8 Days in June - France, Belgium, Germany - seeking opinions

Posted by Shelley (Maryland US) on 05/10/25 10:14 AM

I want to travel for 8 nights in June and have I've worked up 3 potential journeys, all by train. I will depart from Liege, in Belgium. The last two nights will be in Paris. This time is fixed. I will not rent a car.
Alternative #1 - Lille Arras Amiens Compeigne Paris
Alternative #2 - Lille Arras Amiens Boulogne-sur-mer Paris
Alternative #3 - Cologne Koblenz Trier Paris
Alternative #4 - Strasbourg Colmar Dijon Paris

Your thoughts and experiences visiting these places would be appreciated. My family lives in Liege, so my departure city is also fixed.

In terms of my interests (apologies for not getting into that earlier) history, gastronomy, site seeing , books, antiques, lots of walking, and general immersion in different cultures are the main reasons I travel. Typically I am a slow independent traveler so this jaunt won’t be my usual style. I’ve spent extensive time in Paris, so the time would be spent taking a couple of long walks and visiting one or two of my favorite places there. Other than Paris, I’ve not visited any of the destinations on the list. I just enjoy visiting new places and meeting new people along the way, so a typical Rick Steves follower I guess.

Posted by MarkK

Schwerin

05/10/25 11:09 AM

3812 posts

Posting your interests or don't-wants as criteria would help others to help you.

Posted by Mardee

Duluth 🛶

05/10/25 01:20 PM

9228 posts

Mark is right. It's hard to give advice without knowing your interests. Plus you have 2 options that stay in France the entire time; one option that has you mostly in Germany, and the last is back to France but a different region.

Regardless, with only 8 days, I would probably choose only 2 places at the most, plus Paris. That would give you 4 nights in each place, with time for day trips.

I'm not familiar with the first 2 choices (except Paris), but the last 2 give you lots of options. You could stay in Koblenz, or one of the other smaller towns on the Rhine, like Boppard or Bacharach, and have plenty to see and do in that area. You could even potentially take a day trip to Cologne.

The second one could have you staying in Strasbourg or Colmar and visiting the towns in the Alsace; even taking a day trip over the border to the Black Forest. Lots of options there. I think staying in Strasbourg would be a bit easier without a car, as you can train to multiple area around there. You could even spend several days in Gengenbach in the Black Forest area, as it is charming and is frequently called a "chocolate box" village. The train system there is very good and you can get just about any place by train.

Posted by geovagriffith

05/11/25 11:02 AM

8838 posts

All the options are a lot of travel for only 8 days.
If you still plan to do all in 8 days, I would recommend #3 or #4.

Posted by Shelley OP

Maryland US

05/11/25 11:23 AM

73 posts

It is a lot for only 8 days. This is not my usual travel routine. Going to look at each itinerary and pare it down.

Posted by balso

Paris

05/11/25 11:25 AM

7423 posts

I would eliminate #2. Boulogne sur mer is a significant detour for very little of interest IMO.

1 has a nice flow to it. I wouldn't stay in Arras: you can see it on the way from Lille to Amiens (but look at luggage storage options first).

Posted by Wil

IJzendijke, The Netherlands

05/11/25 12:25 PM

2208 posts

You can take the highspeed train from Liège to Cologne and just takes an hour. From there to Luxembourg with stops in Bonn, Koblenz, Cochem and Trier. If of interest Remagen too for the bridge.

From Luxembourg to Strasbourg takes roughly around 2 hours with a stop in Metz. The latter still on my list to visit, nice place and off the beaten path. From Strasbourg you can explore Alsace with public transport. The charming villages (however very touristic) west of Colmar are to reach with public transport. Others in Alsace need more time to get there, but are as you wish for most off the beaten path like Barr and Bergheim. Besides Obernai there is much more to see and explore, so worth doing some homework.

So you can combine option #3 and 4# without spending too much time on the train. Having time and energy left you can always visit Compiegne or other nearby places of interest from Paris. Think your 8 days will be well spent this way.