Suggestions for 2-3 day excursion from Paris?
 

We've booked tix for spring break 2005 to Paris. Kids are 11 and 13.

We're flying in Saturday morning, flying out Sunday morning. I'd like to spend 4 days in Paris, and then either take the train or rent a car and do an excursion, preferably to one destination (which could be a basis for car or other touring).

What suggestions does this group have? Would train to Amsterdam be a good idea?

Or is there a small city in the Loire Valley which would have its own attractions, plus be a good basis for touring there by car?

I'm afraid I'm going to kick off with the predictable (for me) suggestion: Paris has enough to see and do to keep you occupied for a month, let alone a week. If you're only there for a week, I would recommend not wasting precious holiday time simply travelling to another place and travelling back again. If you really want to get out of the city for a day or two, how about day trips to Versailles, Chartres or Reims?

I agree that you can easily spend the whole week in Paris and still not see everything. That said, if you do want to go to the Loire Valley, Blois makes a good central location. Chambord is nearby, and several other chateaux are within easy driving distance. If you would want to go farther west, Tours would also be a good base. Remember though, you may not be satisfied with just a couple of days in the area. Plenty to see and do, and I haven't even mentioned the wineries.

bumping in hopes for more suggestions .... and thanks for the ones I've gotten!

We've been taking our son to Paris for the past 5 yrs(he's now 15) and you can easily spend the week in Paris with plenty to do with the kids. There are also day trips via bus that we enjoyed including Versailles(train to a bus), Veux de Vizcomte, Loire Valley(3 chateaus), etc. Last time there our friends who reside in Paris recommended the Segway tours of Paris which was great! I don't know what the minimum age is but they are easy to use and it was a great way to see the city on a beautiful day and that was over spring break this year. Have a wonderful time!

What everyone says about never seeing enough of Paris is quite true.

However, if you are itching to get out of the city for a day, I think it would be worth driving up to Bayeux, Normandy Beach and the American D-Day memorial/cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. It's about three hours northwest of Paris and if you want to give your kids a sense of history (as well as a romp on the beach, if they don't have the patience to walk through Versailles) it is well worth seeing. Had a huge effect on me, anyway.

I don't think the train to Amsterdam would be as much fun... it's a lot of Sitting on Train for the kids and some of Amsterdam's principal charms are not for them anyway. ;)

I think I'm feeling convinced to stay for the week and do day trips ...

Is it possible to get to the Loire valley, visit 2 or so castles, and return in a day? Better to rent car of find touring company?

We did a one day visit by tour bus with our son and visited three chateaus, Cheverny, Chambord and one other that I can't recall offhand. There were only about 15 people on the tour (and this was in Aug.)and once we got to each chateau, you visited it on your own or joined a group there for a tour. It was a long day but a good one and our son(12 at the time) fairly enjoyed it, especially since we didn't spend too long at each. We did the Segway tour this past spring break and that's a much better time of the year to visit.

More suggestions
 

Since you're always tired when you arrive, and its hard to get much done, my suggestion would be to go directly to the TGV (it's at the airport) and go to the south of France. It's about 2 1/2 hours, and you don't usually get that much done on your arrival day, anyway. Spend a couple of days in Avignon or Aix, or go all the way to a Mediterranean town. When you come back, you can take the TGV into an in town train station, so you never have to deal with the trip from the airport to town.

The usual day trips from Paris are Versailles and Giverny (opens 4/1) if you really don't want to move around. I agree, you could spend more than a week just with Paris.

The Loire is a wonderful destination for a few days. Tours is a perfect city to use as a base. Take the TGV to Tours and rent a car right at the train station. There are many nice hotels, including a couple of chateaux, in Tours, in which to stay. Tours itself has a number of sights worth seeing, as well as a number of nice restaurants. It's an easy drive from Tours to a number of fantastic chateaux, including the grand-daddy of them all, Chamonix.

Toulouse
 

I'd go to Toulouse. It's like a small Paris without the tourists. Great restaurants (especially if you like cassoulet).

Not sure if anyone said this, but this is what I did:

took the Chunnel over to London and did the city. 2-3 days is a bit tight, but lots of trouble can be gotten into over that length of time.

Paris is worthy of a lot of time, but for me, London was much more to my liking.

Enjoy!

May sound cheesy, but why not spend a day or two at Eurodisney or are you going there already?

Avignon might provide some entertainment for the kids. The train ride is closer to 3 1/2 hours from Paris (about 500 miles). Whether you would leave from the airport or not there are things to see and do. You can tour the castle, former home to numerous Popes. Le Pont St Bénezet is right there. Horseback riding or a river cruise are other possibilities. Also nearby is Pont du Gard, a Roman aquaduct, that was used in a Volkswagen commercial.

Many good suggestions in the various posts. If you go to Eurodisney one day is probably enougn time. Stay late for the fireworks.

Great suggestions! I'll look into all of them.

Thanks!