Hi all! First time posting on here. My husband and I are planning our first trip to France for next April. We will have 8 days / 8 nights. We definitely want a few days in Paris, but also hoping for some time in the country at a more relaxed pace (we are 30, love culture, food/wine, history & scenery!) Should we combine Paris-Normandy-Loire? Or what about Paris-Loire-Burgundy? Too far? It's really a toss up between Normandy/Loire/Burgundy and whether we want to do 3 locations or just limit it to Paris + one other location. Any advice much appreciated! Thank you!
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7883 posts
Many posters here forget to subtract days for air travel. Month of the year? Also, will you rent a car or rely only on trains? It's hard to imagine less than four nights for a first time in Paris.
Posted by
OP
11 posts
Hi Tim,
We would be going mid-April. Fly overnight from NY Thursday, arrive in Paris early Friday. I was thinking of starting with 3 nights in Paris, do one or two of the above locations in between, and end with last night in Paris to make airport transfer easy (would probably leave the following Saturday)
We would be open to renting a car outside of Paris! Don't want TOO much time lost by driving but don't mind some
Thanks!
Nicole
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
If it's really 8 days, and you are nimble travelers, you can do either. The Normandy choice would be a little easier., but in Normandy bad weather (which happens in April) can be really rotten.
The good news is in April you can travel without reservations. So if bad weather hits, just stay in Paris (or visit another city).
Posted by
Denver, CO
796 posts
Depending on the train schedules and when your flight arrives, you may want to consider leaving straight from the airport and going to Normandy/Loire/or Burgandy first, and then coming back to spend your last 3-4 nights in Paris. That way you'll have one less check in/check out.
April in France is wonderful - you'll love all of the cherry blossoms!!
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33818 posts
Nicole -
Welcome
You have posted this in a desupported area of To The West which the webmaster replaced several years ago with individual countries. If you post to France you may get more responses.
You can find the France Forum at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france