My husband and I just booked an 8 day trip to Paris for my 40th. We booked it ourselves and did not use a travel agent/tour company. I%26#39;m starting to get nervous, though, thinking that maybe would should have done only 4 or 5 days in Paris and the rest somewhere else, like Provence. I have had a few people say, %26quot;why would you pick Paris, why not Italy or Greece,%26quot; so now I am second guessing myself. Someone told me that we might be able to take the TGV (?) to London or Madrid right from Paris. If not, does anyone have any ideas for great day trips that are possible from Paris? After literally hours of research on the internet and travel books, we finally picked the Millesime Hotel in the 6th. Can anybody share their experiences?
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Don%26#39;t second guess your decision. A lifetime in Paris isn%26#39;t enough. You will find that there are many day trips that you can take and with the trains (sncf and tgv) you can go very easily.
Provence is definitely an option - you can be there in just three hours by TGV. But believe me you will have plenty to keep you busy in Paris - and won%26#39;t tire of it.
There are many threads about day trips. In the search bar type in %26quot;day trips%26quot; and enjoy all the posts that people have shared.
** I say a gold star for picking Paris! Happy planning.
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Hi joellesgirl — and welcome!
Relax! You have made an excellent choice and in no way is eight days too much. Here is a very lively thread on just this topic from the last few days: tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k10008…
There are many wonderful day trips you can make around Paris, though Madrid is not among them. Lots of people do make day trips to London by Eurostar but IMO that is too much travel and London is really too full of wonders of its own for a day trip to make much sense. Others wiill disagree...
But fear not, you could spend a month in Paris without getting bored and there are at least a dozen wonderful places to visit within an hour by train from Paris if you want to get out of the city for a day, or even two — Versailles, Giverny, Chartres, Reims, Fontainebleau, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Chantilly, Écouen, even Brussels is only a 90 minute train ride and Bruges not much more — and I could go on for another five minutes...
I have not stayed at the Millesime myself but I like the look of it and hear nothing but good things about it.
You are going to have a wonderful trip! Now relax...
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Plus some of those 8 days will be travel days, won%26#39;t they? We%26#39;re going for 6 days and I am starting to hyper-ventilate trying to figure out how to fit everything in, especially with various sights being closed on various days. You will have a lovely leisurely time, with the option for fabulous side trips. The other destinations will be there for future trips. Your trip is long enough to be peaceful and full of wandering....
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I can only share my experience - my first trip to Paris was for 10 full days. We spent all but one of those days in Paris (1 day in Versailles) and still did not get to see everything. And believe me those nine days were not spent on leisurely strolls or sitting for hours at a cafe, they were jam packed days in which we would leave our flat at 10 am and not return until midnight or later (I would pack a change of shoes, brush and cosmetics in my bag). I am headed back in 11 days for another week stay. This time I will be sharing this great city with my Mom (her first trip) and it will be a much more relaxful trip.
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We spent 4 days in Oct, and left wanting much more. We explored and ate from early morning till the wee hours, and really only got to experience a fraction of our %26quot;to-do%26quot; list. Anyone who has ever been to Paris would never say %26quot;Why Paris? By the way, we used a travel agent, but did not take a tour. We drove from Nice to Paris spending a few days in on the Riviera, provence and Beaune, before arriving in Paris. We found the %26quot;Rick Steve%26#39;s%26quot; travel guide to be excellent. Would also strongly recommend %26quot;Restaurant de la Tour%26quot; at 6, rue Desaix (near the Tower%26quot; for dinner. Wonderful, small, husband/wife bistro. Also Angelina%26#39;s is well worth the wait for the Hot Chocolate and dessets. Bon Voyage.
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you can take the Eurostar from downtown Paris (Paris Nord?) to Waterloo station in London.
I%26#39;ve been to Paris 3 times and still have lots on my %26quot;things to do%26quot; list!
I think it%26#39;s impossible to %26quot;do%26quot; a country like Italy or Greece in a week.
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I would say that 8 days is not enough rather than too much. We leave tomorrow for 7 days and are still not going to get to see/do everything we want to do! And my itinerary is jammed - too jammed I%26#39;m told. (You can check it out here if you want: tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k10560…
As such, we%26#39;ve already decided that a return visit (or 2 or 3!) is a must! I dare say you will not have any trouble filling your time!
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Thank you everybody, for making me feel better. I%26#39;ve always wanted to go to Paris so I don%26#39;t know why I would second guess myself. For some reason, I start to think that a vacation should be tropical--silly, I know.
I know I have only read mostly good things about the Millesime Hotel. We were going back and forth between that one and the Saint Beuve, but we were afraid it was a little too far away from everything. I%26#39;ll be happy to hear other tips and suggestions.
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I see you are from NJ so likely you are familiar with New York. Take everything in NY and lets say multiple everything at least times 4 and thats the time you can use. NYC has the Met and MOMA where you can spend a day or so. Paris has the Louvre, D%26#39;Orsay and Rodin for starters which are more extensive. NYC has Central Park--Paris has Gardens Luxembourg, Tuilleries, Parc Monceau, Champ de Mars, etc., etc., etc. NYC has Statue of Liberty. Paris has Eiffel, Arc d%26#39;Triomphe, Defense. Walking tours and areas--Marais, Montmartre, St. Germain/Latin Quarter, Champs Elysees etc, etc. Then there%26#39;s the cafes, restaurants, brasseries. There%26#39;s plenty to do in NYC, but when we come back we feel NYC is limited in amount and scope after Paris. Of course NYC is different and has its own style and other things such as Theatre and Broadway, etc. Coming up is our 5th trip to Paris--previously some have been 3-4 days, some 5 days and this will be the second one where we%26#39;ve spent a week. This time we will not have time to go many places we%26#39;ve been before (but would like to repeat). Yet we still can not get in everything we want to do and even cannot get in some of the things we have never visited or haven%26#39;t been back to for at least 3 trips back.
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One thing I would suggest, though is that you take at least one day trip from Paris to get a flavor of the countryside and small towns. There are many easy day trips from Paris (and you can find by searching thru TA): Chartres, Blois, Chenenceau, Versailles, Chantilly, Senlis to name a few. A guided bus day trip to Chateau country is also nice--get to see 3 chateaus and lunch.
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