct TGV service between Paris and Nancy ( train does stop at Meuse on the way ) I took this about two weeks ago , no changes - Nancy to Est .
Thanks for the suggestions!
Agree on the quick couple days in Brittany - Dinan is lovely!
Steven, yes there is direct service from Paris Est to Nancy, but not from CDG. I based my response on the assumption that the OP was talking about going directly from the airport without going in to Paris.
Sorry Nancy , I hadn't considered that , Steve
I vote for Strausbourg/Colmar. At that time of the year the Christmas markets will be up, and that area has some of the best markets in Europe. We spent a few nights in Tiny but charming Colmar last Christmas. Took a train to Strasbourg for a day and then later on to Paris. It was fantastic. With the German influence in the area it felt like a very interesting mix of cultures.
If it's Christmas you're after, I think December 8 is when Lyon lights up for Christmas. I haven't been, but it was on my radar. A quick Google reveals that the Festival of Lights runs December 6-9.
I suggest Meaux, Amiens, Fontainebleau, all of which easily reached by train, Amiens from Gare du Nord, Meaux from Est, and Fontainebleau from Gare de Lyon.
