shadow95

My friend and I are going to do a 20 or so day trip to Europe. We're going to Ireland France and Italy. He's choosing the Italy itinerary and we pretty much know what we want to do in Ireland. But I'm clueless as to what to do in France. I know I want to go to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower and eat and walk around France for a few days,and I want to see the Versailles palace. But,that's all that I can think of. I have no interest in going to museums. I know I want to see some smaller towns/villages but i don't know which region(s) to choose. I've looked online and La Rochelle looks beautiful and I think i want to go to the riviera. At this point we think we'll have 7 or 8 days in France. I know some of you guys are gonna say we could spend a week in Paris but we want to see a lot in the time frame we have.

If this makes a difference,it will be my friends first time out of the nation. I have been to Central America before for 10 days. It'll be our first trip to Europe. But certainly not our last. We plan on having this trip in June or July in two or three years.

Michael

<i>. I know I want to see some smaller towns/villages but i don't know which region(s) to choose.</i>

La Rochelle is a fairly big town. Small villages usually require a car to get to them. There is Provins which is samller than La Rochelle and can be done as a day trip by train from Paris. Other options in the Paris area can be found in this trip report: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-de-france.cfm

shadow95

Thank you sorry I saw something on La Rochelle and assumed it was small. It must have been something about the picture that made me think it was big. I don't to go to an extremely small town but I do want to go small enough to where I can experience more of the culture. I'm going to look up provins and the link you posted.

MarySteveChicago

I'm looking at going to Annecy on the eastern side. Maybe stay one night. It looks like the Venice of France with all the canals.

http://youtu.be/dDRw360fJZ4

Michael

<i>Maybe stay one night. It looks like the Venice of France with all the canals.</i>

That's overhyped. Don't go there for the canals, you'll be disappointed.

StCirq

You really need to hunker down with some guidebooks and maps. You can't really do Paris, La Rochelle, and the Riviera in a week's time - that's all over the map. And as mentioned, La Rochelle is not even close to being a small town or village. You could settle into Paris and do any number of daytrips out to small towns, or you could divide a week's time in half and spend part in Paris and part somewhere else, but you certainly aren't going to be able to wander all over France in such a short timeframe.

Ackislander

The tough part of your request is that France is big. Some of it is seriously industrial. Some of it is flat as a board and covered with either forests or corn fields, yes, more corn than you have seen outside the Midwest.

So it takes a long time to get places, and some of the travel is boring. Where does your trip in Italy start? Because you will also have to get there from wherever you are in France.

If all you care about in Paris is the Eiffel Tower and Versailles, save them for another trip. Fly directly from Dublin to either Marseille or Nice. Rent a car, and tour Provence and the Riviera. You can have a great time in this area: fabulous food, great scenery, beaches, interesting villages. When you are through, return the car and fly to Rome. If you are going to Northern Italy, take the train because it isn't very far. This advice doesn't apply in August, when everybody in France is on vacation and it is really hot, but otherwise I think you will have a good time.

Gretchen

Get a guide book to Paris. Get a guide book to France.

MarySteveChicago

Michael, are you saying Annecy is not worth the time and energy? We are staying in Paris for a month and I thought an overnight there would be charming. Mary

dwdvagamundo

MarySteve--we really enjoyed our one night in Annecy. It was charming and the cuisine is different from the rest of France. So if you're going to be near there--e.g. in Lyon--I'd go for it

Ackislander

MarySteve, you shouldn't hijack other people's threads.

I'm not just being snarky. What might well be worth doing if you are spending a month in Paris might not be worth doing if you have less than a week to do the whole country, like the OP. Complete apples and oranges.

flygirl

Are you flying home from Paris?

The Riviera is roughly the halfway point between Rome and Paris if you are taking a train, for example.

If you don't mind a train ride, you could take a train from Italy (Rome?) to Nice, spend 3 days there, then take the TGV to Paris and plunk. During your four days in Paris, you could either just see Paris, or take little day trips near Paris. Reims is about 45 minutes if memory serves (Champagne country) and Versailles is really close. With four days in Paris, though, I'd limit it to only one day for day trips and spend the rest in Paris.

How does that sound?

Gretchen

To me the OP is a real newbie to travel abroad, and doesn't seem to realize how truly wonderful almost anywhere can be because it is so different. And while Paris is large, like NYC, its neighborhoods are "small" and eclectic and totally interesting--as are small villages.
Of course, choose carefully, but there are many different things to choose from to maximize time spent, and experiences.
Do they like to eat great food? Drink good wine? Hike? Photograph? History?

MarySteveChicago

Refraining..........

tedgale

A wise decision MarySteve. Your question deserves a thread of its own. Lucky you to be in Paris for a month, BTW

MarySteveChicago

Lucky indeed Tedgale. It's the retirement hurrah, aka Do It Before Its Too Late!

nanabee

The first trip I took to France was for a week in Paris and then to travel to the south of France along the Riviera and travel back to Paris to fly home. We rented a car and began to drive south but got as far as the Dordogne area and as far west as St. Emillon. If you are planning to go that far south I highly recommend taking a train to cut down on the travel time.