France - day trips outside Paris

Hi everyone. I need some suggestions on my trip to Paris next year in June and July. This is the third time I've been to Paris and I want to see more this time. I have 6-7 days and would like to take 2 days to visit nearby towns to experience something different. I really like to stroll on the old town streets and see the real life of others. I want a relaxing way to enjoy a day or two outside Paris with my husband and my 14-yr-old daughter. Where should I go? And I'd prefer going places by train. Many thanks!!

Lots of threads on the toipic but I'll share one I started about visiting a lesser known chateau near Paris:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/france/1256546-visiting-vaux-le-vicomte.html

This thread also has very good suggestions:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/france/1258421-day-overnight-trips-paris-suggestions-please.html

I'm sure others will chime in with suggestions but enjoy your trravels wherever they may take you. :)

A delightful day can be spent at Versailles!

A delightful day can be spent at Versailles!

Isn't it hectic? I was thinking about going there since everyone says you have to.. but I have doubt after I read some reviews. People said it's hectic and crowded esp. in summer and I don't like to wait in line and stand in a crowd.... my family is the same too...

Lots of threads on the toipic but I'll share one I started about visiting a lesser known chateau near Paris:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/france/1256546-visiting-vaux-le-vicomte.html

This thread also has very good suggestions:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/france/1258421-day-overnight-trips-paris-suggestions-please.html

I'm sure others will chime in with suggestions but enjoy your trravels wherever they may take you. :)

Thank you so much for your thread and I will look into it.

Isn't it hectic? I was thinking about going there since everyone says you have to.. but I have doubt after I read some reviews. People said it's hectic and crowded esp. in summer and I don't like to wait in line and stand in a crowd.... my family is the same too...

Yes, it can be crowded but as with most other Parisienne sights in higher season such as the Arc, Eiffel Tower, Louvre Versailles is should be something see at least once as it is memorable. I try and minimize the crowds by going super early or later in the day if and when sight hours permit.

Having been that's why I thought I'd check out Vaux le Vicomte as it's much less known and therefore less crowded and was built by the same designer & architect who went on to build Versailles.

BTW I should've noted another suggestion other FTers made that caught my interest which is touring Provins, a well preserved town with medieval fortifications that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage sight. :)

might try the basilica of st. denis. it is the burial site of about 30 french kings, and 50 other notables. there is statuary of most of them on their tomb

did not find a special place to eat in st denis, which was not an exciting town

an excelent book to use is "small museums of paris" there is also a small museums of london.

to paris in nov,dec,jan, feb. very unfashionable. no crowds. you want to see people, go to disney land in summer. you want to see paris,london,rome, go in winter months.

Thank you so much for everyone's input, I will definitely check every single one out. I have seen a travel program introducing Lyon, is the place worth the 2 hr train ride each way? I like the atmosphere there. It looks like something I enjoy to see.

Thank you so much for everyone's input, I will definitely check every single one out. I have seen a travel program introducing Lyon, is the place worth the 2 hr train ride each way? I like the atmosphere there. It looks like something I enjoy to see.

It's 2hrs on TGV Paris -Lyon but longer on the slower regional or intercity trains.

One other sight I was reading about is Reims where there's a huge cathedral that has seen the coronation of French kings for centuries.

Having been that's why I thought I'd check out Vaux le Vicomte as it's much less known and therefore less crowded and was built by the same designer & architect who went on to build Versailles.


FWIW and if you are interested, read up on Nicolas Fouquet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Fouquet) to understand the link between Vaux Le Vicomte and Chateau de Versailles

FWIW and if you are interested, read up on Nicolas Fouquet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Fouquet) to understand the link between Vaux Le Vicomte and Chateau de Versailles

Thanks and I have which is the main reason I'm wanting to visit the chateau ahead of Versailles.

Lyon vs Provins in a day. Any thoughts?

Lyon vs Provins in a day. Any thoughts?

a waste of a day enroute. 7 days is not enough time to begin to do paris. why waste the time riding around on trains?

n.b. my wife and i have spend about 15-20 weeks in paris, always in winter. we have spent about 15-20 weeks driving around the french countryside going from place to a new place every day. we once made the mistake of trying to mix the two.

a day trip to Versailles is a delightfrom paris. go in mid winter for the inside(no crowd), spring or summer for the outside

Here are two links about Paris that may help you to enjoy it ( even though it is your third visit) during this trip ( sorry one is in French only):

http://www.parisbestlodge.com/passages.html
Click the highlighted links to have info
and then this one in French
http://www.parisinconnu.com/promenades/index.htm

Please remember that there are other private museums and Mairie de Paris museums ( some are free ) that are very interesting to visit

1. This one I enjoyed a lot during two visits so far:
http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/nissim-de-camondo/informations-pratiques-150/acces-74

and http://en.parisinfo.com/guide-paris/money/free-admission-and-good-deals/

FWIW, I mostly use Chrome as my internet browser. When you bring up one of the links below, which is totally in French, after full loading, the browser will show a pop-up asking if you would like it translated. Say "Translate" and you're good to go. Or you can marry a French teacher like I did!

Here are two links about Paris that may help you to enjoy it ( even though it is your third visit) during this trip ( sorry one is in French only):

http://www.parisbestlodge.com/passages.html
Click the highlighted links to have info
and then this one in French
http://www.parisinconnu.com/promenades/index.htm

Please remember that there are other private museums and Mairie de Paris museums ( some are free ) that are very interesting to visit

1. This one I enjoyed a lot during two visits so far:
http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/nissim-de-camondo/informations-pratiques-150/acces-74

and http://en.parisinfo.com/guide-paris/money/free-admission-and-good-deals/

FWIW, I mostly use Chrome as my internet browser. When you bring up one of the links below, which is totally in French, after full loading, the browser will show a pop-up asking if you would like it translated. Say "Translate" and you're good to go. Or you can marry a French teacher like I did!

Thanks to the "Translate" function, I don't have to divorce my husband to marry a "French" guy. :p

Anyway, thanks everyone for the input. I will try to digest all the info even though I'm still confused with all the French names of the places.

Lyon vs Provins in a day. Any thoughts?

For a day trip from Paris, Provins should be fine.
Lyon probably deserves more than a day.

Thanks to the "Translate" function, I don't have to divorce my husband to marry a "French" guy. :p

Anyway, thanks everyone for the input. I will try to digest all the info even though I'm still confused with all the French names of the places.

Thank goodness! And it's actually stevens397-DMD!

It's 2hrs on TGV Paris -Lyon but longer on the slower regional or intercity trains.

One other sight I was reading about is Reims where there's a huge cathedral that has seen the coronation of French kings for centuries.

Besides visiting the Cathedral, you can take a tour of a Champagnery and taste some champagne, the tourist office in Reims (located next to the Cathedral) can give you info about tour times and prices (the tours in general are NOT free).
Reims works at a more leisurely pace than Paris.

France Miniature might be an option. Accessible by car or train from Gare Montparnasse, you can see the exact replicas on a 1/30 scale of historical monuments set out on a France miniature map. Maybe a bit artificial but fun and a good way to learn about France.
http://www.franceminiature.fr/en