We are travelling to France from Chicago on March 18th and will be in France for 8 full days excluding flight times in and out of France. Should we just stay in France for the entire 8 days and explore Paris and Southern France? Or since we are coming from Chicago we should go to Belgium for 2 days ? I know this is a generic question and depends from person to person.
Something we both love our beers and wine and chocolates. And since Belgium is so close to France I thought it would be a good option.
Suggestions please?
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
Only if you hope to see WW I battle sites. Nothing against Belgium, which is great, but to spend some time there, you'll be orienting your time in France in its far northeast corner.
Posted by
NYC, USA
219 posts
While France is noted for its wines & yes, chocolates, it also has a nice selection of beers.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
It's a question of personal preference. Travel time is roughly the same, so logistically it's a wash. Better wine in France; better beer and chocolates (for the most part) in Belgium.
Fly home from Marseilles or Brussels to save time.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Hey, you have 8 full days, so I think you could do a 2 day trip to Belguim as they DO have the beer and chocolate thing beat over Paris, LOL
Posted by
OP
chicago, il, usa
188 posts
Thanks for all the suggestions. We are going to just stick to France and explore the Southern part of it.
Posted by
Lynnwood, WA, USA
17 posts
So much to see in France. We spent more than 2 weeks in France last year and had 3 home bases we toured from. Paris, Nice and Carcasonne (west). Each area was completely different. Nice has an Italian influence since it is so close to Italy and you must see Eze and Ville Franche! Paris is truly a wonderful city full of monuments and history. But I believe our favorite was Carcasonne (several hrs west of Nice/Marseille) and we extended our time there. We stayed inside the medieval city at the Best Western and we loved it. I hope you have as much fun as we did.
Posted by
Marietta, Georgia
157 posts
I must admit, I love France. We spent 16 days last July & I could have easily stayed longer.
On one eight day trip I did Paris, Bayeux, The American Cemetery at St Laurent,Mont St Michel, & Chartes.
Just a suggestion, but I would stay in France.
Posted by
Daytona Beach, FL
223 posts
You can get Belgian beer and Belgian chocolate in France. With just 8 days, I would stick to one country.
Posted by
Reseda, CA, USA
196 posts
Only?
You will wish you spent 8 weeks in France.
Posted by
Milford, Michigan, U.S.
8 posts
We will be driving in the south of France in Sept.have No experience with the trains,from what I"m reading it would be better to fly directly to Nice area and rent a small place from which to sightsee all around ANY HELP is appreciated Merci Diane
Posted by
2 posts
Our last trip - week in Paris - bullet train to South of France and rental car for week..
You'll want as much time to explore as possible so... stay in France.