Where can I add in France after Paris?

Hello - what time of year is your trip ?

It will be in mid June :)

It's a short train ride to Chartres with its beautiful cathedral and then on to the Loire Valley, maybe basing in Amboise. Also, you might consider the Alsace region, namely Colmar or Strasbourg. You should be able to find small van tours to go out to the other small, beautiful Alsatian villages and maybe wine tasting. Normandy, namely Bayeux, is approximately two hours by train from Paris and there you should be able to book (ahead of time) a van tour with guide out to the beaches and other WWII sites. We have done all of these and think they will give you a broader appreciation of France once you have seen Paris. Have a wonderful trip!

Nice is a nice stop on the way to Venice. Last I knew, easily done by train…but this was way before Covid.

Mid-June is actually the best time of the year for lavender fields, but it will not be easy to go to Venice afterwards!
Instead, Burgundy makes a lot of sense. You could spend 3-4 nights in Beaune or Dijon to visit these towns and their surroundings, including vineyards. It will certainly be more relaxing than Paris. Dijon-Venice is a bit time-consuming, though.

Or if you are OK with visiting another city, then Lyon is perfect for 4 nights. There is a lot of history there (all the way back to the Romans), good food, and a very different feel from Paris. Different cityscape too, as it is quite hilly! And Lyon-Venice is an easy journey, either by train or a flight.

Another suggestion, not in France, is the area around Montreux, Switzerland. It perfectly breaks the journey between Paris and Venice, and there is a good mix of history (Chillon castle, Vevey old town) and scenery (lake Geneva, Lavaux vineyards...).

Hi, I love Paris and also really like other places in France!

Normandy is perfect if you like WWII history. I’ll attach my trip report to give you additional ideas. In that trip, I went to Chartres, the Loire Valley, Nice & the Riviera and eastern France.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/our-combined-solo-couple-vacation-in-france-2019

Also, the light/music shows at night during the summer I mentioned in the trip report on some of the cathedrals in France are fantastic!

https://frenchmoments.eu/top-5-light-shows-in-france-to-see-in-summer/

We were just in Paris for 17 days, grew up there and visit often, we didn’t want to be away from Paris for too long this trip so we took an early 2 hr train ride to St Pierre-des-Corps in the Loire Valley (it’s very close to Amboise), they have rental car agencies right outside the station which makes it so easy, and spent two full days in the Loire Valley. We returned to Paris the evening of our 2nd day. Three days in the Loire is good too. We’ve been there many times and never tire of it. We love other areas of France as well, especially Normandy, so you can’t go wrong wherever you choose.

There’s just so much to do and see in Paris, and so many wonderful day trips from Paris, that you could spend a month there and not see or do everything. For instance, if you don’t leave Paris, you can do day trips to lovely villages out in the countryside for a different experience. Whatever you decide, I hope you have a wonderful time!

If you are traveling to Venice by train, it probably makes sense to target destinations along high-speed train routes that will allow you to break up your travel time into manageable chunks. For example, Paris > Lyon > Milan > Venice.

To see more of the country, definitely consider day trips, such as:
Annecy as a day trip from Lyon.
From Paris: Rouen, Chartres, Reims....
If you are into chateaus, there is Fontainebleau, Vaux le Vicomte, Chantilly, Malmaison...
If you are into gothic architecture there is Saint-Denis

It really depends on your interests!
Consider looking through a Rick Steves France book to get an overview of each place and see what appeals to you.
He lists the connection / travel times between places, which can be helpful when planning your time and route.

From Paris we took a train to Epernay, the "capitol of champagne", and toured Moët & Chandon. Of course we had a glass of M & C and took a photo near the statue of Dom Pérignon. Stroll down Avenue de Champagne, with its mansions and homes occupied by famous Champagne Houses. Have a fantastic dinner with very reasonably priced champagne in one of many excellent restaurants there. The fast train is @ 1 hour and ten minutes.

The most convenient place would be Nice since there’s a direct train from Paris Gare de Lyon (6h). I would then fly nonstop from Nice to Venice. Easyjet shows a flight for $56. Pack light and do laundry to avoid paying baggage fees.

"...so you can't go wrong wherever you choose," How true !

" ...Paris is that gem that makes me want to see France." Totally correct on Paris. C'est un endroit.

You have a good number of super places recommended here. It's a matter of setting priorities relative to time, interest, distance and means. That's the hard part.

My first two times to France included Paris (obviously) but it would take me another 4 years to get back to Europe, which again naturally included France with Paris, in particular. Going to France without Paris was unthinkable.

If you're deep into the history, I highly recommend Versailles and Fontainebleau, both of which are logistically doable given your time frame. There is also a Napoleon Museum in the town of Fontainebleau , ca. 35 mins walk from the Chateau.

Susan, please give us more details about day trips from Paris to villages. Thanks.

We spent 3 days in Paris, then headed out to Normandy. Rouen, Bayeaux, St. Lo. I never thought much about the WWII Normandy sights until I was standing amongst all those white headstones of young men who fought and died on D Day. It was beautiful and moving. I recommend doing some of the larger cities. Don't miss the cemetery and Omaha Beach.