No longer want to stay in Paris, now what?

Bayeux is lovely, so I assume you are looking for other places in addition, not instead.

Consider Dinan: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/brittanys-dinan

Also Honfleur: http://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/discover/normandy-must-sees/the-10-top-normandy-must-sees/honfleur-86-2.html

Why not Bayeux? If Normandy interests you and you're willing to drive, it would be a good base for a rewarding week. You could spend one night on Mont-St-Michel if you can break up your hotel stay, or maybe wander into Brittany for a couple of days.

Closer to Belgium would be Champagne and/or Alsace. If you'll be on a driving trip they could be more convenient. Or Burgundy, further south. Or the Loire, but that's a longer trip to Belgium.

Are you doing this month by car, without car, or combining car and rail? How you can or want to get around bears on your choices for this week.

Thank you both for your reply. I will not be traveling by car, only strictly by train or bus. All of those options are interesting. However, is there a town or city close to Paris that you would recommend? Then I will not limit my options in Paris, as visiting the louvre and Cathedral would still be on the table. Would Chartres be a good option to have the best of both worlds?

Beaune. Drink much wine. Eat many calories.

Strasbourg.

is there a town or city close to Paris that you would recommend?

What's your definition of "close to Paris"? With the train system, you could be lots of places within just a few hours...

I just got back the end of the first week in June from a solo trip just shy of seven weeks

Close to Paris? In which direction direction? I recommend Soissons, Amiens, Fontainebleau, gets you close to Barbizon. It all depends what you are after. I have been to, visited several towns "close" to Paris...Amiens, Fontainebleau, Cambrai, Arras, Beauvais, Reims, Chateau-Thierry, Meaux, Albert/Somme, Compiegne...I like them all, all were interesting, some more than others, but still historically, culturally worth it.

My definition of close would be less than 2 hours by train preferable. Would staying in Chartres, and touring the surrounding area be a good idea? And Fred, out of all those cities, which would you prefer that meets the criteria of less than 2 hours, as a base camp?

Hi,

To fit into the 2 hr radius from Paris and from the list, I would pick Amiens, unless you want even a smaller city. Keep in mind that the time radius is relative depending if you are going by car or regional train or TGV, eg, if you are gong from Paris to Arras, it'll take 2hrs or close to it. By TGV from Paris Nord, the journey takes 40 mins, (pricey ticket too).

Amiens is a bit over one hour from Paris Nord by regional train.

I loved Chartres! Easy train from Paris and lots to do!

Thank you all for your time and reply’s, you guys make planning easy. I only want to see the louve in Paris, and some chateaus, would Chartres or Amiens be better for a 7 day base camp?

Do remember that July is Tour de France Month and to expect huge crowds and problems getting around if your path crosses Le Tour Route.

https://www.letour.fr/en/overall-route

(and if you do have an interest in global sport, it could be fun to be near Roubaix on July 15 for one of those infamous cobblestone days)

Normandy is wonderful. Bayeux has the amazing Bayeux Tapestry and there is a lot of WWII history with the Normandy beaches and the American Cemetery.

Also, Mount St. Michel is on the border of Normandy and Brittany. Several other places have been mentioned by others.

In Belgium, don't miss Bruges.

Without a car your sightseeing will be constrained by train and bus schedules, and you'll have more flexibility in a larger city vs. a small town. Consider Dijon as a base to explore Burgundy. Or Lyon (much bigger) as a destination with some side trips. Chartres might work. Or maybe Tours with van tours to Loire chateaux and possible buses to some.

You'll need to look at train and bus schedules to research this choice. Here's a good train schedule site, I don't know about buses.

I
With 7 days you could go to Belgium and use one place as a base to visit Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp. Stay in one. Visit them all.

I will be spending the next 5 days in Ghent, so I plan on seeing all the surround towns then. I have decided to go from CDG airport to Chartres for 4 nights, then up to Amiens for the remaining. This will allow me to see more of France, (as Paris is not France, and France is not Paris), and the Louvre if I am up to it.

"...as Paris is not France and France is not Paris." Very true from a historical perspective with much supporting evidence.

LOL;
"...as Paris is not France and France is not Paris." does this mean "as NYC is not US and US is not NYC...
Being originally a Midwesterner I would agree with the above, just on principles.

I really enjoyed Amiens, even though we were only there for a lunch stopover. It's a beautiful small city with a lovely cathedreal. I liked it way more than Reims. However 5 days might be a bit much - I think exploring the area around it would best be done by car.

My first trip to France was to Paris and loved the city, but not everyone was that friendly. This was in 1983 and I was warned by a French friend that some in Paris may not be friendly. He wasn't from Paris and he said the Parisian waiters treated him the same as Americans. He said that France had a large Communist Party (it did back then, not now) and many of those disliked Americans.

Still, having been to France several times and found great people in Paris as well as elsewhere, I love the country.

I haven't been to Bordeaux, but plan to go there in the future.

I loved Normandy, the Rhone River Valley and Provence, the Loire Valley, Strasbourg, the WWI sites in Verdun and more.

One of my favorites is Brittany. July should be a decent time to visit. I loved Vannes as a base, Auray is a smaller version of the same (marina, old center). You can see Carnac from either and take a ferry tour from Larmor Baden to see Cairn Gavrinis (all in French but worth it). I liked Dinan and St. Malo too on the northern side and thought Ft. La Latte was a good visit. In the west, Locronan was the favorite town I visited. There are "pardons" (community festivals) all over the peninsula from May to September. I'd plan to include at least one in your plans.

Watch out there is a train strike in Paris atm you may want to plan your itinerary around the strike and what the most inexpensive train ticket is.

If you like fancy castles, the Loire valley is a good bet.