I am taking my husband to France for his 50th birthday. We only have 12 days. He is a history nut. Any recommendations?
THanks

Paris 6 days
Dordogne 6 days

Stu Dudley

A "history nut" might also enjoy Normandy/Brittany.

Stu, Jeanne - wow, thanks for the quick emails. I don't think we want to stay in Paris for 6 days. We really like doing "non touristy" things.

Don't know what happened to my last post - 3 days is not long enough to even scratch the surface in Paris. Normandy should be at the top of any 'history nuts' list.

I'm a history nut too - what periods is he most interested in? That will help you narrow down your choices on destinations a lot.

If he's a 20th century U.S. history nut, then Normandy (WWII) and the Verdun (WWI) area are musts. If he likes military history in general, check out the Musee de l'Armee at the Ecole Militaire in Paris (7e arr'dt).

Hi M,

>I don't think we want to stay in Paris for 6 days. We really like doing "non touristy" things.<

Ok, how about a visit to an abbatoir outside Paris?

There are reasons why tourists go to "touristy places".

You might want to look at
Paris Superthread
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34519236

How about Lyon? It has a beautifully preserved old quarter from the Renaissance period, plus Roman remains (amphitheatres and theatres) and an excellent Gallo-Roman museum (Lyon was the capital of ancient Gaul).
Lots of WW2 interest too: the networks of old passageways built by the silk workers to link up houses in the old town and silkweaving district were also used by the Résistance.
And of course it's a great city for eating and drinking, and a lovely place to spend a few days.

I think Mishka might need to explain a little more about her husband's interests. A lot of people assume history nut means someone wants to see war sites and likes war and military battles, etc. Those terms are not synonymous by any means, I don't know why they are equated. I am what would be called a history nut, I suppose, as I've taken college courses in a lot of history, including advanced courses in French architectural history (one of my main interests), and I belong to a history book group and read a lot of history books, but I am not interested in US WWII war sites nor Normandy, etc. These are not the same thing, people do have particular interests and niches within the vast category of "history" and it doesn't always lead to war and battle sites and the military, you know. Even if you are interested in the military, you could have a particular interest in other periods, such as the Crusades.

So, maybe Mishka's husband would love Normandy, but I guess I am just saying that is an assumption without any basis that history nuts must love WWII battle sites and that is the main thing they want to see.

Thanks for all the great feedback - looks like I have some homework with respect to what type of history my hubbie really likes. I will casually question him in the next couple of weeks.
Your tips are greatly appreciated - thanks so much!!!

You can find history in France ranging from the pre-Roman to 20th century. You really need to specify what particlular aspects of history you want - either period (pre-history, Roman, dark ages, etc) or type of history (military, cultural, artistic, political) before anyone can give you a sensible answer.

In any case - I can;t imagine not wanting to see Paris - which has historic sites from almost all of these eras/types.