Your vote for the most charming village/town 2-3 hours outside of Paris by train.

Chartres. A nice train ride away.

Honfleur, Normandy

We liked both Auxerre and Dijon. (I can't quite remember how far Dijon is from Paris)

If you're interested in lodgings, in Auxerre we stayed in the Hotel du Parc des Marechaux (ours was the red room on the website) and in Dijon we stayed at Coco's flat, which gets wonderful references from Fodorites including myself

http://www.hotel-parcmarechaux.net/
www.myhomeindijon.com

I have enjoyed visiting Chartres, Dijon and Auserre very much; however, for charming village/town, Pont-Avon is quite nice, second Honfleur too. One note: train + bus are needed for both places.

If you are fans of Van Gogh, Auvers-sur-Oise is a wonderful little town. This town is often visited as a day trip, but I would have enjoyed a few days there. You can visit Van Gogh's grave (right next to his brother Theo's) and see many of the sites that Van Gogh painted (most of which have changed very little). I also thoroughly enjoyed the elaborate multimedia experience at the chateau called "Voyage au des Impressionistes."

BOURGES. A wonderful town with a small village feel, but with some really interesting sights that will definitely occupy your time. The Saint-Etienne Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site blew me away. About an hour by train, it has great train connections to many surrounding villages.

Brugges - The city is lined w/ cobblestone streets and canals (you can take boat rides). They're famous for their chocolate shops, mussels, beers, and lace. Some of our favorite photos are from our visit here. It's about a 2 hour train ride from Paris. There are also daytrips that will take you there.

Thank you for your suggestions. I look forward to researching these wonderful places.

Reims in Champagne district

Barbizon, a charming village much liked by the Impressionists.

Thank you all!

Something completely different ............ Nimes.

Nimes is 3 hrs away by TGV, has a different climate, different accent, roman remains, and has easy trips by public transport to Arles, Uzes, Pont du Gard, Montpellier, Marseille, etc.

Local photos : http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/photos/languedoc-photo-index.htm

Think laterally !

Peter

Vezelay...very small but beautiful. Set amid lovely countryside.

Thank you Cimbrone. Do you think that 3 nights in this area would be too much ? We will rent a car.

I don't think three days are too much, especially with a car. There's lots to see. Auxerre, Avallon, Autun are all close by. All of Burgundy, actually.

We are staying near Vezelay at this hotel...

www.hotel-moulin-des-templiers.com/

Hi M,

In addition to Beaune/Dijon:

you can be in Nancy or Strasbourg in about 2:15 hr and visit Alsace and Lorraine.

Bordeaux is 3 hr away. We very much liked our stay at
www.chateau-de-roques.com/

If you decide on Dijon, this apt has gotten very good reviews: www.myhomeindijon.com/

One of my favorite cities to visit on days trip away from Paris is Angers. Angers is 90 minutes from Paris via the TGV from Gare Montparnasse. Gare St. Laud is only a 10 minute walk from the Chateau. There is a pedestrian only zone in Angers where there are several cafes, shops etc.

Rennes is another easily accesible city, 2 hours from Paris via the TGV. Rennes has a lovely 18th century feel to it, as well as some extant buildings from the 15th century. The Musee des Beaux Arts (Museum of Fine Arts) is a great diversion for a day. The Vilaine river runs through the city, albeit it looks more like a creek than a river.

What is small? pop. 250,000? 100,000? 50,000? 10,000? 2,000? There are all sorts of replies possible.

I find October lovely in Alsace and Lorraine.

So I will just say Strasbourg (2h20 by TGV)or Metz or Nancy (1h30 each by TGV).

Want a small town on the Atlantic coast? Etretat, Honfleur, Trouville... etc.

I really like Amboise myself - lovely chateau with great views. An easy day-trip.

Naxos

Thanks for the reply's. I think of small as not more than 20,000. I realize that size is a different matter to all of us.

Well, that automatically removes the great majority of suggestions made.

