Will be landing in Paris end of November 2026. Staying for two nights. We don't need to stay longer for this trip. Looking to head somewhere else in France for a few days and then to Italy for a few days. Something easily accessible from Paris and from the town in France to Italy. We don't mind taking a train or renting a car at some point. Looking for small charming towns with restaurants and where you can take day trips from (no further than 1.5 hours away). No big cities. More interested in local markets and small town history and things to do rather than big museums. My husband and myself as well as our 20/22 year old children.
Thank you so much for any suggestions!
Posted by
Chicagoland
2346 posts
Something easily accessible from Paris and from the town in France to Italy.
Italy is a good size country. It would be helpful to know where in Italy you are going. That will help with recommendations.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
9383 posts
Do you have flights home booked? From where?
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Looking for something in northern Italy that is easy to get to from France via train or car. We do not have a return flight yet because I'm not sure where we will end up at the end of trip, Italy or France. It doesn't matter which order we do it in. For example, Menton, France and then to Italy. Just curious if anyone might have town/areas to suggest for our itinerary.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
9383 posts
It’s usually a good idea to book open jaw/multi-city flights- into one, out of another. You will need to be in your departure city night before flight so keep that in mind.
Haven’t been to Menton but it seems like it would suit your needs. Smart to go south in November.
Into Italy-
Consider somewhere along Ligurian coast- Santa Margherita Ligure, Camogli, Rapallo, Chiavari. You’ll have to determine if enough open/to do/day trips from any of those towns.
Or somewhere in Piedmont area- (I think you’d want a car here).
Fly home from Milan or Florence/Pisa.
If you rent a car you will want to pick up/drop off in same country to avoid expensive drop off fee.
Posted by
Chicagoland
2346 posts
Here are a few ideas.
Northern Burgundy. Train from Paris to Dijon (1½ hrs) and from Dijon to Milan via Switzerland (6 hrs).
Southern Burgundy. Train from Paris to Mâcon (1½ hrs ) and from Mâcon to Turin (4 hrs).
Alsace and the wine villages. Train from Paris to Colmar (2½ hrs) and Colmar to Lugano via Switzerland (4hrs)
There really are quite a few possibilities. With a rental car, you'll find plenty to explore in each area.
Posted by
Atlanta
3297 posts
This may or may not fit your interests but we had a nice time in the Italian town of Camogli.
According to Google Maps, it's about a 2-hour drive from Menton to Camogli. We had a rental car while there.
There is a small theater in Camogli (Teatro Sociale Camogli) and we attended a very fun concert of Beatles music performed by Italian musicians. If you go, make sure to check the schedule.
From Camogli we took a day trip on the train to explore Genoa which had a wonderful market.
We were younger then and walked from Camogli to the nearby village of Recco to try their famous focaccia.
We spent 4 nights in Camogli--the restaurants there were excellent.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Amazing. Thank you so much. Just looking for thoughts and previous experiences to point us in the right direction. I love to research trips but it helps to have suggestions to narrow things down.