jeanne

I'll be in Paris for 16 days in Oct/Nov. I think I'll book a hotel for the first 7 days, travel by train out to the countryside for 2 days, then come back to Paris for the remaining time. I may not book the hotel for the last segment, as I will have time to look around during the first week. <BR><BR>As to the countryside, I could use some suggestions. Rather than castles, grand chateaux, etc., what I'd really like is a charming French town or village. I speak only a little French, so that must be taken into account. Moderate budget, but I could consider renting a car if that gets me somewhere special. Any ideas?

Jen

I really liked Fougeres for a day trip. It's a beautiful, hilly town with a grand fortress. The beautiful thing about traveling outside Paris is that you will be able to understand the French spoken to you. It's really amazing.

jeanne

I've located Fougeres...near Mont St Michel, right? It looks like exactly what I want. Actually, it looks close enough that I could go to Mont St. Michel, too. Would I need a car or could I get around by train/bus? Do you know hotels there (moderate--$70Eu in Oct)?

StCirq

Jen: Foug&egrave;res is a lovely town with a very imposing fortress ch&acirc;teau, but it's not what I would call a "village," which is what I thought Jeanne was asking about. It's a pretty large, bustling type of place. I didn't get the idea that that's what Jeanne was looking for. I could be wrong.<BR><BR>Jeanne: France probably has a million quaint villages - do you have any idea what direction you want to go in or what, exactly, you're looking for in a village? DO you mean town as opposed to village? I think it would help if you were a bit more specific.Do you like mountains or seaside, hills and valleys or plains? You say you don't need grand ch&acirc;teaux, but in fact many wonderful French towns and villages have them as well as other attractions. There are thousands of options, so it would be helpful if you'd detail your preferences. The countryside isn't far outside Paris. It could be as simple as a day trip to Chantilly and Senlis or as complicated as a train ride to some beautiful village in Gascony.

x

Jen.<BR>You commited a fatal error and your hard drive will now be erased.<BR>Only St Circular or Caire Obscured are allowed to answer posts on France. All others will be belittled as knowing nothing about what 'not real' frenchies will want to see.

StCirq

Jeanne: It's not THAT near le Mont St-Michel, trust me. We used it as a base last summer for travel to le Mont St-Michel among other places and it was a Looooonnnng drive (summertime traffic is bad). By train, I don't know. It is a happy, active little town with a phenomenal ch&acirc;teau and lovely public gardens and a couple of fairly decent restaurants (it was not a culinary highlight of our trip). Vitr&eacute; was actually a lot prettier, but I don't know about train connections there.<BR><BR>x: Did you have a point? I missed it. Did you have something to contribute? I missed that too.<BR><BR>

Sue

I really enjoyed the two days I spent in Amboise in April. Here's the URL for my trip report on it (I paid 48 E for room).<BR><BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...=2&tid=1371813

Tracy

Salut Jeanne -<BR><BR>Here's the website for Les Plus Beaux Villages de France:<BR><BR>http://www.villagesdefrance.free.fr<BR><BR>Search on the map, great pix of the villages themselves.<BR>Miaou pussycats! HTH!<BR>= )