Hello all,
Myself, my wife and our kids (18 and 13) just returned from a great week in France. A few details and thoughts:
We were based in Nice for 3 nights, then took overnight train from Nice to Paris, finishing with 4 nights in Paris. We took a full day trip from Paris to Rouen as well.
We enjoyed Nice, but loved the day trips nearby - Menton was a highlight (rustic French/Italian vibe in the old town near the harbor), as was sunny Villefranche and Eze le Village (get there early, it's busy even in March). Vieux Nice is lovely as is Cours Saleya, but the beach is obviously not much of a draw in March. The one site we loved in Nice was the Chagall museum - it's a manageable size and it is very accessible to non-art lovers or people who sometimes struggle with museums.
We stayed near Port Lympia in Nice. We were very happy with that choice. It's close (walking distance) to everything and well connected by the tram service, but away from some of the more densely packed areas of Nice or the other areas that seem to cater mostly to tourists.We visited Monaco - we do not need to go back. The yachts and cars and botox all seems a bit much for us. I'm sure we missed all the good parts, but frankly we have no interest in finding them. The only reason we went is because my son is a sportscar fanatic and he saw some amazing vehicles in "real life" on the streets of Monaco, even on a grey and somewhat wet afternoon in March (can't imagine what it's like in peak season).
The night train from Nice to Paris was convenient and affordable (booked well in advance - 150 euros for a 2nd class compartment reserved just for us - less than the cost of a hotel room for the night) but wildly uncomfortable. I'm fine with that, but we all had trouble sleeping on the mattresses. Still a great experience and excellent value.
We stayed near Les Halles in Paris (near Etienne Marcel metro). This is a great location, and we loved the buzz of nearby Rue Montorguieil counter-balanced by the peaceful moments found inside nearby St. Eustache church (not sure why that is not in any guidebook - it's glorious!).
No surprise perhaps, but Sacre Coeur's immediate surroundings were so crowded and full of extreme and tacky commercialism that we could not wait to leave. We didn't give the 18th as a whole enough of a chance, but only enjoyed things once we were a reasonable distance over the hill and away from the tacky nonsense just outside the church itself.
We fell in love with Montparnasse. We were not expecting that. It feels like the most genuine place that we've seen in our limited time (2 trips) in Paris. We visited the Catacombs (which are interesting) but stayed in the area for hours just wandering the neighborhood. We even lucked into the best crepe place for a quick lunch (Creperie de Quimper - 60 rue du Montparnasse). We love a lot of Paris, but we maybe we saw here an area that we felt looked more like a real place that people actually live than just a staging area for tourists. We're thinking we may stay in that area on our next visit.
Rouen is an easy day trip from Paris, and serves as a nice counterbalance to the Parisian intensity. There are some nice museums (e.g., lovely fine arts museum, ceramics museum, ironwork museum) and Joan of Arc points of interest, not to mention lots of half-timbered charm and a massive cathedral that rivals anything you'll see in Paris. We debated here or Chartres, but for this trip at least we're glad we went with Rouen.
My French language skills are passable. I'm not fluent but I can express myself. My wife and I seemed to think that some language proficiency (or at least language effort) seems to be more important in France than in Spain, Italy or other places we've traveled in Europe. It seems to be expected and/or appreciated more by the French.
Great trip overall! Can't wait to go back!