Traveling from Paris to Trier

I did this several years ago when Rick’s Germany, Austria and Switzerland tour started here. I took the TGV with a change to an Intercity train in Saarbrucken. It was a very easy journey

I really liked Trier and found lots to see. I’d say 3 nights if you have the time. That gives you 2 full days to see the churches, museum and the Roman sights.

Two or three days in Trier should be enough, but if you stay a bit longer you could explore the more scenic areas around the Mosel valley.

As previously stated, you can travel via Saarbruecken, or you can also go via Luxembourg. Check the train timetable websites to see which is cheaper/faster.

Agree that two full days are needed to experiene Trier. More if you want to get out of the city itself.

Do you like beer? https://frueh-bis-spaet-trier.de/ is a excellent restaurant the serves Fruh beer straight from Cologne.

Trier is a place to go shopping for me, and I like it. It has the best Roman ruins; bridge, Ampitheater, gate, buildings, baths! I take my visitors there for at least a day, and it's a stiff walk to just do the major Roman sites. If you go on a Saturday they have a good open market, and there's usually a flea market or two also. My only complaint is that they, like almost all of Europe, have a terrible problem with graffiti. Nothing wrecks a photo of a 2000-year-old landmark like some idiot with a can of paint.

It takes about 4 hours, depending on traffic, to drive from Paris to Trier (via Saarbrucken, which is the fastest route). I've done it faster, but there's construction on the road and it took all of that this past weekend. That's not counting stops for fuel, etc.

If you have the time, I highly recommend you not take the main highway (A4/A6) and go to Riems from Paris, and to Luxembourg from there. Beautiful country, pretty, old towns, and the option to stop and have some really good food and wine. Plus, you'll pass the major WWI battlefields of Chateau-Thierry and Verdun if that interests you. And Luxembourg city is interesting too; more than Saarbrucken, although the traffic is bad.

Thank you, everyone, for all the great tips.

KGC, are you suggesting to go cross country from Reims to Luxembourg? I go Reims to above Metz and north on the awful autoroute A31 waving at Walygator and then through Thionville. I don't know the hypotenuse, is it 70 kph the whole way?

If you go from Reims to Virton on D947 it's not bad. I did that 3 months ago +/- with some detours. But it's also toll free. It's not the autobahn, but you can go more than 70. My problem is that, when doing the back roads, I find places to stop. And I've run into two small towns this summer that were having a Brocante, and those can delay me as well as taking my money. But I'm not in a hurry most of the time.

I've done A31 between Metz & Nancy, but a lot of the time when I'm going towards Nancy I cross the border around Zweibrucken and cut back through the forest. I really prefer back roads when I have the time.