I am going to Paris for about 10-12 days at the end of May. We are renting an apartment so we have the leisure of coming home whenever we want. I know there is a lot to see in Paris but I am sure all of France is beautiful. What are the best places to visit in France that wouldn%26#39;t cost much money or a considerable amount of travel time? Are there any big festivities around May 21? What was your favorite thing you did outside of Paris? Any romantic or adventurous ideas are a plus.
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If you are a Van Gogh fan, I would recommend a visit to Auvers sur Oise where he is interred in the town%26#39;s cemetery beside his brother Theo (very humble graves), also you can visit the apartment where he died. Another interesting aspect is that several buildings and houses in Auvers sur Oise have a reproduction of Van Gogh paintings of those buildings so you can see that some have not changed very much since the 1880s. Visiting this town is a nice complement after seeing some of Van Gogh masterpieces in the Musee d%26#39;Orsay. If you drive there, the whole visit should not take more than half a day.
If you are into wines and champagne, then you might want to consider a day trip to Reims to visit the Cathedral where the French kings where crowned and also take a tour of the champagne caves.
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It%26#39;s spring time. Mt St Michel, Normandie %26amp; Brittany would all be kind of neat to visit and see. Bike tours around chateaux country. These both require a few hours of travel in each direction. You might consider a night or two in the localities of each.
Here%26#39;s a website with some ideas. Do it cheaper. Rent a bike, pack a picnic, hop on a train and go.
…viator.com/brochure/product_show.jsp…
With a little bit of more money...
Hop on the train to London. It%26#39;s three hours door to door.
Hot air ballooning...wine tasting tours...
With much more money and more time...
Adventure? How about mountaineering in the Alps. Mt Blanc%26#39;s a favorite climb. Chamonix%26#39;s got some good climbs too. Pyrenees have got some nice hiking.
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Wow I didn%26#39;t think London would only be 3 hours travel. A few hours to and from I wouldn%26#39;t mind. What is the best way to get around the country side? Can you actually go and stomp grapes? Do I ask a lot a questions or what? Lol.
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Yep. Bullet trains are fast and convenient. And Europe%26#39;s small. Remember that Madrid to Moscow would fit easily between Philadelphia and Denver.
Eurostar goes to London. United Airlines used to let you cash in 10000 UA miles for a roundtrip Eurostar ticket. don%26#39;t know if the deal still exists...
Thalys goes to Brussels. door to door in about 1.5 hours? If you miss that stop, you%26#39;ll be in Cologne or Amsterdam in no time.
Normandy/Brittany aren%26#39;t so fast. maybe 4-5+ hours each way.
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I have to say Darth after reading post after post, I think you are one of the most helpful people in this forum. You%26#39;ve got great ideas. Thanks.
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Frankly, I%26#39;m spending way too much time on this forum.
I wish some of the Paris/France traffic would get over to Alaska, China, Taiwan, etc. There doesn%26#39;t seem to be enough input over there.
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Hi Darth - I agree with you in that most input seems to be from you very helpful Americans. When I was in Paris in March, I was talking with two lovely ladies in a restauranct and they told me it%26#39;s only an 8 hour flight from USA to Faris - obviosuly depends on where in the USA, too,,,,However, it%26#39;s 24 hours of flying one way and 36 hours of %26quot;travel time%26quot; from Oz....which does knock you around a bit - and probably contributes to why there%26#39;s more Americans there than most...also your prices are much cheaper - $2000 for 2, return trip and accom - yeeks - thats only $2600 AUD - my airfare was $1500 AUD which was really cheap, in the off season.. wish we had a Priceline!
I too echo previous sentiments and thank you for your replies. I%26#39;m heading back next April - Paris is addictive! (Meanwhile, I%26#39;m saving!) Planning to do a couple of day trips including Normandy, so really appreciate your info..
Sandra
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Hi Picture,
Well you ask for favorite places outside Paris.....
The Normandy coast is only a 2 hour train ride from Paris to Deauville/Trouville (side by side beach towns). We go there often in summers and really enjoy a few days there. Trouville has lovely old Edwardian homes and a wide family beach with restaruants down on the sand and along the tidal river there separating the two towns.......just great. Deauville is classier and is where Coco Channel started (I think). Honfleu is a picture perfect little harbor town a bit to the north. There are gambling casinos for adult fun and entertainment, great food and entertainment in the bars and cafes. From there you go can go south and you will be along beautiful beaches, little villages and hills along the channel and the D Day landing sites. It is a little early for full season at the beaches, but that can be nice too. Also not too long a trip south of Paris, is not only the Loire valley, but Lyon and Orleans. Lyon is sorta like Paris, lovely and has some great food. Orleans is a neat town too. I think both had to be rebuilt after the war.
I love Les sables d%26quot;Olonne on the Atlantic north of Bourdeau, just love it. Rented an apartment there a couple of years ago. Huge wide beach, wonderful food, on the north are cliffs and crashing sea that would give Big Sur a run for it%26#39;s money. (If I remember rightly thats a direct train ride from Paris) Also really like St Baritz%26#39;s beach and that area, south of Bourdeau. A couple of summers ago we went to the tip of Brittany and then down the Atlantic side to wonderful beaches and villages along there........Every one, just outstanding.....great food, friendly people, exciting art, lovely countryside.
And if you dont care for beaches, Provence is amazing from the Roman ruins in Arles and Nimes to the Pope%26#39;s palace in Avigon and the wonderful old town of Aix in Provence...among others.
The boarder of Spain in the Pyrennes is different and Lourdes, an interesting place to visit. Have never stayed over towards the Alps in France, but understand that is great too. If you go toward Germany you get a different feeling of France. Strasborg is a mix of the two cultures and has a neat old French section.
Well I guess I could go on and on. I just love France and the fantastic variety it has to offer all over. We often rent a car and just head out, discovering exiting, interesting places.
You might want to read up on the country and try to figure out what you would enjoy seeing. The train system is great and renting a car is easy (as is traveling their highways), though neither especially cheap.
If you stay in Paris for the entire time, you will do just fine. If you head out to any distination, you will surely enjoy it.
Bonne chance,
Bea
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I agree with your sentiments Stur3128. the preponderance of americans and canadians in the forum give me the impression paris is a regular destination for them. It must be so easy from the US and Canada! Does anyone else visit Paris? Let%26#39;s hear from you.
Spare a thought for us Aussies having to fork out $2,500 Aus dollars for the privelige of spending 24 hours in a plane. This is my first O/S trip. At the age of 50 I%26#39;ve waited a long time for this trip so my anticipation is building. Only 3 weeks to go.
Can I start getting excited now?
I realise now how far Australia is from the rest of the world:)
It might explain why there aren%26#39;t many French expats in Australia.
Any Aussies want to meet in Paris during the first 2 weeks in May?
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Hi there Artful Aussie - good to see your post! There%26#39;s a previous post on jet lag and travel aids - do visit it cos there%26#39;s some really helpful info.
The best thing I found were airline socks - long, tight elastic things that were SO hard to get on, but I had no probs at all with retained fluid or sore legs.
The trip back is a horror - if you can, get a stop over for a sleep. I didn%26#39;t sleep at all on the plane so went from Friday morning til Sunday night - it took me a week to recover. Next time I%26#39;ll take sleeping pills.
I%26#39;d love to catch up with you in May - but I won%26#39;t be there til next April. As for planning in advance - I%26#39;m already starting for next year - it%26#39;s one of the best parts of the trip!
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