jkw1956

We are going to France this January. ( I know, the weather is horrible, but the tickets were almost free!). We fly into CDG.
We've been to Paris a number of times and love it, but want to do some more exploring as well as visit Normandy. We only have a week. Suggestions?

denisea

Do you mean day trips outside Paris for your exploring or are you looking for the less known sites within Paris?

If day trips interest you, the pick up "Paris to the Past" by Ina Caro. It's a book full of day trips from Paris and why the sites and chateaus are historically significant.

We are taking a day trip to Strasbourg this year and have never been there. We also love Reims and enjoyed Fontainebleu and Barbizon, as well.

The day trips I want to take but have not yet are to Chartres and Vaux le Vicomte. Someday....

jkw1956

We'd like to include Normandy and a ski day in Chamonix. Seems like a lot. Any suggestions?

Gretchen

Ummm, yes, unless you are staying a couple of weeks. 'p)

michelhuebeli

EasyJet flies you cheaply to Geneva, then there are several seasonal options to get from there to Chamonix, but no matter how you do it, by bus or by train, that whole trip will be a bit of a haul and splurge altogether, it will amount to a three-day / two nights excursion, a day of going there, a day of being there, a day of going back to Paris, so think about it.

You can take a morning train to Blois, see the castle in Blois and the fabulous, almost surreal Chambord castle nearby - a taxi will get you there and back (the castle bus only starts running in May). By dinner time you're back in Paris.

Or take a train to Tours and see castles around there and get back to Paris the same night.

Bayeux with the tapestries and the nearby June 6 invasion beaches etc are another option, as are day trips to Reims (champagne) and, of course, Versailles if you haven't been.

Days are short, rain or worse is always possible, so plan to get going early in the day and be prepared.

grandmere

If you want to ski, I'd suggest a less hurried trip to Chamonix and foregoing the trip to Normandy, if it's the D Day sights you wanted to see. It could be very bleak, cold, and rainy there. We were there one May, and it was bleak, very cool, and rainy but doable; I can't imagine doing it in Jan.
Happy planning!

RonZ

Re this Strasbourg daytrip, have lunch at Brasserie Flo.

kerouac

I would not recommend Normandy in January unless you like the atmosphere of desolation in places that seem abandoned, especially during such a short trip.

And frankly, Chamonix for just one day would be a complete waste of time.

Will you be renting a car? If so, quite a bit of exploration is possible (with or without a train to take you somewhere else). Otherwise, just stay in Paris.

Underhill

From Paris you could take the train to Chantilly and see the château, which has a splendid library and chapel. That would make for a nice part-day outing.

bilboburgler

Chantilly, Reims, Strasbourg make sense.

Normandy can be very dour in January. I'd book a tour to take all the misery and weather out of it. The beeches are just that (some with cliffs, don't ask) but a good tour of the cemeteries and a visit to a couple of museums make sense of what happened. You also need to visit the Bocage to understand more of what went on, St Mere Eglise museum is one of the most interesting. Don't miss the issues of the US film organisation and the political infighting.