OK, This is my first time to Paris and I am overwhelmed at the different cities I have to choose from for day trips. I would love opinions on my extremely rough itinerary right now:
Day X - Bruges
Day Y - Strasbourg + wine road tour (this may require an extra day I realize)
Day Z - Avignon
This gives my fiance and I exposure to the north, the east, and the south of France...But Lyon, Rheims, Rouen, etc I'd have to miss out on. I would love suggestions..thanks so much, guys!
yes, will be traveling by train...paris to strasbourg is the longest of the trip, only 2 1/2 hours or so....god, there are just too many cities to choose from that are near...but I must do Strasbourg, and I really think I need to do Bruges, Belgium....that leaves 1 more, and I was thinking Avignon for the day
Everyone has their own personal preference for how much travel time is tolerable for a day trip, and for how much transportation cost is tolerable for a day trip (depends on trip budget, obviously). It's not just the station to station time, there's the time to get to the station, wait for the train, get from the destination station to the first sight, connect with a rental car or van tour for something like the wine road tour, get back to the train station, etc, etc. Our main concern here is to make sure people are aware of the full travel times, and it sounds like you are.If it helps, you're the first one here in a long time to propose Avignon as a day trip from Paris. Not saying that means you can't do it! :)Popular day trips from Paris include Chartres and Reims, these involve less travel time and may give a better balance between travel time, transportation cost, and hours actually available on the ground for doing and seeing what you're going there to see and do.
Thank you very much for pointing all that out...I understand Avignon is, let's say, 3 hours away...but I could depart on the earliest possible train and return on the latest possible..giving me approximately 12 hours to see the old town. What I'm looking for is neat, quaint, cafe-oriented towns that have neat stuff to look at also...I would absolutely love your suggestions for that. Strasbourg is far, but I want the German influenced part of France on my itinerary...and may end up staying a night there! This board is fantastic - I wish I could offer you help somehow!
Wes, I understand that you an your fiancée are OK with spending a good bit of time on the train. That's not my cup of tea but I know that some people love it as a travel strategy, and there's even a guidebook about it that you might want to find if you haven't already.
If you have the time, though, have you considered a more-conventional approach? Spending the night at some of these world-class destinations may be more satisfying an efficient for you.
For instance: fly into Brussels (or Amsterdam) and take the train to Brugges. Spend the night and next day there and proceed to Paris. When ready to leave Paris, go to Strasbourg (actually, how about Colmar? It's nicer) for overnight and wine tour. Then on to Avignon (or better, Arles) for a day or two. Fly home from Marseilles, or take the direct TGV to Charles DeGaulle Airport.
Under such a plan, you get to spend more time at your destinations versus riding trains.
Good luck whatever you do!
"What I'm looking for is neat, quaint, cafe-oriented towns that have neat stuff to look at also"
I can assure you, you don't have to travel nearly as far as Avignon to see that!
haha good point, Tom! Yes, I've calculated all the train costs and think its best just to do the saver pass which will be $500 total for 3 days...I love the advice I am getting...I am definitely thinking about Colmar over Strasbourg now...OK, I think this will help you guys out more in undestanding where I am coming from: I want to get out of Paris for these seperate 3 days and get into towns that have a totally different feel..I feel like alsace-lorraine would be terrific with its german influence..and I'm totally clueless about the other couple places to see... Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!
"and I'm totally clueless about the other couple places to see."Chartres and Reims are popular day trips from Paris (different from Paris, much less travel time, but I suppose not small enough to be "quaint")
I suggest Rouen, by train an easy day trip. Great cathedral, made "famous" in Monet paintings, lots of pedestrian streets..with cafés..Small museums (I especially like the Fine Arts/Beaux Arts)..and the square where Jeanne d'Arc met her end.
Also do like Strasbourg, for a city, and Colmar is very charming.
Been to Avignon, but only as a stopover to elsewhere. Unless you have a really special reason to go there, it seems a bit far.
Lyon is a city that can be reached from Paris in about 1 and a half hours by TGV (non-stop). The old town centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site (narrow winding streets, French Renaissance architecture, narrow passages known as "traboules" that discreetly link parallel streets together, a bit like secret passageways... it's an interesting neighbourhood).
The areas just outside of the old town are mostly grand old 18th and 19th century buildings. Lyon has always been a very prosperous trading city and it shows in its architecture.
Also there is a gothic cathedral and a big basilica on top of a hill. There are plenty of little squares in which to sit and have a coffee or a beer.
Lyon also was the capital of Roman Gaul as from about -50 BC, there is a Gallo-Roman museum and the ruins of a vast Roman theatre built into the side of a hill.
Lyon is one of my favourite cities.
Further to my above post, the travel time is actually two hours. You can leave Paris at around 6 am, arrive at Lyon at 8 am, spend a full day there and leave at around 8 or 9 pm arriving in Paris a couple of hours later.
It's a long day out but perfectly do-able, and you can relax in the TGV as once you are in it there are no stops between the two cities so you can even take a nap.
Every region of France has its own character.
Beaune, a friendly, prosperous town in Burgundy, is within your time ambit by rail.
It has lots of character and a lively wine scene, with several opportunities for first-class tastings right in town. Or rent a car or bicycle and visit the vineyards.
I'd say its "as different" from Paris as Alsace, though in a different way.
And one can never go wrong with a day in Chartres . . .
