Going to Paris Nov 7-14 and wanted to take 2-3 days outside of the city. Traditionally I feel as though you would be limited to Normandy or Loire, but with the TGV, I am wondering if Burgundy, Bordeaux or even Provence is feasible. Looking for something to contrast the city appeal of Paris. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated! Mark
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All are possible as are the champagne region and Alsace, but if this is your first trip to Paris, all are questionable. Of course if you have already explored Paris pretty thoroughly, 3 or 4 days might well be enough. You%26#39;d be looking at no more than 3 hours by TGV to any of these regions. I assume you would then be intending to rent a car. Remember that in November weather over most of France will be iffy at best, quite likely chilly and grey if not actually raining, and days are short.
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Welcome to the Forum. Yes the TGV does make short breaks to some of the areas at a distance from Paris much more feasable than was once the case. In addition to the areas you have mentioned, TGV Est goes to Alsace and Lorraine. There are a couple of points I would make however. In your choice of where to go, remember that parts of a service may not be on a high speed line. So if you considered Bordeaux, after about Tours the TGV is on the %26quot;ordinary%26quot; line, which is pretty fast but not exceptionally so. Whereas if you chose, say Avignon or Nimes, it is high speed line all the way.
The other factor to bear in mind in November, is the weather. But even if it is miserable there is plenty to keep anyone interested in cities such as Lyon, Dijon or Strasbourg.
For schedules and bookings see www.voyages-sncf.com and for general information on rail travel a good source is www.seat61.com
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thanks for the help. it is not my first time to Paris (3rd time I believe), but it is my wife%26#39;s first time. While she is excited about Paris, she is equally excited about taking in some of the countryside. I have been to the Loire before and loved it, but wondered if that was the best option. Weather is also a consideration...are we likely to find better weather in some regions than others? My gut would say that that Provence might be a bit better weather-wise, but is this true? Thanks again for all the help.
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Yes, you have a better chance of sunny weather in Provence, but no guarantee in November. It will likely still be chilly out of the sun, though warm enough out of the shade IF you are lucky. And if the Mistral is blowing it could still be brilliantly sunny and with amazing blue skies — and colder than the hinges of...
Avignon is about 3 hours from Paris by train. You really need a car to get around the area especially if it is countryside and scenery you want to see. Three day rentals are usually a much better deal than two day or shorter
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I totally agree with you.Our first trip out of Paris was a visit to Provence for 2 nights. We had a proviso- we would not travel over 3 hours to somewhere. I read %26quot;A Year in Provence%26quot; and cookbook %26quot;Pedalling through Provence%26quot; and was excited to visit. It was 2 hours 40 minutes to Avignon. We used the trains to get around the area. We saw enough to want to go back and have returned yearly and rented a car. It would help to read about each region and what important sights unique to that part of France mean to you. Loire valley has so many castles,its own wine and bubbly,troglydite (yes, they are cool) dwellings; Normandy draws people to the WW-I and WW-II historical relevance ,but both would be gray in November. Alsace, Champagne, same weather, but it qualifies as under 3 hours, but such beauty. Burgundy and Bordeaux, same. You can discover well preserved Roman ruins in Provence, their own wine and mediterranean influenced cuisine. And some sunin November. Each region has its own wines, food, cheese, history, landscape, customs. To do this from Paris, we stay in one hotel,leave our luggage in their locked room and head out. We return to Paris the night before the flight back home and head straight for the Eiffel tower. Hope this helps. P.S. Because of the weather and amount of daylight, there are not many tourists.
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