Beaune, in 1999 had 22 916 people. Does it still count?
Many thanks to goddess, Judy and Ira who mentioned Dijon (the historic center is small!) I take the opportunity to show you the video they appeared on when they were in Dijon last year.
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=yDSaNQT-Cho
coco

coco! oy! not that old thing again!

Pop. of Beaune dropped to 21,800 in 2006. Maybe it will get below 20,000 before mokolea gets there.

You guys crack me up. I love the video! Very "woody allen" feel. Ok, so maybe I shouldn't have said 20,000!! Being new to "talk" I now know that I must be very specific when asking my question. What I am looking for is a very small charming village that could be our base for 3-4 nights. Something romantic, maybe on a river. We have traveled throughout Alsace. we have seen most of Provence. I want to travel no more than 2-3 hours by train. Aloooha

Time to be specific again. "Charming village." What do you plan to do there? Walk around the town square several times a day, sit at the three cafés on the main street, walk in the nearby woods? The war museum of 1870 might be interesting for 45 minutes. And the rest of the time? 3 nights can be an eternity in a small village.

How about Etretat, a small town surrounded by chalk cliffs with walking paths on top, the town itself nestled in a cove facing the crashing waves -- which make a strange sound, because the beach consists of round rocks (galets). A bunch of seafood restaurants facing the ocean. Population 1,615.

www.etretat.net

It depends, kerouac. We spent three days in Auxerre and four, I think, in Dijon. We didn't feel bored by either place during those times.

While we were in Dijon, we hopped on a train and visited Beaune for almost a full day. Also, if there's a festival or a market day in any of the small villages or towns, that will take up a day. Small towns also have theatres and concerts, etc. Coco's place in Dijon is almost directly across from the opera house -- we just missed Madame Butterfly by one day.

That seems to be my lot in life. I travel around Europe just missing opera season everywhere I go!

I didn't think Auxerre was that attractive, actually, although it has some interesting sites. Dijon is not remotely a village, it probably has a population close to 200K (Auxerre isn't really a village either IMO).

So I understand kerouac's question, as there isn't much to do in a small village, and definitely not if you don't know French. Three nights in a village would be pretty dull, I think. Now I did find Auvers-sur-Oise very attractive, so I'd say that is easy. I liked Montfort l'Amaury, and it is a village (Ravel used to live there), but there isn't even a train station there.

Honfleurs is very attractive, I agree with that suggestion although don't think I'd even want to stay there 3 nights. It doesn't have a train station, either. Villages generally won't have train stations.

Really, Christina? We loved Auxerre! The architecture was so unusual and charming and we fell in love with a little restaurant so much that we had two of our three dinners there. We just happened to walk by the cathedral when there was a big communion or confirmation ceremony going on, so we sat through that, and we just walked, walked, walked!

I guess my idea of a small village isn't that small. Maybe I'm thinking of Dijon as small (or at least smaller than Paris!) because we stayed pretty much in the centre of town.

I haven't read through all that carefully but in mokolea's first post he didn't specify 'village' but 'somewhere charming, somewhat small and picturesque'. Both Auxerre and Dijon fit the bill for me with that description but I can see where others might not consider them small.

Auxerre and Dijon are most certainly NOT villages. Jesus, Coco has even been campaigning for the airport to reopen. Villages don't have airports.

Verneuil sur Avre, founded by the son of Guillaume le Conquérant, it have a lot of 16th and 17th houses and a feeling of vieille France (in the good sense of the term) nearby there is a fabulous inn "Le Moulin des Planches" complete with a great chef and peaceful normands fields.

Kerouac, thanks for the reply. What I am looking for is a small village to base ourselves in. We will have a car and be able to travel from place to place. We have traveled exstensively throughout the UK. You know when your in the Cotswolds and you meander through one little wonderful village to the next. Some without much of anything at all, Maybe a post office. I just love the feel of a very small place. We just recently returned from a trip to Capri where we spent a week in Anacapri. It was the most wonderful week ever. We just walked and walked and enjoyed the outdoors. It was just sublime. So I am looking for something similar in France. I am embarassed to say that I have been traveling to Paris as often as possible and have missed alot of what france has to offer. Other than the places mentioned earlier we haven't explored many regions. Thanks again ! Mokolea

Well, reading this description I'd have to say I now agree with kerouac. We've staying in places like this in Ireland (well, actually we stayed between two small villages). One village had:

1) a pub
2) a grocery store
3) a teashop attached to a second grocery store

That made the next village look enormous by comparison. It had a main street (one side only; the other side was the harbour) of about 20 shops and cafes.

