Short trips around Paris

Hello,

My husband %26amp; I are planning a trip to France in late Nov/early Dec. After being in Paris for some time, we should have around 3 - 5 days we could spend outside of the city. We are looking for recommendations of places to visit %26amp; where we should stay (i.e., what town(s)). We are okay to travel by train or rent a vehicle. If anyone is able to help out, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Scout

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For 3-5 days in November/December, I recommend taking a train to Burgundy or to the Alsace/German border area. It may be too stormy in any of the coastal areas. The weather will no longer be nice enough for hot air ballooning anywhere normally picturesque.

When Advent begins, the German border area will erupt with Weinachtsmarkts (Marche de Noel) in the towns. The train takes only about three hours from Paris to get to these places. Places like Colmar, Mulhouse and Strasbourg are each interesting for a day and right on the main train routes. The Alsace region has nice riesling wines and good wine tasting. Aachen and Cologne are further north from this area but are easily accessible and have nice huge Weinachtsmarkts.

Dijon or Beaune make good bases in Burgundy and are easy to get to by train. Perhaps you could catch a barge cruise or dejeuner degustation. Train travel from Paris is about two hours.

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You could do serveral things, does depend alot on your interests.

You could spend a few days ( 3) in Loire Valley, base yourself in one place Amboise or Samur for example, but there are other choices,, and then spend your days , with your rental car, visiting the various chateaus in the area( there are many) .

Or, you could go to a whole different country,, 3-5 days is more then enough to check out the Netherlands, or Belguim or both. Trains run often and don%26#39;t take too long.

Or how about England, 3-5 days in London , visit Bath maybe, check out the Tower and the incredible museums,,

You could do alot of things, what interests you ?

Weather could be cool and rainy so perhaps centering plans around indoor activities would be best.

I also like the Colmar suggestion.

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I heard that Strasbourg/Colmar are wonderful during the winter holidays

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Of course it depends upon your interests. I agree with darth about the Burgundy area and Alsace.

We lived in Evian les Bains on Lake Geneva (Lake Leman in France. It is a wonderful area, close to Burgundy and also close to Chamonix. Favourite day trips were to Beaune, Chamonix and Annency.

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Hi there. I was in France in December of last year. Metz was beautiful as was Strasbourg, lots of atmosphere and tranquility. And not too far away is Trier, Germany, the oldest city in Germany in fact. They always have something festive going on there.

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The Thalys train to Amsterdam would provide a nice counterpoint to Paris.

Amsterdam is my favourite gateway to Europe because it%26#39;s clean and safe, there is a great variety of food available, and almost everyone speaks English - an important consideration after I%26#39;ve been flying all night. It%26#39;s also an interesting city with loads of great sightseeing, and I expect there will be a good Christmas Market or two.

You can shop in the gift shops at the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijks Museum. There are always interesting small items that make great stocking stuffers.

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Thanks, everyone, for all of your helpful suggestions. You%26#39;ve given us some great ideas to think about %26amp; to reasearch. Much appreciated.

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