Travel suggestions beyond Paris?

Hello-Take a look and consider Annecy-a beautiful town on a stunning lake surrounded by a fabulous bike trail. You don't say what time of the year, so if too early, there could be snow.
It is a 3 1/2 hour train ride from Paris-but so worth it. Medival town, great food-lots of cheese-see what you think. We loved it so much-last September-that we stayed an extra 2 nights-4 nights altogether. A walk from the train station to old town is about 15 minutes.

Chartres and its cathedral.
Maintenon, Nogent-le-Rotrou, and the Loire Valley chateaux.

Nancy, Strasbourg, Verdun.

Hello, we are travelling the last week of June. So, you all think that going to another country such as Germany might be a stretch if we have to get back to Paris to fly out? I really appreciate your ideas!

Helen, why don't you tell us where you would like to go and maybe we can help you connect the dots? There are several locations in France from which it is possible to take a morning TGV that will get you to Charles deGaulle by 10:30 or 10:45. So, if you want to see Paris, and someplace in Germany, and one of these TGV-friendly places - well, maybe you can figure something out. Some places are not very practical, unless you have money for airfare, but some should be manageable by train or auto. Where do you want to go?

Two suggestions: One idea is to visit Reims and then the Alsace area along the German border. The other idea is to visit the Normandy beaches, Bayeaux, and then the chateaux in the Loire Valley. You could get lots of suggestions about these areas of France in any guidebook. Neither is a great distance from Paris so you would waste minimal time on transportation.

Helen: since you mention you may want to try to fit in another country that would be not too far from Paris where you need to fly home from, how about Belgium? It was a fast and easy train ride for me to get from Paris to Brussels, and another quick local train from Brussels to Bruges. Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp are all not that far from each other by local trains, or you could rent a van or a couple cars for your group once you get to Brussels.

Need more info. Have you/the group been to Europe before? If so, where have you/they been? If not...what kinds of things interest them? It's like asking, "we're a group of Frenchmen going to New York. We have an extra 10 days. Where in America should we go?"

You're right! I haven't given enough information thinking I would burden you all with too much detail! :) I have been to Paris twice and to the UK and Ireland. The other family members have not travelled at all. That's part of the problem, I want to see too much and make this trip as wonderful for them as I can. I want to keep my dreams within reason so I'm not sure if we should stay in France or if we could venture into perhaps Belgium and the Netherlands, or perhaps Germany? Should we drive or better to take a train? I always find it hard to not have wheels unless in a city.

I should say that while everyone is pretty open to going anywhere, they have never seen the ocean and I would like to get them somewhere scenic for that. Thanks again!

Would the Mediterranean do? You could fly or take a train down to Nice and stay in one of the towns around there.

Amsterdam is about 3.5 hours by TGV train from Paris, with Brussels on the way. To get more variety, you could easily spend a couple of days in Belgium (Brussels, Bruges, Ghent), and 2-3 days in Amterdam and still have lots of time for Paris and even a couple day trips. If you are ready to commit to non-refundable, non-exchangeable tickets, the adult "Smoove" fare (purchased 3 months in advance) to Amsterdam is €35 currently. Or you could take Eurostar to London and back.

I would strongly suggest the Eurostar to London, taking the first train over and a late train back to Paris. It's a marvelous experience and you can get a hop on hop off bus to take you around to all the famous sights. Save Belgium or Germany for another trip. You might even consider spending one night or more in London which would give you more days to soak up the history and famous sights. We do London and Paris every year and love both.