We stayed in a lot of evenings and read books. Or we drove to the next biggest town which probably would have fallen out of the 'village' category.

Having a car changes EVERYTHING. Okay, I'll stick with Etretat for the moment.

Before finalizing your choice, you might want to do some research on the nearby regions and find out if any of them are having interesting festivals around the time of your planned trip. That could tip the balance in favour of one place or another. I'm trying to think about what might be happening in early October - apple festivals maybe?

I like Avallon,

I would recommend:

l) Burgundy - stay in Beaune and see Vezelay, Semur, etc.
2) Normandy - stay in Honfleur and see some of the Normandy villages in the area - also Giverny (Monet's gardens)
3) Loire - stay in Amboise and see the Loire chateaus (if that interests you).

Those would be my choices of areas within 2-3 hours of Paris. My personal favorite is Burgundy.

hi

Thanks again everyone. At this point I am leaning toward Burgundy and staying in Beaune or somewhere nearby.

Last night when I thought you had to travel by train I was thinking Loches, but I could only figure a day or two's worth of enjoyment out of it. Now that I know you have a car, it's even more worth considering.

Loches is history on a hill. It has two lively markets a week, good boulangeries, a French-style public garden with a view of the historic towers/church/donjon at the top, and it's on one of the prettiest rivers (the Indre). Also it's surrounded by pretty, flowery villages, one of them France's officially most beautiful (Montresor). These are not in walking distance, but since you have a car, you can drive the back roads. We especially like the drive along the river from Loches to Cormery to Sache. You can visit a few chateaux en route.

But Loches might be farther from Paris than you want to drive.

A look at the Most Beautiful Villages of France website will give you more ideas. Also, check a Michelin map for the green, scenic roads.

Wherever you find your village, try to be there on its market day.

Chartres is nice. Be sure to visit the cathedral.

Chantilly and Senlis-lovely, but may be too close and not 3 nights.

How about Chartres - and there is a train that takes you straight to it!

Mokolea - It might be worth obtaining a copy of a very beautiful book by Dominique Reperant - publisher: Thames & Hudson - called
"The Most Beautiful Villages of France".
I really treasure this book.
www.thamesandhudson.com

Even if most of them are more than a 2/3 hour train journey away, there is a special section at the back of the book on Protected Villages and a detailed directory on Selected Hotels and Restaurants in each area of the villages.

We had a great few days in the Loire Valley in October one year (train, then rental car). We stayed at Hotel La Roseraie (www.charminghotel.com) in the small village of Chenonceaux - it really is charming! I still dream of that French onion soup... You can drive from village to village, visiting castles and stopping at all the "degustation" signs, usually a picturesque old barn surrounded by vineyards.

If you opt for Beaune, be sure to visit Hotel Dieu, and Marche aux Vins, and eat at Abbaye de Mazier.

Thanks tod. I researched and ordered on Amazon the book you referenced. I also ordered some others. Thank you very much.

I'll add a vote for Chartres, Loches, Avallon or Honfleur. But they're not villages. Check out
www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org
Semur-on-Auxois, Vezelay are good villages in the Burgundy area. In another direction are Lyon-la-Foret or Gerberoy.

Near Semur en Auxois do not forget Flavigny sur Ozerain (Chocolate movie. pop 350)) and further South on the way to Beaune, Chateauneuf en Auxois and its medieval castle (pop 83).
You could stay in one of the villages between Dijon and Beaune (Gevrey Chambertin (pop 3260)
http://www.hoteldesgrandscrus.com/hotel_grands_crus_en.html
or Chambolle Musigny(pop 313)
http://www.chateau-ziltener.com/